In 2024, Deloitte Middle East released astudy that should serve as a wake-up call for industrial operators across theregion:
Projects that relied solely on manualworkforce verification saw a 15% increase in compliance violations.
That’s not just a statistic—it’s a signal.Because in sectors like construction and oil & gas, where lives are atstake and penalties are high, every gap in compliance has a real-world cost.
Across Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE, thepace of infrastructure development is accelerating. New regulatory frameworksare being introduced. Projects are growing more complex.
And yet, many workforce systems remainstuck in the past:
- Paper-based certifications
- Reference calls
- Spreadsheets with last-minute updates
- Verification teams chasing down documents onsite
These workflows aren’t justinefficient—they’re risky:
- Unqualified workers may slip through the cracks.
- Delays stack up due to missing or unverifiable credentials.
- Regulatory non-compliance puts entire projects at risk.
What the MENA region needs isn’t justdigitization—it needs digital trust infrastructure.
That’s where blockchain-based identitysystems are starting to make a difference:
- Credentials issued by trusted sources
- Tamper-proof records stored securely
- Workers can present proof instantly, even without internet connectivity
- Project managers and regulators get real-time compliance visibility
This isn’t just more convenient—it’s moreaccountable. And in environments where the cost of failure is high, thataccountability is non-negotiable.
Consider a megaproject in Saudi Arabia withthousands of rotating subcontractors, or a remote oil site in Oman whereconnectivity is unreliable.
In both cases:
- Credential checks need to be instant and accurate
- Data must be interoperable across systems and authorities
- Compliance needs to be auditable, without paper trails
That’s exactly the environment where webuilt Nashid to operate.
Rather than create yet another centralizedsystem, we use decentralized identity principles—giving workers control overtheir credentials, while making it easier for project owners to stay compliantwithout friction.
The result:
- Fewer violations
- Faster onboarding
- Stronger safety cultures
Ultimately, compliance isn’t about tickingboxes—it’s about creating environments where people can work safely,efficiently, and with confidence in the systems that support them.
And in fast-moving, high-risk sectors likeconstruction and energy, that trust has to be engineered into theinfrastructure.
Digital identity systems won’t just help uskeep up with regulations. They’ll help us get ahead of them.
