MANAMA — Bahrain is rapidly evolving into a leading regional hub for customer experience and digital innovation, a trajectory spearheaded by its advanced economic and technological capabilities and strategic investment in national talent.
This is according to Feras Ahmed, CEO of Silah Gulf, who recently affirmed the kingdom's standing as a hub for business process outsourcing services. Mr Ahmed, a recipient of this year's Best CEO Award, expressed immense pride in Silah Gulf's achievements over sixteen years, which include accumulating over 45 local and international awards and completing 85 regional projects across Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. He stressed that innovation is the core foundation driving the company's recruitment, service quality, and regional expansion.
Below is the full interview:
What does winning the Best CEO Award for 2025 mean to you? In addition, what is your view of Silah Gulf receiving many local and international awards?
Ahmed: I feel very proud of this award presented by the Bahrain Society for Human Resource Management, as they represent a true reflection of the effort of a fully dedicated team that believed in a clear vision for developing customer experience and human capital in Bahrain and the region.
Silah Gulf has receiving more than 45 local and international awards and I consider these awards a crowning of the company's achievements over sixteen years in combining national talent development with keeping pace with the latest digital transformation technologies such as artificial intelligence, process automation, and customer data analytics. This has been reflected in the expansion of our regional operations through managing and operating more than 85 government and private projects in contact centre services and customer experience solutions in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
How has Silah Gulf succeeded in strengthening its competitiveness compared to low-cost outsourcing centres in East Asia and Europe? In addition, what distinguishes Bahrain?
Ahmed: We do not compete on cost alone but on value, based on three essential elements. The first is cultural and linguistic alignment, as we provide authentic Arabic support in local dialects, in addition to proficiency in other languages. The second is information security, through our commitment to data protection, privacy, and cybersecurity regulations, which makes us a preferred choice for banks and government entities. The third is proximity to the market and operating in a supportive economic and legislative environment. Bahrain represents a leading regional hub for customer experience, communication, digital innovation, and business process outsourcing services, supported by its advanced economic and technological capabilities, modern regulations, optimal investment in national talent, and strategic geographic location compared to offshore centres that are distant culturally or less regulated.
To what extent is the business process-outsourcing model shifting toward the concept of 'outsourcing as a service' based on data analytics and customer journey design rather than operational execution?
Ahmed: Yes, the sector is clearly moving toward outsourcing as a service, or more precisely toward partnership in customer experience. We have moved beyond focusing on cost reduction and increasing operational capacity toward a model based on data analytics and customer journey management. Our clients are no longer looking only for transaction handling, but for an entity, that improves the entire customer-interaction ecosystem. Today, we rely on artificial intelligence and data analytics to predict customer needs and offer integrated, modern, flexible, smooth, and effective customer experience solutions.
What is the biggest challenge in maintaining deep specialisation in sectors such as banking, while expanding into new sectors such as real estate and utilities in the GCC?
Ahmed: The biggest challenge is transferring specialised knowledge and ensuring quality. Working across diverse sectors in the GCC cannot succeed using a unified model. This is why our strategy is based on two pillars: a specialised organisational structure where separate teams work for each sector to ensure accuracy and compliance, and technology and training through artificial-intelligence tools and an internal team of nine trainers responsible for unifying and updating procedures and skills according to each sector's requirements. This has reflected in the company's distinction in improving the efficiency of contact centres and providing consultative and technical support to institutions and companies operating in government services, telecommunications, banking, healthcare, education, commerce, tourism, travel, aviation, and other sectors within an innovative and sustainable work environment that adheres to the highest levels of security and reliability.
How do you justify the benefit of the human experience supported by artificial intelligence for clients most sensitive to cost, beyond the savings of full automation?
Ahmed: Investing in human talent is a true guarantee for brand sustainability. We believe that considering the human and emotional dimension is essential for building loyalty and increasing lifetime customer value. Automation reduces operational cost, but a scientifically qualified employee supported by data, analytics, and experience can provide more complex, competitive, and sustainable solutions, handle human emotions, and transform the experience into long-term loyalty. We measure this through several indicators, such as higher satisfaction scores, lower customer churn, increased customer share, and operational value growth.
What is your strategy for providing job opportunities in Bahrain amid the expansion of artificial intelligence?
