Saudi Start-Up SBR And Jisr Partner To Boost AI-Driven Recruitment In Saudi Arabia

In an effort to advance Saudi Arabia's labor market into the digital age, SBR, a Saudi startup on the rise, specialising in HR technologies powered by artificial intelligence, has recently partnered with Jisr, a top platform in the Kingdom for human resources and financial management.

The primary objective of this partnership is to revolutionise how companies recruit by offering them the tools to access accurate data swiftly, thereby identifying high-caliber candidates with greater efficiency. This alliance is anticipated to not only cut down the duration and expenses linked to recruitment but also to make the process smoother and more effective.

SBR's inception by entrepreneurs Saleh Baarmah and Hamzah Bawazir was motivated by the desire to streamline the hiring process using artificial intelligence. The platform, by shortening the time taken to select and interview candidates, enforcing standardised assessment criteria to limit human bias, and ensuring fairness in recruitment, aims to overhaul one of the most critical sectors in Saudi Arabia. This sector sees nearly two million individuals, including 250,000 fresh graduates, entering the job market every year.

The founders, leveraging their combined knowledge in commercial insight and data science, embarked on a journey to address significant recruitment challenges identified through comprehensive interviews and research. They found that resumes often do not accurately portray a candidate's capabilities, interviews frequently pair employers with unsuitable candidates, leading to wastage of time and resources.

This insight led to the development of the "Know Your Candidate" model. Inspired by the financial sector's "Know Your Customer" approach, this innovative recruitment engine provides a more in-depth and precise evaluation of candidates, surpassing the limitations of traditional CVs.

A spokesperson from SBR highlighted the strategic importance of the memorandum with Jisr, saying, "This agreement will help companies reduce wasted time and costs, and rely on precise data to select the right talent." This statement underscores the partnership’s potential to streamline the hiring process significantly.

The spokesperson further elaborated on SBR's vision, revealing the startup's prototype launch in mid-August, in cooperation with more than 20 companies. The partnership with Jisr marks a significant phase in achieving more refined hiring practices for businesses, opening wider opportunities for the youth, and fostering a smart ecosystem that supports Saudi Arabia's digital transformation goals and Vision 2030.

Adding to this, he stated: "Behind SBR is a diverse team of analysts, data scientists, growth managers, developers, and marketers, all driven by a shared passion to transform the recruitment experience in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf and take it to a global level. For us, SBR is more than a startup; it's a national mission to prove that a Saudi tech product, built by young Saudi innovators, can compete globally and make a real impact on the hiring landscape."