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Riyadh: A Saudi Arabia-based company committed to unifying the public and private sectors aims to create an environment where all companies in the kingdom can come together to achieve the goals and ambitions of Vision 2030.

Riyadh-based Mukatafa, founded by Prince Waleed bin Nasser, works in the private sector to mobilize leaders and raise industry standards through policy review and development. Through its advocacy work, Mukatafa supports and guides political decision-makers in the implementation of practical solutions such as the establishment of association bodies, the organization of events and the determination of educational and qualification requirements.

In an interview with Arab News, Prince Waleed, the keynote speaker at the Retail Leaders Circle’s three-day MENA summit this week, said the company was created to meet a need that arose after the announcement of Vision 2030.

“When Vision 2030 was introduced, it was clear that the public sector was on a very fast track to guide the culture of the Saudi economy. Society was part of that change. The other part was supposed to be the private sector, but they weren’t ready to take on that role, ”he said.

According to Prince Waleed, the private sector was not fully aware of its role in the new economic environment and was unable to cope with the transformation.

“With Vision 2030, the private sector had to change in the same way as the public sector – to change how they used to do business, what to focus on, and how they worked with government. Instead, the private sector started struggling when Vision 2030 first launched, ”he said.

Prince Waleed saw an opportunity to be a catalyst for change and he believed he could play a role in bringing the sectors together.

In Vision 2030, the private sector had to change in the same way as the public sector – to change how they used to do business, what to focus on, and how they worked with government.

Prince Waleed bin Nasser

“It was clear that we needed to bring private companies together so that they could understand their role in making the vision program possible. This cannot be done on an individual level in relation to individual companies. You have to do it together. When industries work together, the scale of change is greater, ”he said.

When Mukatafa was founded in 2018, Prince Waleed said the team had started speaking to industry leaders and encouraged them to come together. “These companies can still compete and be rivals, but common goals can help them band together,” he said.

One of the main goals of Vision 2030 is to simplify the way doing business in Saudi Arabia – in terms of processes and licenses – and to attract international investment.

“Government processes had to be simplified,” said Prince Waleed. “And to support this, we examined all the parties in the sub-sectors of government and ultimately identified the common challenges that the industries faced and that prevented them from growing and improving their standards. We have linked today’s private sector to the goals of the vision and helped both the private and public sectors work together to achieve the goals of the vision. “

HIGHLIGHTS

• Riyadh-based Mukatafa, founded by Prince Waleed bin Nasser, works in the private sector to mobilize leaders and raise industry standards through policy review and development.

• His future plans include associations in the fashion and food retail sectors.

Since then, Mukatafa has made strides in fighting the food and beverage industry, bringing industry leaders together under one roof, and establishing the Saudi Restaurant and Café Association.

“It has a general assembly and a board of directors, clear governance for the administration of the association, financial transparency and so on. When the companies came together, we were able to align their activities, which resulted in them becoming enablers in the industry, ”said Prince Waleed.

Future plans include similar associations in the fashion and food retail sectors.

Mukatafa has also held a number of job fairs to help bring down the kingdom’s unemployment rate.

“The number of offers we have seen as full-time positions has been the highest in the UK, in fact higher than any of the Department of Human Resources or the Human Resources Fund,” said Prince Waleed.

“We recently held a virtual job fair that attracted more than 300,000 job seekers. This resulted in 30,000 resumes being sent to companies looking for applicants, ”he added.

Mukatafa is also starting an academy to train Saudis to enter the hospitality industry. The Al-Qoot Academy opened in June and was founded in collaboration with the University of Lausanne, the highest university for hospitality in the world.

“It’s a six-story building with a capacity of 600 students, equipped with kitchens, dining rooms, and all the resources an individual could need to practice hospitality skills,” said Prince Waleed.