At the Abu Dhabi Media Summit, Chris O’Donoghue, Chairman of the Four Communications Group, discusses the rise of women in Middle East and North African companies and the importance of hiring and being headquartered locally.

He explains that over 50% of university graduates in the Gulf are women, creating a huge talent pool for hiring. These graduates often have the “perfect” skills and attitude for startup work, but it has still been difficult to recruit full-time employees and get them to use these talents in the workforce.

The Four Communications Group invests in communications, digital and social media, and public relations companies and is looking to acquire more businesses to expand throughout the region, with an emphasis on hiring local talent.

“We believe you have to act local,” he says, “You can’t run sensible, effective campaigns remotely from London, or New York, or anywhere else. You have to be on the ground.”