Wipro, partners to set up all-women business park in Saudi Arabia

Indian IT major Wipro on Monday announced that it has signed a tripartite deal to set up Saudi Arabia's first all-women business and technology park in collaboration with Saudi Aramco and Princess Nourah University here.

"The Women's Business Park (WBP) is a result of a joint venture between Princess Nourah University (PNU), the largest women's university in the world and Wipro Arabia Ltd. The project is expected to create nearly 21,000 jobs by 2025," Wipro said in a release here.

Saudi national oil company Aramco is the strategic advisor and anchor of the initiative.

"WBP is envisioned to be the largest engineering drafting services, business process services and IT hub in the region for industry sectors including oil and gas, government, manufacturing, healthcare, telecom and construction," the statement said.

"Dedicated to working women, this business park is a first of its kind project aimed at providing knowledge-based employment for women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," it added.

India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had set up its first all-women Business Process Services (BPS) centre in Riyadh in 2013, where 1,000 women work, 85 percent of whom are Saudi nationals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the centre last month during his official trip to the kingdom.

"The goal of the WBP is to create 21,000 jobs by 2025 and give women a critical role to play in a way that serves the objectives of the nation and to build a knowledge economy with societal and international partnerships," Huda Al-Ameel, rector of Princess Nourah University said in the statement.

"In a country where women represent about 60 percent of all university graduates, but less than 15 percent of the country's workforce, the women's business park is poised to be a milestone initiative," she added.

Wipro chairman Azim Premji said: "It has been more than a decade since Wipro began its operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and localisation has always been an important aspect of our business strategy here."

Wipro said the park, to be set up in the PNU premises, will include entrepreneur incubators, daycare centres and a one-stop coordination centre for government transactions.

--IANS

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