Saudi Aramco, Princess Nourah University (PNU) and Wipro Arabia, a subsidiary of India's Wipro, today inaugurated Saudi Arabia’s first all-women business and technology park.

The project is expected to create nearly 21,000 jobs for Saudi women over a period of 10 years.

The Women’s Business Park (WBP) is a result of a joint venture between Princess Nourah University (PNU), the largest women’s university in the world, and Wipro Arabia. Saudi Aramco is the strategic advisor and anchor of this initiative.

Wipro is a leading information technology, consulting and business process services company.

Dedicated to working women, this business park is a first-of-its-kind project aimed at providing knowledge-based employment for women in Saudi Arabia.

The joint venture agreement was signed today at a ceremony held at PNU, attended by Education Minister Dr Ahmad Al-Issa; PNU Rector Dr Huda Al-Ameel; Saudi Aramco president and chief executive officer Amin H Nasser; and Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Limited.

The Women’s Business Park is envisioned to be the largest engineering drafting services, business process services and information technology hub in the region for a number of industry sectors including oil and gas, manufacturing, government, healthcare, telecom and construction.

The idea of the business park was conceived in September 2014 when Saudi Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding with PNU. Wipro joined the partnership because of its experience in managing talent and providing IT services to a multi-industry customer base.

The joint venture will be responsible for developing the park’s facilities and infrastructure as well as training and employing up to 21,000 Saudi women.

Dr Al-Ameel said: “The goal of the Women’s Business Park is to create 21,000 jobs by 2025 and give women a critical role to play in a way that serves the objectives of the nation and to build a knowledge economy with societal and international partnerships. We also aim to provide a start-up eco-system to upcoming entrepreneurial ventures.

"In a country where women represent about 60 per cent of all university graduates, but less than 15 per cent of the country’s workforce, the Women’s Business Park is poised to be a milestone initiative,” Dr Al-Ameel said.
 
Nasser said: “As a strategic consultant to the Women’s Business Park, we are happy to lend our expertise in the creation of world class facilities to empower Saudi women. This initiative is the result of a successful consortium among three respected entities and we appreciate the efforts involved in creating this one of a kind facility in the Kingdom.”

Speaking about this partnership, Premji said, “Wipro has always extended support to the cause of women empowerment and it is our endeavour to foster an environment that encourages and enables more women to participate in business and tap their leadership potential. It has been more than a decade since Wipro began its operations in Saudi Arabia and localisation has always been an important aspect of our business strategy here. We are happy to be a partner in this initiative which strongly aligns with our values.”

The park will be developed in the iconic PNU premises, and will include entrepreneur incubators, daycare centres and a one-stop coordination center for government transactions.  - TradeArabia News Service