A VC's perspective on the GCC's future workforce

Gulf Business

5 days ago

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The traditional nine-to-five work model that defined our lives for a century is being superseded by a fluid, skills-based system, augmented by tech and reshaped by evolving workforce expectations.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is at the epicenter of this transformation — accelerated by powerful, converging forces — that position the region as a global testbed for the future of work:
Government-led digital transformation: From the UAE's AI curriculum to Saudi Arabia's
Gig economy growth: MENA freelance registrations surged 142 per cent in 2023.
Youth-dominated demographics: 60 per cent of the GCC's population is under 30, giving the region one of the world's youngest, most digitally fluent labour markets.
VC momentum in enterprise tech: Funding is being pumped into AI-native platforms and SaaS tools, reshaping productivity.
Together, these shifts are more than just an evolution in employment. They mark a wholesale reimagining of how work is organised, accessed, and delivered. In this dynamic environment, three venture capital opportunities stand out.
The new hiring stack: A VC playbook for global, on-demand, skills-based talent
Hiring across the GCC is moving beyond just digitisation. A re-engineering is occurring — to match the speed, fluidity, and expectations of a radically reimagined working environment.
Traditional CVs and degree-centric hiring practices are being superseded by real-time assessments and skills-first matching. AI-powered platforms such as Elevatus (Saudi Arabia) are leading this shift, helping companies overcome bias and accelerating talent acquisition by focusing on capability over credentials.
In parallel, companies such as Ogram (UAE) are utilising intelligent systems to deploy pre-vetted talent on demand, often within hours, in sectors including hospitality, logistics, and e-commerce.
Borderless hiring platforms such as Deel (US), Remote (US), and Workpay (Nigeria) are decoupling employment from geography.
Startups now have access to talent across jurisdictions while benefitting from streamlined contracts, compliance, and compensation – among other benefits.
This approach is more than mere convenience. From day one, it is essential to attract and enable a workforce newly defined by mobility, optionality, and seamless onboarding.
The result is a new hiring architecture: distributed, data-driven, and designed for a world where talent is global, liquid, and increasingly empowered.
Beyond SaaS: Investing in the next wave of AI-first enterprise tools
The greatest shift in the future of work is not
who
gets hired. Rather, it is '
how'
work gets done. We are entering the age of AI-native productivity, where tools execute on tasks rather than merely assist. AI is streamlining tasks today and will soon run workflows with minimal oversight. Ultimately, AI is poised to fully redefine enterprise models and productivity.
The GCC is leading in sectors where AI-native tools can leapfrog legacy infrastructure. Startups such as Tarjama (UAE) are building Arabic-first AI infrastructure for content creation and translation, equipping regional businesses with tools tuned to local language and nuance.
Meanwhile, solutions such as Queen.ai (UAE) are powering conversational sales and marketing automation for e-commerce, while the Applied AI Company (UAE) is focused on end-to-end workflow automation within heavily regulated sectors.
For founders, the most compelling opportunities lie in building AI-native tools that address real operational challenges in specific verticals, rather than creating generic platforms.
Investors, however, will generate long-term value from platforms that embed AI into their core operating model, and go beyond just bolting it on. In these ventures, AI will be more than a support businesses. It will shape how businesses run.
The portfolio career play: investing in the platforms powering career fluidity
As the future of work evolves, public and private sectors are creating models where learning, working, and earning form a seamless cycle.
Regional governments are investing heavily in upskilling and human capital development.
Saudi Arabia has committed to training 300,000 AI specialists by 2030, while a new generation of learning-to-earning platforms is creating faster, more adaptive paths from education to employment, tuned to the needs of a workforce in flux.
The rise of portfolio careers is also redrawing professional identity. Rather than climbing a single corporate ladder, knowledge workers are assembling flexible, self-directed careers often spanning multiple sectors, roles, and borders.
Platforms such as Neol (Turkey-based and operating in the UAE) are making this shift tangible, connecting creative professionals to global, project-based opportunities that prioritise autonomy and impact.
For founders, the opportunity lies in building platforms that treat learning as a continuous asset.
For investors, value can be generated from scalable, personalised ecosystems — built for a fluid, multi-career future, adapting as fast as the talent they serve.
Building the infrastructure for the next work era
Relationships, processes, and priorities within the workforce are being re-architected from the ground up. We are witnessing the rise of a new workforce operating system: AI-powered, inclusive, and globally distributed.
For founders, this means creating agile, accessible, and automated solutions. For investors, the next wave of category-defining ventures will embed intelligence into core workflows, not just layered-on AI; enable diverse, borderless access to income and opportunity; and unlock economic mobility – freeing up time for learning, creativity, and purpose.
Explore the future of work in greater depth, with analysis and insights from Global Ventures' new
The writer is a senior partner at Global Ventures.