Saudi Arabia's Professional Services Market Segments

With moves to liberalise its economy and attract institutional flows of FDI across various sectors and asset classes, Saudi Arabia's current private and public sector segments are seeing growth & demand for sophisticated professional services.

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This report breaks down the Kingdom's large professional services client segments.

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Executive Summary

Vision 2030 has sought to drive Saudi Arabia's economy away from oil dependence, by fostering the development of non-oil sectors, including infrastructure and construction, tourism and entertainment.

As a consequence of large-scale infrastructure ecosystem development, large inflows of capital and FDI, and a growingly liberalised set of private and listed markets, the Kingdom's professional services sector is experiencing a huge boom. Three professional services client segments are emerging within the Kingdom: enterprise-level companies (generating over $100M in annual revenues, number 170; mid-market companies, of which there are an estimated 18,700 (generating over $10M) - and a large public sector market segment.

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Market Segments & Landscape

Professional services have played a pivotal role in the Kingdom's development - especially in filling the aggressive high-skill human capital gaps that have been made pronounced by the scale and speed of Vision 2030's goals. The addressable market spans three distinct segments.

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Listed enterprise-level companies (over 170 firms with annual revenues above $100 million) collectively generated $761 billion, including 52 listed companies with $1 billion+ revenue and 122 listed firms generating $100 million–$1 billion. These are predominantly conglomerates or state-owned entities concentrated in energy, petrochemicals, telecoms, banking, and logistics. The figures above exclude private billion-dollar corporations, many of which are privately held by the PIF, such as Red Sea Global and NEOM - who are the Kingdom's flagship developers and responsible of billion-dollar professional services spends.

The mid-market comprises 18,700 companies with $10–50 million in revenue and 45 listed companies generating $50–100 million. Manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, construction and industrials dominate this tier. Growth-stage private equity deals account for 67 percent of total PE transaction volume, with healthcare leading deal activity. Given this surge in private equity activity, service lines are forecasted to see most demand across the PE lifecycle.

Public sector organisations - around 24 ministries, 70+ public bodies/regulators, 285+ councils and 29 universities - are another large client segment. In 2023, they allocated $2 billion to consulting services alone, representing a 17.5 percent increase year-on-year, and represent the largest growth market for traditional consulting lines such as strategy, digital transformation, change management and procurement.

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Solving the Kingdom's High-Skill Human Capital Gaps

Saudi Arabia's professional services sector is experiencing unprecedented expansion driven by Vision 2030's strategic regulatory liberalisation, which has fundamentally transformed the Kingdom's approach to foreign investment and professional services delivery. Rather than imposing restrictions, the government has systematically dismantled barriers to create one of the most attractive professional services markets in the Middle East.

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It's decision to permit 100% foreign ownership of professional services companies represents a calculated response to the acute human capital shortages created by Vision 2030's unprecedented scale and speed of execution. The Kingdom's $1 trillion infrastructure and economic transformation programme has generated demand for specialised expertise that far exceeds domestic capacity, prompting strategic regulatory reforms designed to accelerate high-skill talent acquisition across critical professional services sectors. By eliminating ownership restrictions, Saudi Arabia has removed the primary barrier that previously prevented global professional services leaders from establishing comprehensive operations and transferring their most experienced practitioners to support megaprojects including NEOM, the Red Sea Development, and the $500 billion NEOM city.

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You can find the full infographic of Saudi's professional services serviceable market segments below.

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For a breakdown of other country consulting and professional services market landscapes, visit our Resources page.