Over the past decade, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been instrumental in driving Local Content development impact in the region, powered by the need to diversify its economy and build new local capabilities and capacities to fuel the country’s post-oil economic future.
With a backdrop of accelerating technological development, a new emerging industrial revolution, and accelerated societal change, the Kingdom has accelerated the development and implementation of its Local Content development programmes to remain competitive and future proof its economy in a rapidly changing world, says David Mooney, Efficio VP and MENA regional lead.
Efficio – the leading specialist Local Content, procurement, and supply chain development consultancy – has developed and implemented best-in-class Local Content development policies and programmes in the region for more than a decade.
“Saudi Arabia has one of the most advanced Local Content programmes and ecosystem in the region and can function as a good benchmark for other GCC countries in the development and acceleration of their own Local Content initiatives, underpinned by several key success factors,” says Mooney.
Efficio’s Local Content journey in KSA
Adam Forgacs, Efficio Director and the Head of Efficio’s dedicated Local Content Centre of Excellence, said:
“In 2015 and 2016, we worked with Ministries and other public sector partners to lay the foundations for the Kingdom’s Local Content programme. As a result, we established the existing national Local Content definition, a standard measurement approach, and developed foundational localisation initiatives across the country’s emerging Local Content ecosystem.
“During 2017 and 2020, we led the development of best-in-class Local Content development programmes with National Champions across several industries, including Electricity, Mining, Oil & Gas, PetChem, Telecoms, Tourism, and Travel. These programmes were fundamental to translating the regulation into action, and Efficio had a critical role in establishing and executing local market development initiatives, including supplier development and investor attraction programmes to drive Local Content growth impact.”
More recently, Efficio has been involved in expanding the design and delivery of Local Content programmes to a wider set of leaders in areas such as aviation and investment funds, together with leading the development of a comprehensive Local Content enablement ecosystem. These enablers include tax incentives, land allocation tools, price preferencing mechanisms and others – owned and led by public sector Ministries.
“Additionally, we are continuing our work with National Champions to future proof their Local Content programmes, developing new opportunities and accelerating impact delivery by leveraging emerging trends – such as sustainable manufacturing, ESG, circular economy, digitalisation, and AI – that offer good opportunities to other GCC countries, as well to achieve their objectives of becoming leaders in new industries, green energy technologies, and other high-tech, high-investment emerging industries.”
About Efficio
Efficio has specialised in procurement and supply chain management for more than 20 years, supporting our clients across the globe to identify, deliver, and sustain improvement opportunities. This scale and singular focus set us apart. We help organisations reduce costs, improve internal processes, and upskill their procurement teams, enabling them to become high value-generating functions within their businesses. Our combination of expertise, data, technology, and human intelligence delivers value improvements at speed, allowing organisations to operate more efficiently and compete more effectively in an ever-changing landscape.
We have been operating in the MENA region since 2014. During this time, we have worked on some of the region’s largest infrastructure and giga-projects, helping them deliver value from procurement faster, end-to-end cost optimisation and meet Local Content requirements.
Efficio supports blue chip multinationals, private equity firms and their portfolio companies, SME, and public sector clients around the world to deliver increased value from procurement and supply chain management. For further information, please visit our website or contact us directly.
