Ideation Center

Additional insights

Ideation Center

The Ideation Center is the leading think tank for Strategy& in the Middle East. We aim to promote sustainable growth in the region by helping leaders across sectors translate socioeconomic trends into actions and better business decisions.

Putting GCC cities in the loop

GCC countries should adopt in a holistic manner the circular economy model, which optimizes the consumption of finite resources, maximizes product utilization, and recovers by-products and waste.

How a handful of firms can fast-forward economic growth

Scaling up MENA SMEs

Governments in the Middle East and North Africa should focus on scale-ups, small- and medium-sized enterprises with proven business models.

Beyond bricks

GCC countries need to foster their research ecosystems to produce high-quality research that can lead to innovation and that can inform public policy.

Triggering change in the GCC through behavioral insights

In the past few years, the term, “behavioral insights” has been used more widely to describe a new approach to policy design.

Embracing sharing

GCC countries should take a differentiated approach to the sharing economy to balance its rewards and risks, based on each country’s socioeconomic priorities...

From traditional to impact philanthropy

Family businesses in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are the region’s largest contributors to social and charitable causes...

Safeguarding children in the GCC

For quality learning to take place at the primary and secondary school levels, countries need to have robust protection frameworks for children.

Preparing for the digital era

Executives in the GCC are excited by digital. They recognize its benefits, such as stronger customer orientation and increased efficiency — vital in an era of budget constraints.

How GCC companies can become global competitors

Following a period of growth, globally and locally, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) companies must now focus on capabilities if they want to maintain their growth and improve their positioning. Failure to adopt this new focus will put them at risk of falling into growth traps.

Drilling for New Sources of Growth

The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council recognize the urgent need to diversify their economies away from dependence on oil and gas. As diversification is complex, they should keep in mind three key principles: upgrading local enterprises to be world-class, leapfrogging to advanced digitization, and building a skilled labor force.

Fit for Service government

GCC governments must articulate strategy; transform government services’ cost structure; build the necessary capabilities; and reorganize government’s operating model. This is enabled by digital transformation and national talent development.

Explore the study

Ideation Center

The Ideation Center is the leading think tank for Strategy& in the Middle East.

Putting GCC cities in the loop

Sustainable growth in a circular economy

Scaling up MENA SMEs

How a handful of firms can fast-forward economic growth

Beyond bricks

Building a high impact research ecosystem in the GCC

Triggering change in the GCC through behavioral insights

An innovative approach to effective policymaking

Embracing sharing

Managing the disruption of the sharing economy in the GCC

From traditional to impact philanthropy

Creating a legacy for GCC family businesses

Safeguarding children in the GCC

A framework for the education sector

Preparing for the digital era

The state of digitalization in GCC businesses

How GCC companies can become global competitors

Adopting a capabilities-driven strategy to avoid growth traps

Drilling for New Sources of Growth

How members of the Gulf Cooperation Council can diversify their economies.

Focus areas

Reform and governance
Competitiveness and growth
Digitization and innovation
Social development

Reform and governance

Triggering change in the GCC through behavioral insights

In the past few years, the term, “behavioral insights” has been used more widely to describe a new approach to policy design.

Behavioral science incorporates insights from economics, psychology, sociology, and neurology to understand what makes people tick, and on this basis, it launches interventions that improve their responsiveness to public policies, without restricting their freedom of choice

Safeguarding GCC consumers

GCC governments need to strengthen their consumer protection policies. The task is magnified by the rise of e-commerce and the sharing ...

Drilling for new sources of growth

The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council recognize the urgent need to diversify their economies away from dependence on oil and gas. As diversification is complex, they should keep in mind three key principles: upgrading local enterprises to be world-class, leapfrogging to advanced digitization, and building a skilled labor force.

Rethinking ICT regulation

The digital revolution is questioning existing regulatory frameworks and forcing regulators to respond. Regulators have to grapple with these disruptive forces in a manner that will foster both innovation and fairness. The three key areas for regulators to look at, and that require a focus on digitization, are market efficiency, scarcity management, and safeguarding customer welfare.

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Competitiveness and growth

Putting GCC cities in the loop

GCC countries need to replace the prevalent linear economic model of “take, make, use, waste,” which has been to the detriment of the region economically, environmentally, and socially. Instead, GCC countries should adopt in a holistic manner the circular economy model, which optimizes the consumption of finite resources, maximizes product utilization, and recovers by-products and waste.

Scaling up MENA SMEs: How a handful of firms can fast-forward economic growth

Governments in the Middle East and North Africa should focus on scale-ups, small- and medium-sized enterprises with proven business models. Policymakers should improve their scale-ups ecosystems across four growth pillars: business fundamentals, business propellers, demand creators, and country readiness.

