The demand for schools in the GCC region is likely to increase at a 3 per cent CAGR, signifying a requirement of more than 7,000 new schools in the next five years, most of which are anticipated in Saudi Arabia, an industry expert said.

“This is the reason our “IDE Expo Summit – KSA” will try to bring solutions to fill gaps in that sector,” explained Suresh Muniswamy, director New Ventures at India-based IDE, a global leading procurement firm.

“According to Alpen Capital, the total number of students in the GCC education sector is projected to reach 15 million in 2020. Saudi Arabia will continue to dominate the education market in the GCC by 2020,” he added.

IDE is scheduling eight summits in the hospitality, real estate, education and healthcare sectors across India, Africa, Middle East and Europe during 2017.

IDE has organised 11 big events during the previous year with a total attendance that reached 2600 participants and a growth by 44.21 per cent compared to 2015.

“Our business is set on the track and we always have the willingness and the right attitude to follow regional and international movements and initiatives in order to propose an offer that fits best the needs and expectations of our partners and clients. We are happy to get good feedbacks from them and after every summit we highlight latest solutions in term of technology and knowledge. We also look for new possibilities of cooperation and new topics; Education, for instance, will be featured in at least two summits in 2017,” said Ganesh Babu, director India & Middle East, IDE.

IDE summits gather experts, decisions makers, and suppliers from the constructional, architectural, interior design, engineering and technology segments among others. They provide them with a platform to hold B2B meetings, to connect directly with global peers, to share and exchange knowledge and expertise and to put the focus and spotlight on challenges faced in the related sectors along with the suggested solutions.

Ravi Kumar Chandran, director Europe & Africa, IDE said: “We are really excited to announce our planned activities for 2017. We will be present as organisers in South Africa, Morocco, India, Italy, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. With different continents and various verticals, we are happy to contribute to linking up business operators and helping them in achieving their common goals. We are proud of our role in enhancing the development of the related sectors in these countries and to bring global experts into this adventure.”

IDE events pipelined for 2017:

•    The 10th Edition Hotelier Summit – Africa (South) on Hospitality in April 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
•    The 11th Edition Hotelier Summit – GCC on Hospitality in May 2017 in Doha, Qatar.
•    The 12th Edition Hotelier Summit – India on Hospitality in June 2017 in Mumbai, India.
•    The 2nd Edition Mission Italia on Hospitality, Residential & Commercial in June 2017 in Milan, Italy.
•    The 13th Edition Hotelier Summit – Africa (North) on Hospitality in October 2017 in Casablanca, Morocco.
•    The IDE Expo Summit – India on Residential, Commercial, Healthcare & Education in October 2017 in Bangalore, India.
•    The 17th Edition Design Mission Africa on Hospitality, Residential & Commercial in November 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
•    And the IDE Expo Summit – KSA   on Hospitality, Residential, Commercial, Healthcare & Education in December 2017 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. – TradeArabia News Service