Indian companies launch development programmes in Saudi Arabia to help boost tech talent

Zoho commits $300m worth of wallet credits for upskilling and Wipro unveils projects to develop talent

Hyther Nizam, president for the Middle East and Africa at Zoho, at the Leap technology exhibition in Riyadh on Wednesday. Photo: Zoho

Indian companies have pledged to invest more resources in Saudi Arabia, as they look to contribute to the kingdom's digital transformation programme.

Zoho, a software company based in Chennai, said it was committing $300 million worth of wallet credits on its platform in the next 10 years to help the kingdom's small and medium enterprises upskill their employees.

The campaign, which will allocate $30 million per year, aims to boost the digital transformation of companies, which in turn will allow them to contribute to the kingdom's economic development, the company said at the Leap technology exhibition in Riyadh on Wednesday.

“The ambitious agenda set forth by [Saudi Arabia's] leadership is transforming the country into an economic powerhouse and an attractive business environment, with technology being a key component driving these efforts,” Hyther Nizam, president for the Middle East and Africa at Zoho, told The National.

Zoho will also be investing further in its digital infrastructure this year to ensure their data is stored locally in line with Saudi Arabia's Personal Data Protection Law and data residency policies.

It will also be opening its first office in Riyadh, its second in the kingdom after its Jeddah branch, and has pledged to hire more local talent.

Also at Leap, Wipro, the Bengaluru-based IT and consulting company, introduced four new programmes that aim to develop Saudi talent in specialised sectors.

The four sectors in which Wipro has set up corresponding programmes are cloud computing, experience design, digital health care and crowd sourcing, the company said.

The investment by Wipro is part of its commitment to "unleash the power of human potential", Subha Tatavarti, chief technology officer of Wipro Global, said at Leap.

This will be done by "unlocking the potential of Saudi youth in the digital age by establishing regional hubs for innovative technologies", she said in a presentation.

Saudi Arabia has introduced several projects to promote the use of technology as it prepares for the future economy.

The kingdom is also diversifying its economy away from oil as part of its Vision 2030 strategy, with technology one of the key pillars of the plan.

Riyadh is encouraging entrepreneurship and seeking investment domestically and from overseas to develop the technology sector.

The global digital transformation market is projected to hit about $3.95 trillion by 2030, from about $608 billion last year, growing at a compound annual rate of more than 23 per cent, data from Grand View Research indicates.

Indian companies are among the most active in Saudi Arabia, due in part to the countries' proximity.

More than 700 Indian companies operate in the kingdom, involved in diverse sectors including management and consultancy services, construction, telecoms, information technology, financial services, software development and pharmaceuticals, according to data from India's Ministry of External Affairs.

Saudi Arabia is also India's fourth-largest trading partner, after the US, China and the UAE, with bilateral trade hitting nearly $43 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22, data from the Indian Embassy in Riyadh shows.