Treasury Priorities for Multinational Corporations - Middle East and Africa

14 | Treasury Priorities for Multinational Corporations Shared Service Centres Organizations in the MEA region exhibit a diverse and evolving approach to leveraging shared services for treasury activities. While more than half currently manage their treasury operations without outsourced shared services, a notable segment opts for them. Among those utilizing shared services, there’s a clear distinction: some rely on external centers located outside the MEA region - these hubs are chosen for their ability to deliver significant cost savings, provide access to a large and skilled talent pool, and offer favorable operating conditions. • India: A global leader in business process outsourcing, India is a top choice due to its vast, cost-effective, and English-speaking workforce. Its mature SSC ecosystem and time zone advantages allow for efficient, round- the-clock support for MEA operations. • Eastern Europe (especially Poland, Romania, Czechia and Hungary): This region has become a major SSC hub due to its geographic proximity to MEA, strong multilingual capabilities (including French and German, which are crucial for North and West Africa), and a stable, high-quality business environment within the EU framework. While less common, other locations like The Philippines are also used for their strong service culture and cost benefits, and Ireland is often selected for more specialized, high-value treasury functions. A large portion are developing internal, centralized shared service capabilities within MEA, indicating a strategic move towards regional self-sufficiency and bespoke in-house solutions. Several countries are developing distinct capabilities for Treasury and Finance SSCs – UAE (high value RTCs), Egypt, South Africa, Morocco and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or Kenya as emerging hubs. With the foundational treasury setup and strategic objectives now delineated, the subsequent chapters delve into how these structural and strategic choices fundamentally shape a MNC’s approach to working capital management, guiding the methodologies employed to optimize liquidity, manage risk, and drive financial efficiency across the enterprise.” Shared Service Centres usage No, we do not use outsourced shared services Yes, centralized outside Middle East & Africa Yes, provided internally and centralized within Middle East & Africa Unknown Yes, provided by a vendor and centralized within Middle East & Africa 54% 2% 11% 15% 18%