Riyadh: Yesterday night, the Saudi Sports for All Federation (SFA) concluded the SFA Expo the most significant and first-of-its-kind fitness and health exhibition hosted in the Kingdom at Riyadh Front Exhibition & Convention Center, in the presence of HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, President of the Saudi Sports for All Federation, Khalid Abdullah Albaker, CEO of Quality of Life, Shaima Saleh Al-Husseini, Managing Director, the Saudi Sports for All Federation, and Kholoud Al Junaibi, Secretary-General of UAE Sports for All Federation,The exhibition included a diverse range of sessions and workshops delivered by more than 90 speakers and trainers specialized in a wide selection of sports; in addition, many experts from around the world attended the exhibition to build relationships and invest in the promising Saudi market.The exhibition area was more than 10,000 SQM, divided into six interactive areas focused on communication, knowledge sharing, learning about modern innovations, and practicing sports with challenge and competition.The exhibition attracted to the meeting hall (B2B) many international and local companies to highlight the investment role in the sports sector in the Kingdom and to discuss promising opportunities to make the Kingdom a competitive sports destination.An honorary ceremony was held during the event, where four prizes were distributed to four groups. The awards, organized by SFA, rewarded several community groups across various categories for advancing the Saudi sports industry and regional sports culture. The Community Sports Group Awards categories are as follows: “Most Active Community Sports Group on the SFA app,”; “Most unique event idea,”; “Most effective sustainable and community service initiative,”; and “Most active university Group Male/female.”Shaima Saleh Al-Husseini, Managing Director of Saudi Sports for All Federation, said: “We are very pleased to have hosted SFA Expo. As the largest and first-of-its-kind fitness and health exhibition in Saudi Arabia, the exhibition will help to raise the Kingdom’s profile on the global stage as a world-class sports hub. Crucially, it will shine an even brighter spotlight on the importance of sport and physical activity to the economy and society, encouraging more people and families to lead healthy, active lifestyles.”The exhibition allowed visitors to interact with leading global and regional brands in the sports and fitness sector, attend panel discussions and workshops, and view and participate in competitions that added more excitement and fun to the event. It also provided professionals, athletes, trainers, and fitness enthusiasts worldwide with an appropriate platform to discuss challenges in the sports field.With the support of leading bodies such as the Ministry of Sport, Ministry of Investment, Saudi Business Center, and Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the event was launched to contribute to the growth and development of the Saudi sports industry, bolster local sports infrastructure, and transform regional community sports.SFA Expo was supported by leading event sponsors such as Invest Saudi, Delta Fitness, Riyad Bank, and Al Arabiya and official event supporters such as Salonpas, Saudi 360, and Get More Vits.

Riyadh: The Saudi Sports for All Federation (SFA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) to empower more people and communities across the Kingdom to lead more healthy and active lives.The MoU was signed by SFA President, HRH Prince Khalid bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, and H.E. Eng Suhail bin Mohammed Abanmi, Governor of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, with SFA Managing Director, Shaima Saleh Al-Husseini in attendance.As part of the agreement, SFA and ZATCA will work closely to implement an innovative range of programs and activities that promote and enhance the development of the Kingdom’s sports culture and industry.Both parties will leverage their resources, insights, and expertise to aid the transformation of the Saudi sports landscape, ensuring more people and communities benefit from greater access to world-class sporting services, provisions, and facilities.In line with Vision 2030 and SFA’s commitment to continuing to raise physical activity levels in the Kingdom, the partnership is fully geared towards advancing community sports and encouraging participation in daily sports activities. SFA will now collaborate with ZATCA to underline the importance of regular physical exercise to adopting and maintaining a healthy way of life. The Federation will work in tandem with the General Authority to support people across the country through the development of a diverse selection of health and sports programs, including initiatives to support the Authority’s employees.A joint action plan will also be outlined and implemented utilizing the respective parties’ facilities and established infrastructure to host community-driven events and activities.HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, President of the Saudi Sports for All Federation said: “We see this partnership with ZATCA as both innovative in structure and future-focused: a community-focused agreement that will serve everyone in Saudi, providing people greater support to lead the healthy and active lives. By combining resources and capabilities, the SFA and ZATCA can make a lasting impact on Saudi sports culture, providing even more opportunities to adopt sustainable routines of physical activity and overall wellness. We look forward to working with ZATCA to create a brighter, more active future for all.”The signing of this strategic agreement marks the latest step taken by SFA to enhance the Kingdom’s rapidly evolving sports culture. It follows the launch of wide-ranging sports initiatives and campaigns launched by the Federation in alignment with the Quality of Life Program to encourage community members of all ages, abilities, backgrounds and genders to take part in daily sports and physical activities.

