Manama, January 11: City Bahrain celebrated the one-year anniversary of its Global Technology Hub, which is on track to employ 1,000 Bahraini programmers over ten years.
The center currently has 110 Bahraini employees, of which 91 are Bahrainis who have started work at Seef City, with an additional 19 employees set to join soon. The center’s female participants make up 22% of all Bahrainis, beating the average for females in other Citi Tech centers around the world.
When selecting a country for its global technology hub, Citi conducted a rigorous technical coding test and interview process, with Bahraini talent showing the highest success rate compared to other regions. Even more encouraging is the level of female talent in Bahrain’s pool of candidates, as Bahrain ranks first globally in multiple sub-indicators according to Meta’s comprehensive Internet Index (2022), including female digital skills training, STEM education, open data policies, and regulations. privacy.
Commenting on the anniversary and the contribution of the participants to the center, Her Highness Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, Member of the Supreme Council for Women and Chairperson of the Bahrain Committee for Women in FinTech, said: “We are pleased to see Citi’s achievements a year after the launch of the center. These initiatives contribute positively to achieving the goals of The Women in FinTech Committee operating within the framework of the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women, and the National Initiative for Gender Balance in Future Sciences, in line with the directions of Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 as well as the digital transformation initiatives in the Kingdom.It is a matter of pride for us to see Bahraini women directly contributing to the Operations and Growth of Citi’s Global Tech Hub”.
Commenting on the occasion, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, said: “The financial services sector has evolved over the past decade, and we expect more changes in the coming years as the pace of digitization increases. . We are proud to see Bahraini talents and competencies benefiting and contributing to the development of global centers affiliated with reputable financial institutions in order to promote digital solutions in the financial sector.”
According to Citi Bahrain CEO Michel Sawaya, Citi has seen impressive results since its launch. “Programmers have had a significant impact on the development of our digital platforms, such as Citi Velocity and CitiFX Pulse. Their positive contribution has helped us implement important features, and subsequently participate in larger projects that have helped us serve Citi clients globally.”
Last year, Citi launched the Global Tech Hub as part of a strategic partnership between Tamkeen, Bahrain’s labor fund, and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the kingdom’s investment promotion agency. The first center in the region aims to develop and improve digital solutions for Citi’s regional and global clients while creating 1,000 technical job opportunities for Bahrainis over a period of ten years.
Citibank currently operates the main Citibank branch in the Seef area. Citi Bahrain is a leader in corporate and investment banking, and Islamic banking. Its clients include global multinational corporations operating in Bahrain managed by the Global Subsidiaries Group team, Bahraini corporations and financial institutions, as well as public sector companies and. Products and services for institutional clients include finance, capital markets, advisory, hedging, investments, trading and cash management.
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