According to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the total spending by UAE-based organizations on outsourcing services from local and offshore providers was estimated at over $4.8 billion in 2018 and is now expected to reach $6.8 billion this year with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7 percent.
The report said that the key growth contributing sectors include financial services, public sector, telecommunications, hospitality, and leisure.
For the study, BCG had collaborated with Forward Mena (previously known as Beirut Digital District Academy) to examine the growth of remote work ecosystems in six developing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Ranked 16th globally for ease of doing business, the UAE is now the second-largest economy in the Arab world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of around $360 billion in 2020.
“As one of the key markets or demand “hot spots” for job outsourcing, the country is rising as a strategic hub where entities can easily outsource parts of their value chains and source-in talent from third parties, thus facilitating high growth overtime,” stated the BCG report in its report, titled “MENA Talent Map.”
As per the report, UAE is one of the largest suppliers of talent in GCC. Customer support, finance and accounting, human resources, and KPO are the major jobs and job clusters supplied by the UAE.
Dr. Leila Hoteit, Managing Director and Senior Partner, BCG, pointed out that the UAE was striving to diversify its economy with its national and emirate-level agendas revolving around emerging themes of sustainable economic development, cutting-edge innovation, digital transformation, safety and security, and advanced science, technology and artificial intelligence.
“With the country calibrating on future-forward initiatives, we expect the country diversification outlook to exceed expectations and ground the nation as a fully rounded hub across industries. Further, in terms of the nation’s future economic outlook, three job clusters were highlighted to help drive long-term strategies, which in turn signal strong growth potential for job outsourcing,” noted Dr. Hoteit.
