Business development opportunities in the healthcare sector for western firms in the Gulf Region: The case of the Dutch healthcare sector in Kuwait

Kuwait is a wealthy, small country in the Gulf region and is facing many challenges in its healthcare sector. In the last couple of years an increasing pressure has been put on the health facilities. To build a complete and self-sufficient healthcare infrastructure and to reduce the current costs for medical tourism abroad, the government of Kuwait made the healthcare sector a key focus area in the coming years. The aim of this study was to explore the opportunities and barriers for Western firms seeking to develop business activities in the Kuwaiti healthcare sector. Therefore, the leading research question was formulated as: Which business development opportunities and barriers exist in the healthcare sector for Western firms in Kuwait?