Nowadays, big organizations prefer fast-delivering IT solution provider companies to cater to their need. Talent Arabia, started by Shaily Gupta, is a market leader in providing IT solutions, IT support, and Managed services for various businesses in the gulf region. Today, Talent Arabia has expanded its business in 8 Countries and its clientele cuts across banks, Manufacturing houses, Leading System Integrators, and government agencies. The company provides solutions and services across application and technology modernization such as IT Infrastructure, IT staffing & Recruitment, Intelligent Data Centre, and more. Shaily Gupta hails from Delhi and has done MBA in Human Resources. She started her career in the HR department of a US Multinational and subsequently moved to the Gulf in 2019 where she joined IT People Bahrain as Business Consultant in 2007. The Entrepreneurial bug bit her in May 2019 to start Talent Arabia in Abu Dhabi and there was no turning back from that point to make Talent Arabia grow exponentially over the past years. Her hard work and dedication have brought various laurels to the company.

Shaily Gupta engages in an exclusive interaction with the Women Entrepreneur Magazine.

Introduce us to Talent Arabia and some of its most unique features. What was the underlying idea behind establishing the firm?

Talent Arabia is a Niche IT Services Company that provides services and executes projects across India, the Middle East, and Africa. Our key strengths are in IT Project Delivery, IT outsourcing, ADMS, &IT recruitment. Our service offering cut across domains in the field of Banking & Financial Services, Manufacturing, Travel and Tourism, Oil and Gas, Government departments, and more. on the latest technologies s such as cloud computing, cyber security, Blockchain, core banking platforms, data analytics, and Platforms like SAP, Oracle, Microsoft platforms, and more. We also have partnerships with some of the largest global system integrators like Tech Mahindra, TCS, DXC Technology, IBM, and Atos.

Growing up in a family that had diverse business ventures, it was my childhood dream to establish a startup and make it a brand that would be known. After a short break in my career and moving to the Gulf, the normal was taking me to a comfort zone and everything seemed to be very easy. As the saying goes “Every challenge in life comes with New opportunities”, This paved the way for Talent Arabia to be birthed and since then there has been no looking back.

What are the various responsibilities that you shoulder in your role as the MD? Tell us some of the most critical business challenges you face in terms of leading the company.

My vision to start Talent Arabia was to create talents and make them available “Globally” in the shortest time possible and exceed the expectations of my clients. This involves understanding my clients and their business models well. I realized to achieve this, building a committed and high-performing team who will rise to the occasion was the key. Over the past years since the inception of Talent Arabia, this has become our DNA and one of my key responsibilities has been to imbibe this culture into every individual in our organization. My employees are my biggest assets and strong pillars built on the foundation of our company and it becomes my responsibility to keep my pillars strong. I wake up every morning with the energy to see how many problems I can solve the problem for my team and stand shoulder to them and make them successful.

Post covid world has brought many changes to our way of working. Keeping to the demands and pace of the industry has been one of the biggest challenges. The demand for a skilled workforce has grown exponentially and this keeps me and my team awake delivering our commitments with precision and accuracy. We are also entering a period of recession and maintaining cash flows and a motivated workforce will be a challenge, having said earlier, every challenge provides us with an opportunity and I firmly believe my team will deliver every single promise and commitment to our customers.

What are some of the most significant milestones that you have achieved throughout your professional journey? What has been the driving force behind your success?

As a new entrant and a start-up that is growing fast, having an opportunity to work with our elite clients who are global business powerhouses and government departments of UAE, Oman, & Qatar is one of the biggest milestones. Our first client was EMITAC in UAE and reposing their faith in a new start-up like ours was one by far the best milestone that will be long remembered. There are many more milestones that we have achieved in the past few years of this journey and the fact that we are being recognized as a household name in the industry is indeed a proud achievement.

Keeping a hawk-eye approach to delivering quality work is what drives me. Creating a global IT powerhouse is our goal and we look towards achieving our goal by opening our branches in every part of the globe.

How will the recruitment industry evolve in the GCC region going forward? Which industry trends do you see developing going forward?

One needs to evolve daily with changing dynamics and in our industry, one needs to adopt new technologies hands-on because speed and efficiency is the key. To be relevant, the recruitment industry must show value at a time when companies can easily connect with thousands of candidates through social media.

"Commitment and high spirit will take you ahead"

New technologies such as Blockchain, Metaverse, and Data analytics are key to future success. We are focusing on these trends to be relevant and lead to digital world success.

What would be your advice to young women who also aspire to become entrepreneurs in the future?

There is nothing a woman cannot achieve now and in my case being a woman has been a boon as it opened doors to new avenues. People appreciate what you do, and they eventually treat you with respect. For young girls, I would say that never give up and always follow what you like. Times have changed and women are equal in all ways & if they want, everything can be achieved.

Shaily Gupta, Managing Director, Talent Arabia

Shaily Gupta has done her MBA in HR from Delhi and after that started working for a US-based MNC in the HR department. She joined IT People Bahrain as Business Consultant in 2007 and in May 2019, she started Talent Arabia in Abu Dhabi.