Citibank, N.A., Bahrain Branch (“Citi Bahrain”) recently celebrated the third anniversary of the establishment of its Global Technology Hub, which holds a Golden License from the Kingdom of Bahrain. A first for the region, the Hub currently provides support to Citi’s global business lines and clients, accelerating the development of its digital agenda, client solutions platforms and expertise, and was launched as part of a strategic partnership between Bahrain’s Labour Fund (Tamkeen) and Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB).
Citi selected the island nation as the destination of its Hub for several reasons, including the depth and diversity of Bahrain’s talent pool, which outperformed other regions across the board with the highest pass rate in specialized coding testing compared to other locations globally. Further backed by forward-looking regulatory frameworks, and a business-friendly investment environment, which is reinforced by agile government support that provides tailored incentives, programs and wage subsidies for the local workforce; this earned a pledge from Citi to allocate 1,000 coding jobs for Bahrainis over a ten-year period for the Bahrain Hub.
Ilham Kassi Oulhadj, Citi Bahrain Global Technology Hub Head and Global Head of Margin and XVA Technology, said, “At Citi, serving our clients and businesses across the globe, and helping them navigate the challenges and opportunities within our rapidly changing world is fundamental to our mission of enabling growth. Investing in digital technologies, platforms, and talent lies at the foundation of this mission, and the technology hub in Bahrain has enabled us to provide streamlined client experiences and demonstrated successes.”
Dalal Buhejji, Executive Director for Financial Services at Bahrain EDB, added, “Highlighting Bahrain’s commitment to digital transformation and cementing itself as a strategic hub for finance and tech innovation, the Global Citi Tech Hub exemplifies the trust leading international institutions place in Bahrain as a destination for investment and global services. Besides providing opportunities to accelerate learning and growth, the hub is creating career progression paths for the next generation of coders and is a glowing example of the diversity and expertise of Bahrain’s highly skilled talent pool.” With an incredibly high employee retention rate in the private sector, females make up 41% of total Bahraini ICT workforce as per Labour Market Regulatory Authority’s Q1 2023 report. Bahrain has been ranked 1st in GCC in language skills, and 6th Globally on the 2024 World Talent Report published by The Institute for Management Development (IMD). With 38% of university student enrollments in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs and the availability of multiple vocational training institutes for specialized technology, Bahrain has built an incredible educational foundation for its talent which continues to attract businesses from around the world to invest in Bahrain year after year.