Beyond bricks: Building a high impact research ecosystem in the GCC

GCC countries need to foster their research ecosystems to produce high-quality research that can lead to innovation and that can inform public policy. They must improve research capabilities and the quality of output, create national research frameworks, invest in building their local talent, fund research on a performance basis, encourage research in high-priority socioeconomic sectors through collaboration with enterprises, and establish an effective intellectual property framework.

Private-sector participation in the GCC: Building foundations for success

The governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have decided to change their economic development model. The state-led approach which relied upon natural resources successfully raised incomes from developing...

Safeguarding children in the GCC: A framework for the education sector

For quality learning to take place at the primary and secondary school levels, countries need to have robust protection frameworks for children. Children, society’s most vulnerable members, need to...

How GCC companies can become global competitors

Following a period of growth, globally and locally, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) companies must now focus on capabilities if they want to maintain their growth and improve their positioning.

Fit for Service government

GCC governments must articulate strategy; transform government services’ cost structure; build the necessary capabilities; and reorganize government’s operating model. This is enabled by digital transformation and national talent development.

Surviving disaster

Political stability and safety are prerequisites for tourism, which is why countries must make plans to recover their reputations after incidents of political unrest. Countries need crisis management and perception management. Once a negative event occurs, countries should incentivize tourism, whether from domestic or international sources. Countries should also develop crisis-immune tourism products.

Products first

Telecom companies face increased competition and rising network costs, which are reducing their gross earnings. Instead of responding with cost-cutting, they should undertake a comprehensive product profitability and simplification exercise. At that point they can restructure market-facing and back-end operations and infrastructure, which will lay the foundations for improved profitability.

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Digitization and innovation

Empowering the GCC digital workforce

Strategy& together with LinkedIn analyzed the GCC digital job market and found that there are too few digital professionals, their skills are insufficient, and most are expatriates. GCC governments should partner with technology players, educational institutions, the private sector, and entrepreneurs to launch initiatives that grow the digital job market.

Inforgraphic: The dynamics of the digital job market in the GCC

From traditional to impact philanthropy: Creating a legacy for GCC family businesses

Embracing sharing: Managing the disruption of the sharing economy in the GCC

GCC countries should take a differentiated approach to the sharing economy to balance its rewards and risks, based on each country’s socioeconomic priorities. They need a clear operating, legal, and tax framework for each sharing economy sector. Taking into account its cross-sectoral implications will facilitate the development of local and regional platforms within national digitization plans.

Preparing for the digital era: The state of digitalization in GCC businesses

Executives in the GCC are excited by digital. They recognize its benefits, such as stronger customer orientation and increased efficiency.

Why are 4 billion people without the internet?

Three obstacles to extending the reach of the Web — and thereby reducing poverty in developing countries — can be fixed.

Connecting the world

Achieving universal Internet access requires changes in the three interdependent markets that make the Internet work.

How to use cybersecurity to gain a competitive advantage

The security of barriers is based not just on keeping people out, but on watching people who come in. For further insights, read “Safety in the Cloud.”

Simplify, digitize, consolidate — or else

The telecommunications industry has enabled its business customers to digitize their activities, but has lagged in its own efforts to move in the same direction. If telecom operators are to catch up, they must radically lower their networking costs, simplify their product offerings, and devise better customer experiences. Then they must settle on their digital strategy and develop a much wider range of digital services. Finally, they need to engage more fully in the ongoing consolidation of their industry.

Will you be mine in the digital world?

As they look to enhance digital capabilities through mergers and acquisitions, traditional companies have to heed a new set of dating rules.

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Social development

From traditional to impact philanthropy: Creating a legacy for GCC family businesses

GCC family philanthropies could maximize the impact of their charitable giving and create a legacy of philanthropy around their family by adopting a more modern approach like leading global family-owned philanthropic institutions. To do so, they will need to institutionalize their philanthropic involvement, introduce innovative financing tools, and implement impact measurement.

Leveraging an untapped talent pool

GCC family businesses can leverage a critical source of competitive advantage: the women of the family. Business leaders and governments should encourage the region’s high level of female education and training, the gradual growth in women’s labour participation and entrepreneurship, and women’s involvement in family firms’ governance and succession plans.

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Our people

George Sarraf

Managing Director, Middle East

George Sarraf is a Partner and the Managing Director of Strategy& in the Middle East, and is part of the firm’s EMEA Core Leadership team. Previously, George led the Energy, chemicals, and utilities practice in the region.

