When a major UAE insurance tech company called it “impossible,” Connectalents built an entire engineering department from scratch, and achieved a 93% retention rate over 3 years.
An “Impossible” Request: 30 People in 3 Months
When this client first reached out, our initial reaction was simple: this is impossible.
“We need a complete tech team. 30 people: all high-level developers, QA engineers, and tech managers. And we need them in 90 days. Can you imagine it?”
But then we remembered why we started Connectalents in the first place: to tackle the challenges that others call impossible. So we said yes, and we got to work.
A UAE Insurance Tech Company Entering Egypt
Our client was a tech-forward insurance company based in the UAE, looking to establish its Egyptian operations from scratch. They needed to build not just a team, but an entire tech department, with the right culture, the right skills, and the right people from day one.
What made this especially challenging:
- Cross-border complexity: a UAE company setting up Egyptian operations, navigating cross-border hiring, local labor laws, and market unfamiliarity simultaneously.
- Unknown brand: senior developers needed convincing to leave stable roles for a company they had never heard of.
- Speed without compromise: 30 high-level professionals needed in 90 days, all passing extremely tough technical assessments.
- Beyond talent: sourcing office space and equipment, a complete operational setup, not just a list of CVs.
What They Actually Needed
This wasn’t a typical recruitment project. The full scope included hiring 30 tech professionals across all levels, from CTO down to junior developers, with everyone required to pass extremely tough technical assessments, all within three months.
How We Approached the “Impossible”
Instead of immediately posting job ads everywhere, we did something different. We sat down with the client and really understood what they were building: not just the technical requirements, but the culture they wanted to create.
- Discovery first: intensive sessions to understand the culture, vision, and growth story candidates in Egypt needed to hear. We crafted a compelling narrative for talent outreach.
- Precise targeting: senior developers from our existing network and LinkedIn, QA specialists from specific tech communities, management roles through our certified assessors’ network. Precise targeting, not random posting.
- Parallel assessment: our internationally certified recruiters and assessors ran technical interviews, personality assessments, and cultural fit evaluations in parallel to save time. This is where we separated real skills from good-looking CVs.
- Full operational setup: office space secured, equipment sourced, onboarding complete. The entire operation was running from day one of their Egyptian entity.
Results That Surprised Even Us
| Milestone | Result |
|---|---|
| Month 1 | 9 developers and 1 Senior QA already started, despite notice periods |
| Month 3 | Complete team of 30 in place and working |
| After 3 years | Only 2 people left: a 93% retention rate, almost unheard of in tech |
The client successfully launched their product in the UAE market, attracted significant investors, and eventually decided to establish full business operations in Egypt. The entire team we built is now part of their permanent Egyptian entity.
What Made the Difference
Honestly, it wasn’t just our recruitment process. It was our approach to being business partners, not just vendors.
- Market intelligence: when the client wasn’t sure about market rates or role requirements, we provided real market data and adjusted expectations, protecting their investment before it was made.
- Culture-first hiring: every candidate went through cultural fit assessments, because skills alone don’t guarantee success. A technically brilliant hire with the wrong mindset costs more than a slow hire.
- Plan A, B, and C: for every critical role we had backups ready. When some equipment wasn’t available in the market, we had alternative solutions lined up.
- Staying close: daily communication during execution, monthly check-ins after onboarding. This is what turned a successful placement into a 93% retention rate.
What This Teaches Us About MENA Tech Expansion
We see too many companies struggling with expansion into new markets, especially in tech. The talent is there, but finding and retaining it requires a fundamentally different approach than what works in other regions.
Services used: IT Recruitment, Executive Search, Assessment Center, Psychometric Testing, RPO Model, Onboarding Support.
We’re currently working on similar projects for companies expanding into Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Planning a similar expansion? Even if we’re not the right fit, we’re happy to share insights about these markets.