227 small and mid-sized companies in Kuwait City ranked by 1-year headcount growth. The top 10 are free below, each with a short data note. The full ranked list of 227 is a CSV + Excel download.
Edition October 2026 · updated 2026-10-09 · source: licensed B2B firmographic and technographic data
Key numbers
- Median 1-year headcount growth: 11.5% across 227 companies (range 1.0% to 100.0%). 3 of 227 at least doubled their headcount.
- Size mix: 10–19 employees: 33, 20–49 employees: 41, 50–99 employees: 61, 100–249 employees: 41, 250–499 employees: 51. The most common band is 50–99 (27%).
- Main sub-industries: Custom Software & IT Services (25), Real Estate (16), Commercial & Residential Construction (16).
- Largest company on the list: Al-Dhow for Environmental Projects (250–499 employees, 36.3% growth). 74 of 227 have fewer than 50 employees.
- Versus the whole October 2026 dataset (3246 companies), this page's median is lower: 11.5% vs 22.1%.
- Same location by sector (median growth): education & training 17.5% (n=22), IT services & software 14.0% (n=33), construction 13.4% (n=18), professional services 12.6% (n=26), manufacturing 12.3% (n=33), real estate 11.1% (n=16), hospitality & restaurant 10.9% (n=18), freight & logistics 9.7% (n=12), retail & e-commerce 8.1% (n=45), marketing & advertising agency 5.7% (n=4).
Sector context
- Across the GCC, 26.0% of construction SMBs with growth data grew headcount by 20% or more in a year, against 10.8% in the US (2.4×).
- Across the GCC, 25.3% of freight & logistics services SMBs with growth data grew headcount by 20% or more in a year, against 12.6% in the US (2.0×).
Top 10 by headcount growth
| # | Company | Industry | Size band | 1-yr growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UPayments | Custom Software & IT Services | 20–49 | 100.0% |
| 2 | American German School | K-12 Schools | 100–249 | 100.0% |
| 3 | Food Industries | Food & Beverage | 100–249 | 100.0% |
| 4 | Mubkhar | Cosmetics, Beauty Supply & Personal Care Products | 100–249 | 97.8% |
| 5 | ThinkSmart for Development and Training | Training | 50–99 | 85.1% |
| 6 | Chrisans Solutions | Custom Software & IT Services | 10–19 | 66.6% |
| 7 | Q8Realtor | Real Estate | 50–99 | 62.5% |
| 8 | OLE Coffee | Restaurants | 50–99 | 51.9% |
| 9 | Plexsolution | Custom Software & IT Services | 10–19 | 50.0% |
| 10 | Arabian Construction Company WLL | Custom Software & IT Services | 250–499 | 48.7% |
| + 217 more companies, ranked 11–227, in the full list | ||||
#1 UPayments
Headcount grew 100.0% in 12 months, 8.7× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #1 of 41 companies here in the 20–49-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: Custom Software & IT Services; revenue band $5M-$10M.
#2 American German School
Headcount grew 100.0% in 12 months, 8.7× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #1 of 41 companies here in the 100–249-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: K-12 Schools; revenue band $5M-$10M.
#3 Food Industries
Headcount grew 100.0% in 12 months, 8.7× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #2 of 41 companies here in the 100–249-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: Food & Beverage; revenue band $25M-$50M.
#4 Mubkhar
Headcount grew 97.8% in 12 months, 8.5× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #3 of 41 companies here in the 100–249-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: Cosmetics, Beauty Supply & Personal Care Products; revenue band $10M-$25M.
#5 ThinkSmart for Development and Training
Headcount grew 85.1% in 12 months, 7.4× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #1 of 61 companies here in the 50–99-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: Training; revenue band $1M-$5M.
#6 Chrisans Solutions
Headcount grew 66.6% in 12 months, 5.8× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #1 of 33 companies here in the 10–19-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: Custom Software & IT Services; revenue band $1M-$5M.
#7 Q8Realtor
Headcount grew 62.5% in 12 months, 5.4× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #2 of 61 companies here in the 50–99-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: Real Estate; revenue band $10M-$25M.
#8 OLE Coffee
Headcount grew 51.9% in 12 months, 4.5× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #3 of 61 companies here in the 50–99-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: Restaurants; revenue band $1M-$5M.
#9 Plexsolution
Headcount grew 50.0% in 12 months, 4.3× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #2 of 33 companies here in the 10–19-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: Custom Software & IT Services; revenue band $500K-$1M.
#10 Arabian Construction Company WLL
Headcount grew 48.7% in 12 months, 4.2× this ranking's median of 11.5%, #1 of 51 companies here in the 250–499-employee band. Based in Kuwait City, Kuwait; primary sub-industry: Custom Software & IT Services; revenue band $10M-$25M.
Get the full list
CSV + Excel + PDF with every company on this page (name, website, city, industry and sub-industry, size band, employee count, growth and a careers-page search link). Secure card checkout; the files arrive by email within a few hours. One-time $29, 14-day refund.
Need a fresh list every month? GCC Growth Radar ($99/month) sends a new ranked list on the 1st of each month.
Methodology
Source: licensed B2B firmographic and technographic data, pulled 9 Oct 2026; page updated 2026-10-09. Scope: companies headquartered in the city with 10–500 employees and at least 10 data profiles; the top 50 by 1-year headcount growth per industry, after removing likely local branches of foreign or 1,000+ staff groups; companies with zero or negative growth are left out. Growth is the modelled change in the company's own employee count over the last 12 months; values above 200% are labelled estimated because they come from small headcounts. Location is the company's headquarters city; firms headquartered elsewhere with large local offices are not included, and likely local branches of foreign or 1,000+ staff groups were removed by a name/website rule that can miss some branches. Some companies are local branches of larger groups; the size band is for the local entity. Figures move between monthly editions. Company-level data only: no personal names, emails or phone numbers.
We publish a ranking only when at least 15 companies qualify, and skip a page when its top 10 would repeat another page.
FAQ
- Which small and mid-sized company in Kuwait City grew fastest this year?
- In the October 2026 edition, UPayments ranks first with 100.0% 1-year headcount growth, followed by American German School (100.0%) and Food Industries (100.0%).
- How fast are small and mid-sized SMBs in Kuwait City growing?
- The median company on this list grew headcount by 11.5% in 12 months. This is a list of fast growers, not a sector average. Across the GCC, 26.0% of construction SMBs with growth data grew headcount by 20% or more in a year, against 10.8% in the US (2.4×).
- What does "growth" mean here?
- The change in the company's own employee count over the last 12 months, modelled from licensed B2B firmographic data. It is not revenue growth and not a count of open vacancies.
- Why do some figures say "estimated"?
- Growth above 200% usually comes from a small starting headcount, so a few hires move the percentage a lot. We keep these companies but label the figure.
- What is in the paid list?
- All 227 companies on this page with website, city, industry, size band and growth, as CSV and Excel. Company-level only: no personal contact details.
- How often is this updated?
- Monthly. Each edition is dated; this one is October 2026.