How Kanz Is Shaping the Future of Workforce Development in Saudi Arabia
Three years ago, Lebanese entrepreneur and founder Roy Baladi built Kanz, a digital recruitment platform that grew out of Saudiaat, a social impact initiative backed by the Womanity Foundation. Originally launched to equip 1,800 Saudi women with employability skills and place 600 into jobs, Saudiaat surpassed its initial targets, supporting more than 50,000 Saudi women and over 400 employers through a free recruitment model.
The initiative revealed a growing demand for technology-enabled solutions that could better connect qualified talent with Saudi employers. To address this need at scale, Baladi relocated to Riyadh and transformed Saudiaat's learnings into Kanz, an AI-powered platform that helps employers identify, assess, and hire talent more efficiently.
With support from AstroLabs, Kanz established its operations in Saudi Arabia, giving the company the local foundation it needed to build and expand its presence in the Kingdom.
Setting Up a Local Presence to Meet Market Demand
Kanz's talent network spans more than 1.2 million candidates, including approximately 250,000 Saudi job seekers. Its growing client roster includes more than 500 employers, including international organizations, such as Amazon, Novartis, Booking.com, the United Nations, and Cartier.
To speed up its market entry, Kanz partnered with AstroLabs to manage company registration, regulatory requirements, and operational setup, allowing the team to focus on product development and commercial growth.
“When I first arrived, I didn't have an office or know where to begin with the business setup process in Saudi Arabia. AstroLabs was my anchor; they made what could have been a major headache disappear,” Baladi said
Establishing a local presence enabled the company to operate closer to its customers, better understand employers' evolving hiring needs, and build a business tailored to the Saudi market. With the operational aspects of market entry taken care of, Kanz was able to concentrate on scaling its platform and responding to growing demand from employers across the Kingdom. “The support we received from AstroLabs went from being a nice-to-have to a must-have," Baladi said.
To anchor its local operations, Kanz has already onboarded three Saudi talents and plans to keep expanding its on-the-ground team as it enters its next phase of growth.
Localizing AI Recruitment for the Saudi Market
Kanz combines AI-powered recruitment with workforce development to help employers hire more efficiently while giving candidates practical tools to improve their employability.
The platform uses AI to screen applicants, assess skills, and provide every candidate with personalized feedback within a week of applying, explaining hiring decisions and identifying ways to strengthen future applications.
It also offers free upskilling courses and AI-powered career guidance, ensuring candidates benefit from the process regardless of the outcome. Graduates also earn professional certificates delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) and the Lebanese American University's Academy of Continuing Education. To date, Kanz has helped place more than 5,000 candidates into jobs, with graduates collectively earning more than $325 million in wages.
The approach has quickly resonated with employers navigating Saudi Arabia's evolving labor market. Among them is fintech company Qlub, which made its first Saudi hire through Kanz within days of an initial product demonstration before expanding the partnership to support recruitment across additional international markets.
Baladi says the company's growth reflects a broader shift in how employers approach hiring in Saudi Arabia. “Companies increasingly need local hiring solutions that understand the Saudi market, and that's exactly what we've built,” he said.
In that context, Kanz addresses a growing market need as Saudization requirements reshape hiring practices across the private sector, increasing demand for solutions that help employers recruit and develop Saudi talent in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 objectives.
As Kanz expands its role beyond recruitment and into workforce development, the company is also investing in initiatives designed to advance AI skilling in the Kingdom.
Within a year of its expansion, Kanz is preparing to host the world's largest AI training hackathon in partnership with MHRSD. Scheduled for 15–22 July, the initiative aims to set the Guinness World Record for the largest online AI training, surpassing the current record of 1,842 participants. With more than 37,000 registrations already secured, Kanz is aiming to reach 100,000 participants.
For Kanz, the hackathon represents the next step in a growth strategy built on local footprint, strategic partnerships, and technology designed specifically for the Saudi market.