Al-Dabbagh of Saudi Investment Authority Discusses Reforms and Strategies for Growth
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country that has been blessed with tremendous wealth in natural resources. With that wealth has come a responsibility to effectively manage these resources for the benefits of all Saudis, said Amr Al-Dabbagh, founding chairman of the Stars Foundation and governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
Al-Dabbagh visited SIPA September 25 to discuss what his office has been doing to facilitate economic growth and diversification in Saudi Arabia. He began his discussion by focusing on the idea of establishing a thriving entrepreneurial spirit in the public sector, framing his talk in the context of his recent book Governpreneurship, which he authored with Robert D. Hisrich.
Outlining the steps he took in the Saudi Investment Authority to infuse an entrepreneurial spirit in the public sector organization, Al-Dabbagh laid out a series of 10 key points on which he focused his office’s efforts. The aim was to make Saudi Arabia one of the world’s top-ten places to do businesses within 10 years. The seeds of his work were planted in Saudi Arabia’s economic cities. These areas serve as unique economic and administrative zones designed to foster innovation and development in the Kingdom’s business sector. The hope is that these areas will provide avenues of growth that diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy away from its heavy reliance on the export of crude oil.
The guiding principles of his reforms, he said, were “Nation, Faith, Patience.” From there, Al-Dabbagh emphasized dynamic management principles in the public sector with titles like “the greatest among you,” which centered on the importance of attracting and developing new talent, and “collaborate to accelerate,” which dealt with the department’s focus on public-private partnerships.
Saudi Arabia is a country with a unique cultural landscape, and Al-Dabbagh played to these traditions in some of his reforms. In one case, he emphasized the Saudi tradition of tribal meetings with his “one-to-one” program where local citizens and business leaders can sit and talk with the city governor.
Al-Dabbagh detailed a number of other truly innovative programs that lead to Saudi Arabia climbing to number 11 in global ease of doing business rankings. One such innovation is the “60 x 24 x 7” model whereby the administration of King Abdullah Economic City offers any government service within 60 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The innovation was central to making it easier for foreign companies to set up shop in the city.
Another interesting innovation he outlined was the issuance of provisional work authorization for companies to set up operations in the Kingdom. This program made it easier for businesses to gain access to the Saudi market. In conjunction with this, Al-Dabbagh set up a “Genie Program” that was founded on the precept that a company’s wish was the government’s command. In sum, these programs led to significant reductions in government red tape and an explosion of foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia. What makes these successes even more impressive is the fact that SAGIA is the smallest government agency in the Kingdom. By innovating, expanding through dynamic uses of public-private partnerships, and developing highly talented workers, King Abdullah economic city has been a large part of the Kingdom’s recent economic success.
Saudi Arabia remains one of the most strategically important countries in the Gulf region. Perhaps the kingdom’s greatest asset is its position as a global energy hub. Beyond this, it maintains a captive audience of 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide and is within a three-hour flight of 240 million people. Al-Dabbagh explained that these advantages, combined with innovation in the public sector, would be a source for continued growth in the Saudi economy for years to come.
— Andrew Watkins MPA ’15