The GCC consulting market fared as well as global consultants did in 2020, despite coronavirus induced losses, but the GCC health care consulting subset posted gains, a new report found. The consulting market is expected to make gains in 2021.
GCC consulting relies heavily on the freedom of movement and oil prices – two things the coronavirus pandemic brought crashing down, the GCC Consulting Market in 2021 report by Source Global Research said.
“The 12.4 percent by which the GCC consulting market contracted in 2020 was no worse than the contraction in the global consulting market,” the report said. “It might have felt more painful to GCC consultants than it did to consultants elsewhere, partly because the market hadn’t ever contracted before and partly because the twin-pronged crisis struck so precisely at the market’s Achilles heel.”
Saudi Arabia’s consulting market fared the best, contracting 11 percent and is worth $1.4 billion. Backed by Vision 2030, the sector is expected to recover in 2021, growing 19 percent, the report said.
The UAE was hit harder, contracting 13.4 percent and at the end of 2020, the market was worth $580 million. But like its neighbour, it is expected to rebound and post a growth in excess of 20 percent this year.
Qatar was harder hit yet with a 14.1 percent loss, but is also expected to recover.
While 2020 had a promising start, that abruptly changed as borders shut to control the spread of Covid-19 and consulting, like every other industry, had to adapt. For some, that meant shifting to digital, and for others it meant reconfiguring economies.
“But the curious thing, and perhaps the market’s saving grace, was that much of what clients were already doing was every bit as relevant as a response to a pandemic as it had been as a response to emergent technologies or the need to diversify economies,” the report said.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the one consulting subsector that fared well was health care consulting.
“Not only was it the lone market to experience growth, but its 19.4 percent expansion would be impressive even in a good year,” the report said.
The technology consulting market has also benefited, marked by 5.2 percent growth in 2020, though 2021 is unlikely to see as dramatic of growth.
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