Stephen Anderson

Middle East Clients and Markets Leader

Stephen is the Clients and Markets Leader at PwC in the Middle East, and a member of the PwC Middle East Executive Board.

Per-Ola Karlsson

Partner, Middle East

Per-Ola Karlsson is a Partner with Strategy&.

Art Kleiner

Editor-in-Chief, New York

Art Kleiner is the Editor-in-Chief of strategy+business, the award-winning management magazine published by PwC’s Strategy&.

Fadi Adra

Partner, Middle East

Fadi Adra is a Partner with Strategy& and a member of the Public Sector practice.

Dr. Yahya Anouti

Principal, Beirut

Dr. Yahya Anouti is a Principal with Strategy& and a member of the firm’s Energy, chemicals, and utilities practice in the Middle East.

Marwan Bejjani

Partner, Dubai

Marwan Bejjani is a Partner with Strategy& and a member of the firm’s Engineered products and services practice.

Tarek El Zein

Partner, Middle East

Tarek El Zein is a Partner with Strategy& and a member of the firm’s Telecommunications, Media, Technology, and Digital practice.

Mahmoud Makki

Partner, Middle East

Mahmoud Makki is a Partner with Strategy& and a member of the firm’s Communications, Media, and Technology practice.

Alice Klat

Director, Beirut

Alice Klat is the Director of the Ideation Center. She was previously a manager with Strategy& and a member of the communications, media, and technology practice. She has more than ten years of experience in consulting in the Middle East.

Jana Batal

Senior Fellow, Beirut

Jana Batal is a senior fellow with the Ideation Center at Strategy&. She has worked across the public sector, oil and gas, utilities, technology and telecommunications industries, and has over six years of experience in consulting in the Middle East.

Melissa Rizk

Fellow, Beirut

Melissa Rizk is a fellow with the Ideation Center at Strategy&. She has experience in Public Sector projects, mainly in strategic planning, operating model design and process development.

Nadine Abi Akar

Junior fellow, Beirut

Nadine Abi Akar is a junior fellow with the Ideation Center at Strategy&. She has worked in the fields of psychology, education, and neuroscience.

More people

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Latest media clips

January 2019

Dr. Yahya Anouti on building a high impact research ecosystem in the GCC

Al Arabiya interviews Dr. Yahya Anouti, Principal with Strategy& Middle East, to discuss the firm’s study "Beyond bricks: Building a high impact research ecosystem in the GCC".

In the news

Using behavioural science for greater economic good

Sharing economy boom benefiting GCC businesses and consumers

GCC digital workforce well below EU level, new report shows

Why the GCC should enhance its home-grown digital workforce

How we can all get the most out of the sharing economy

How GCC family philanthropy can create a lasting impact

Ideation Center

The Ideation Center is the leading think tank for Strategy& in the Middle East. We aim to promote sustainable growth in the region by helping leaders across sectors translate socioeconomic trends into actions and better business decisions.

Putting GCC cities in the loop

GCC countries should adopt in a holistic manner the circular economy model, which optimizes the consumption of finite resources, maximizes product utilization, and recovers by-products and waste.

Scaling up MENA SMEs

Governments in the Middle East and North Africa should focus on scale-ups, small- and medium-sized enterprises with proven business models.

Beyond bricks

GCC countries need to foster their research ecosystems to produce high-quality research that can lead to innovation and that can inform public policy.

Triggering change in the GCC through behavioral insights

In the past few years, the term, “behavioral insights” has been used more widely to describe a new approach to policy design.

Embracing sharing

GCC countries should take a differentiated approach to the sharing economy to balance its rewards and risks, based on each country’s socioeconomic priorities...

From traditional to impact philanthropy

Family businesses in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are the region’s largest contributors to social and charitable causes...

Safeguarding children in the GCC

For quality learning to take place at the primary and secondary school levels, countries need to have robust protection frameworks for children.

Preparing for the digital era

Executives in the GCC are excited by digital. They recognize its benefits, such as stronger customer orientation and increased efficiency — vital in an era of budget constraints.

How GCC companies can become global competitors

Following a period of growth, globally and locally, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) companies must now focus on capabilities if they want to maintain their growth and improve their positioning. Failure to adopt this new focus will put them at risk of falling into growth traps.

Drilling for New Sources of Growth

Fit for Service government

GCC governments must articulate strategy; transform government services’ cost structure; build the necessary capabilities; and reorganize government’s operating model. This is enabled by digital transformation and national talent development.

Focus areas

Reform and governance

Competitiveness and growth

Digitization and innovation

Social development

Our people

Explore further

Latest media clips

In the news

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