Saudi Aramco, GE and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced today the launch of the first all-female business process services centre in Riyadh.

 

The centre will be staffed by Saudi females with TCS and GE owning 76 per cent and 24 per cent equity in the new venture, which will initially serve Saudi Aramco and GE as anchor clients.

 

The collaboration of the three companies underscores their strong commitment to support Saudi Arabia’s localisation strategies to diversify the kingdom’s economy and enable the growth of a viable employment sector, said a statement.   

 

The new business process services centre will serve as a building block to localise the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the kingdom. The three partners will work together with the intention of scaling up the new venture to create up to 3,000 jobs for Saudi professional females. GE will create up to 1,000 employment opportunities for this initiative, it said. 

 

Abdullatif A Al-Othman, governor, Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority, delivered a keynote speech at the launch ceremony in Dhahran, headquarters of Saudi Aramco. The event was also addressed by Khalid A Al-Falih, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco; Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO, GE; Cyrus Mistry, chairman of Tata Group, and N Chandrasekaran, CEO and managing director, TCS.

 

The centre brings a unique business model to Saudi Arabia, and is set to become a rich training ground for building new capabilities, skills and careers for Saudi females. It will be employing skilled graduates in the areas of finance, accounting, human resources management and supply chain management services, the statement said.

 

In highlighting Saudi Aramco’s strategic intent, Al Falih said: “We are helping to build the nation’s capacity as it moves towards a knowledge economy by maximising local content, adding value through integrated industrial parks, and promoting economic diversification and entrepreneurship. In light of the demographic realities, this comprehensive framework offers a winning formula to create jobs.”

 

Describing the importance of business process services to the services industry, Al Falih added: “In addition to the array of manufacturing and industrial jobs, services are an even bigger creator of wide ranging employment through an extensive range of office functions. In recent decades, the world, including Saudi Arabian enterprises, has been outsourcing these functions offshore. It’s time to bring those jobs home.” 

 

The centre will help corporations in the kingdom to take advantage of a globally accepted business and operating model which allows business to focus on core competencies. It will provide support knowledge and industry-specific services with TCS’ globally recognized integrated delivery processes and best-in-class execution, the statement added. 

 

Initially providing services to anchor clients Saudi Aramco and GE, the centre will eventually expand its customer base to other companies and institutions across the Kingdom. In due course, GE and TCS will also work with leading Saudi universities and educational institutions to launch specialised training programs to achieve further job creation goals. – TradeArabia News Service