Saudi Aramco, GE and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced today the launch of the first all-female business process services center in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The center will be staffed by Saudi females with TCS and GE owning 76% and 24% equity in the new venture, which will initially serve Saudi Aramco and GE as anchor clients. The collaboration of the three companies underscores their strong commitment to support Saudi Arabia’s localization strategies to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and enable the growth of a viable employment sector. The new business process services center will serve as a building block to localize the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Kingdom. The three partners will work together with the intention of scaling up the new venture to create up to 3,000 jobs for Saudi professional females. GE will create up to 1,000 employment opportunities for this initiative. HE Abdullatif A. Al-Othman, Governor, Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority delivered a keynote speech at the launch ceremony in Dhahran, headquarters of Saudi Aramco. The event was also addressed by Khalid A. Al-Falih, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco; Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO, GE; Cyrus Mistry, Chairman of Tata Group, and N Chandrasekaran, CEO and Managing Director, TCS. The center brings a unique business model to Saudi Arabia, and is set to become a rich training ground for building new capabilities, skills and careers for Saudi females. It will be employing skilled graduates in the areas of finance, accounting, human resources management and supply chain management services. In highlighting Saudi Aramco’s strategic intent, Khalid A. Al Falih, President and CEO, Saudi Aramco said: “We are helping to build the nation’s capacity as it moves towards a knowledge economy by maximizing local content, adding value through integrated industrial parks, and promoting economic diversification and entrepreneurship. In light of the demographic realities, this comprehensive framework offers a winning formula to create jobs.” Describing the importance of business process services to the services industry, Al Falih added: “In addition to the array of manufacturing and industrial jobs, services are an even bigger creator of wide ranging employment through an extensive range of office functions. In recent decades, the world, including Saudi Arabian enterprises, has been outsourcing these functions offshore. It’s time to bring those jobs home.” The center will help corporations in the Kingdom to take advantage of a globally accepted business and operating model which allows business to focus on core competencies. It will provide support knowledge and industry-specific services with TCS’ globally recognized integrated delivery processes and best-in-class execution. GE’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt said: “GE is committed to partnering with the Kingdom in helping to achieve their social and economic growth aspirations and goals. Today, Saudi Arabia is placing high emphasis on creating jobs for its youth and women and we are proud to be supporting female employment opportunities in the Kingdom, offering placement opportunities and world class training programs.” Initially providing services to anchor clients Saudi Aramco and GE, the center will eventually expand its customer base to other companies and institutions across the Kingdom. In due course, GE and TCS will also work with leading Saudi universities and educational institutions to launch specialised training programs to achieve further job creation goals. Cyrus Mistry, Chairman of Tata Group, said: “The Tata Group has a long history of encouraging women to achieve their potential and contribute to the community and we are delighted to work with Saudi Aramco and GE to help provide careers for women in the Kingdom and enable them to contribute to its economic progress. Saudi Arabia is a focus market for the Tata Group where we have built strong partnerships and this ambitious initiative is an example of our commitment to this market.” N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, Tata Consultancy Services said: “This unique initiative will leverage a new talent pool in the Kingdom to meet the business needs of corporations in the region. It is an example of our long-term commitment to this market. By drawing on our proven global expertise in business process services, our ability to partner with corporations as well as develop talented professionals, we will help achieve the goals of this pioneering venture.” TCS today delivers business process services from 20 service locations in over 10 countries including China, Philippines, India, Hungary, United Kingdom, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Mexico and the United States.