Ahmed: Our strategy is centred on developing people and enhancing their skills, not replacing them. Artificial intelligence reduces repetitive tasks, but it opens wide avenues for advanced, high-value jobs. We have focused on developing the skills of our current workforce and attracting creative talent, integrating them into educational programmes and training courses in soft skills, communication, marketing, leadership, transaction analysis, e-learning, neuro-linguistic programming, and language proficiency, while ensuring full commitment to the values and ethics of work, including integrity, professionalism, excellence, innovation, cooperation, and respect.
Today, our team includes more than 900 employees with advanced skills in communication, management, and modern technologies. This has enabled us to expand our projects and regional operations and earn the continued trust of our clients. We take pride in being ranked among the largest national companies employing Bahrainis, building on our role over the past years in supplying the local and Gulf markets with more than five thousand job opportunities. We look forward to further progress and to becoming a national platform for generating emerging jobs such as AI trainers and supervisors, data scientists, customer journey engineers, and other administrative, executive, and technical roles.
What is the biggest barrier to achieving a unified customer view within institutions: technical complexity or organisational culture? In addition, how is the return measured?
Ahmed: The biggest barrier is organisational culture, not technology. Technical challenges can be solved, but the difficulty lies in removing barriers between departments such as marketing, sales, and customer service, and unifying data sources. Return is measured through operational indicators such as reducing transaction time and increasing first-contact resolution, and strategic indicators such as reducing customer effort and using unified data to develop products and services.
How have your deep technical experiences contributed to shaping your leadership style and decision-making amid rapid developments in artificial intelligence and cloud computing?
Ahmed: IT governance reinforces a risk-aware approach, as we adopt artificial intelligence and cloud computing to achieve speed and innovation within clear frameworks such as governance systems and service management, with strict adherence to information security and risk management, ensuring stability, accuracy, and transparency in our operations.
How do private-sector innovations in customer experience contribute to the development of digital government services?
Ahmed: Our role has always been, and continues to be, a bridge of innovation between the government and private sectors. Silah Gulf, in partnership with numerous government and private institutions in Bahrain and the GCC, has delivered exceptional customer experiences that enhanced quality, efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity, and reduced costs, relying on AI-enabled speed and specialization to enhance customer satisfaction without administrative complexity.
The company demonstrated this through its management and operation of Bahrain’s Unified Government Contact Centre since 2010, delivering high-quality, around-the-clock services to citizens and residents through various channels including voice calls, SMS, email, and video calling for individuals with hearing disabilities, and employing high-tech solutions in completing recurring services such as chatbots and intelligent IVR systems. This achievement earned the company the United Nations Public Service Award in 2014, and many of our employees received the Prince Salman bin Hamad Medal for Medical Merit after their distinguished role in managing and operating the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 hotline (444).
Among your four priorities — job creation, innovation, expansion, and service improvement —, which is the most important in your development plans? In addition, what are your ambitions for regional growth, especially in the Saudi market?
Ahmed: Innovation is the fundamental enabler for service improvement, regional expansion, and the creation of high-value jobs, ultimately earning customer satisfaction. Our ambition is for Silah Gulf to be the leading regional partner in designing and managing innovative and exceptional customer experiences. We also aim to enhance our technical, consulting, and recruitment services, and contribute to strengthening Bahrain's regional and international position through regional expansion and deeper investment in artificial intelligence, process automation, customer data analytics, and the creation of more job opportunities for national talent, in line with Economic Vision 2030.
As part of its strategic and sustainable vision for regional growth and strengthening its position in the Gulf region, Silah Gulf is proud to transfer its accumulated expertise and deliver its advanced and innovative services in Saudi Arabia to more than ten institutions across government sectors, utilities, insurance, real estate, retail, food services, telecommunications, and industry. We seek further expansion in the Saudi market, one of the most significant and promising markets in the region in terms of size and potential, in response to the kingdom's increasing reliance on contact centre and digital transformation solutions to enhance customer experience and raise satisfaction levels.
Silah Gulf established specialised teams in major cities such as Riyadh, Khobar, and Dammam as a first phase, and invested in training Saudi talent and preparing them to work in an advanced technical and regulatory environment that supports client needs and expectations, while supporting the priority of job localisation in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
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