Morocco’s leading private healthcare operator, Akdital Group, has announced its official entry into the Saudi market, marking its first expansion outside Morocco with total planned investments exceeding SAR 5 billion, equivalent to more than $1.3 billion.
In remarks to Asharq Business, the Bloomberg-affiliated channel, Akdital Deputy Chief Executive Officer Ilyas El Harti said Saudi Arabia was chosen as the group’s first international destination due to a convergence of structural factors, including similarities between Saudi and Moroccan healthcare standards and the Kingdom’s strong policy drive to support a structured private healthcare sector.
El Harti explained that the expansion is also motivated by comparable demographic dynamics and the implementation of universal health coverage strategies in both countries, creating an environment conducive to transferring Moroccan healthcare expertise while adapting it to local market requirements.
He stressed that Akdital’s approach in Saudi Arabia is guided by a “Moroccan perspective” and accumulated medical know-how, not with the aim of displacing existing major operators, but rather to complement the current healthcare offering and broaden service diversity.
According to El Harti, Akdital is positioning itself within the mid to high segments of the Saudi healthcare market, where demand increasingly outpaces supply. This segment, he noted, is often underserved, as many large healthcare groups in the Kingdom focus predominantly on premium and high-end services.
The group’s investment program, scheduled between 2025 and 2030, is fully aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 and is based on detailed market studies assessing demand, supply gaps, and the medical specialties required in targeted cities.
Akdital’s initial expansion roadmap includes Riyadh, Mecca, Medina, and Jeddah, alongside other cities to be selected based on economic feasibility and local healthcare needs. Projects will be developed through two parallel tracks: acquisitions and new hospital construction.
Addressing competition in the Saudi market, El Harti reiterated that Akdital’s presence should be viewed as complementary rather than confrontational, emphasizing the group’s patient-centered philosophy and its focus on delivering high-quality medical services at balanced and accessible pricing.
He underlined that maintaining a balance between quality and cost is central to Akdital’s operating model, particularly when serving the mid to high segments, where expectations for medical excellence are high but price sensitivity remains a key factor.
Regarding its business model, El Harti said Akdital’s strategy is built on two core pillars: acquisition and rapid operational integration, and long-term investment through construction, with both approaches advancing in parallel.
In this context, the group aims to reach a capacity of around 1,000 beds through acquisitions in the coming years, while newly built hospitals gradually enter service between 2026 and 2030.
El Harti noted that combining acquisitions with construction is designed not only to accelerate expansion, but also to secure early profitability during the initial years of investment outside Morocco, rather than waiting for new facilities to become fully operational.
On regulatory and licensing matters, he praised the responsiveness of Saudi authorities, saying the regulatory framework and investment-friendly environment under Vision 2030 played a decisive role in Akdital’s decision to enter the market.
He added that the facilitation measures and institutional support provided by Saudi regulators reflect a clear commitment to developing a robust and structured private healthcare sector capable of meeting rising demand.
At the regional level, El Harti revealed that Akdital’s Gulf expansion strategy is centered on Saudi Arabia as the first phase, followed by the United Arab Emirates at a later stage, as part of a carefully sequenced regional plan.
Beyond the Gulf, Akdital has recently acquired a majority stake in a leading healthcare group in Tunisia, comprising more than 600 beds and over a decade of operational experience. The acquisition marks the group’s first investment outside Morocco in North Africa and underscores its ambition to become a multi-polar regional healthcare player.