Riyadh: Optimizing people management has been a common pursuit for organizations worldwide, often achieved by leveraging best practices and drawing insight from others in the field. In its latest publication, The future of HR: Lessons from pathfinders, KPMG explores how HR professionals around the world are dealing with disruption and their organizations.The report explores six key themes: delivering strategic flow; being digital in thought; word and deed; advancing analytics from insight to action – safely; shopping for talent — building talent marketplaces; holding to the heading — how to make purpose real and prioritizing wellbeing.“Our interactions with global experts suggest that companies are now prioritizing bold people strategies as a crucial element in achieving a competitive edge, especially during the current period of the Great Reconsideration,” said Niam Sinno, Head of People and Change Advisory at KPMG Professional Services.Saudi Arabia has been introducing initiatives to build the capabilities needed for its marketplace, and one of the latest initiatives is the HR Transformation Initiative by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD).The initiative aims to update all HR departments in ministries into a new management style by qualifying their employees with professional certificates in the field of human resources and supporting the departments in terms of developing processes and structuring to ensure raising the level of growth. It strives to better enable HR functions to contribute to achieving the objectives of government entities.Additionally, the ministry has issued a standardized organization of the working environment to keep pace with the latest developments in the labor market. The decision intends to create an attractive and safe work environment, provide decent and sustainable job opportunities for the citizens, enhance the attractiveness of the work environment and address the challenges that workers and employers face.One of the many HR trends is the shift towards artificial intelligence (AI) and HR cloud. Various manual and inefficient HR processes are already being automated to ease administrative loads. A wide range of aspects has benefited from AI technology, from report generation to decision-making processes. In the years to come, companies expect these HR trends in Saudi Arabia to grow and have a greater impact on HR industries. Another HR trend in the country is the focus on data-driven decisions. As the role of HR professionals is changing, they are increasingly required to think strategically. Data such as compensation raises must be analyzed to ensure the business’s return on investment (ROI) isn’t affected.“Saudi Arabia’s economic landscape increasingly involves HR professionals in strategic and financial discussions. With market insights, data, metrics, and benchmarks, HR teams are challenged to assist in workforce skills development,” commented Sinno.Insight from KPMG experts on the metaverse suggests that people could spend more time in the metaverse than in real life by 2030. This propels HR to revisit service delivery in extended reality, creating a total experience for all stakeholders.“As our community continues to be impacted by global economic uncertainty, HR must stand tall and support its employees. It is time organ izations introspect and plan for the future, embracing the support of scientifically driven approaches while upholding their company values,” Sinno concluded. 

RIYADH: KPMG in Saudi Arabia has partnered with the General Authority for SMEs (Monsha’at) as it launches the third annual Global Tech Innovator (GTI) competition. This competition is set out to recognize leading tech innovators in the Kingdom, allow them to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of judges, enable them to get global exposure and the chance to pitch against tech innovators across the globe.The winner of the finals in Saudi Arabia will get the chance to compete against the winners from more than 25 countries present at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.The partnership between the two organizations reflects KPMG's commitment to supporting the development of Saudi Arabia's innovation ecosystem, and Monsha’at's dedication to fostering the growth of the country's start-ups and entrepreneurs.“This competition comes as part of our global strategy to empower and support entrepreneurs and technology pioneers to scale their ideas and innovations into success stories,” commented Khalil Ibrahim Al Sedais, Regional Managing Partner – Riyadh at KPMG in Saudi Arabia. “We are proud to partner with Monsha’at as this really helps to spread the word among the entrepreneurial community for entrepreneurs to apply to our competition and put our Saudi startups in the spotlight.”Saud Alsabhan, Vice Governor, Entrepreneurship at Monsha’at, commented: “We are happy to see initiatives launched by the private sector that support and help develop our entrepreneurial ecosystem. The partnership is very much aligned with Vision 2030, which aims to support entrepreneurship and innovation in the Kingdom and will leverage the expertise and resources of both organizations to provide aspiring entrepreneurs and start-ups with the right exposure, guidance and mentorship.”The competition is now open and the last date for submitting the online application form is 30 June 2023. Local finals will be held on 30 August in KPMG’s Insights Center in its Riyadh head office in front of a panel of judges that will be announced over the coming months.In 2022, OTO, a provider of innovative e-commerce delivery management technologies, won the second GTI competition in Saudi Arabia.“Regardless of whether a business is a pure technology company, tech-enabled, tech-led, or tech-driven, we acknowledge the potential of these entities to shape the future. With the GTI initiative, we invite entrepreneurs to showcase and pitch their ideas, opening doors to becoming tomorrow's success story,” according to Dr. Samer Abdallah, Head of ICT Sector at KPMG in Saudi Arabia and a judge on the panel."Each pitching competition will be judged by a panel consisting of investors, industry experts, entrepreneurs and KPMG professionals, who will assign a score to each application based on six equally weighted criteria. These criteria include disruption and innovation, market potential, customer adoption, market traction and marketing, long-term potential, and pitch quality.”Start-ups with a foundation in tech and strong societal impact are especially invited to participate. In 2022, HiiROC, the UK-based start-up and developer of a system to produce low-cost, zero-emission hydrogen, was crowned the global GIT winner. They managed to win and overcome fierce competition from over 1,100 applicants across 22 countries and jurisdictions during the national stages.The countries/regions/jurisdictions participating in the 2023 competition include Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ghana, India, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

Bain & Company, the leading global management consulting firm is inaugurating the Middle East Women Leadership Forum, titled ‘Go Boldly: Bring Your Future Forward’, in Riyadh on November 23 and 24, 2022. It is the first high-caliber platform of leadership and connectedness bringing together regional female leaders across the GCC, to support them in achieving their full potential, learning from one another, and celebrating different models of success.The forum is a new program launched by Bain & Company where an annual cohort of exceptional female leaders in the Middle East can connect, share experiences, and learn. During the event and throughout the year, members will have access to capability-building and leadership modules, as well as connectedness, mentorship and coaching opportunities, and experience sharing.Anne-Laure Malauzat, Partner and Chief Diversity Officer of Bain & Company Middle East, added: “It is no secret that diverse and inclusive workplaces, at all levels of leadership, deliver the best results. Bain & Company’s research shows that men and women have consistent motivations when it comes to work, across factors like financial orientation and connectedness. However, the reality on-the-ground is that women still remain scarce in top leadership roles today: they held fewer than 5% of CEO roles globally in 2020 and this is also reflected in the GCC region with less than ~2% of women sitting on boards.As part of the program, participants will have access to a range of offerings to support them in their leadership journey. Such as:Mentorship and Coaching – Access to mentors and leadership coaches to work on both personal and professional developmentCapability-building Sessions – to support the participants on their path to leadershipQuarterly Speakers and Connectedness Series – organized by Bain & Company, to reinforce allyship and inspiration“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are a top priority for Bain as part of our internal culture, in our work with our clients, and across all countries and communities we operate in. We hire a highly-diverse set of people with exceptional talents, abilities, and potential and create a collaborative environment where people can become the best version of themselves,” said Tom De Waele, Bain & Company’s Middle East Managing Partner.Lise Abi Jaoude, Senior Manager and lead of the Middle East Women Leadership Forum added: “This year, we are honoured to be inaugurating the Middle East Women Leadership Forum. We have selected an exceptional group of leaders to join us in this first edition to foster connectedness and learning. Our aspiration is to create a supportive and collaborative community that can empower leaders of the current and next generation.”