Continental Holdings

What Continental Holdings does

Continental Holdings Inc is a privately held international recruitment agency founded in 1993 and headquartered in Cochin (Kochi), Kerala, India. The company operates as a recruitment intermediary between candidates and employers, specializing in large-scale project recruitment for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market. Its core service lines are Executive Search (targeting C-suite and senior leadership placements) and Project Recruitment Solutions (volume mobilization for oil & gas, construction, infrastructure, hospitality, IT, banking, facility management and related sectors across MENA and APAC). Operating offices in India (Cochin headquarters with procurement centers nationwide), UAE (Dubai regional headquarters under Lic No. 2419635.01), and Kuwait, the firm delivers an end-to-end mobilization workflow spanning candidate verification, trade testing, visa processing, medical examination, and deployment.

The company's proprietary technology is the EasyHire platform, an Applicant Tracking System that supports internal recruiters in job posting, resume database search, candidate shortlisting, interview scheduling with automated email/SMS reminders, and candidate communications. The underlying business model is fee-based professional services: INR 30,000 + GST per overseas placement as governed by India's Ministry of External Affairs guidelines, with separately negotiated enterprise contracts for large-scale project recruitment. The client base includes named enterprise employers (Bapco, Equate, Al Mulla Group, Carrefour, Agility, Galfar, Crowne Plaza, Combined Group Contracting Co.), and the firm holds ISO 9001:2015 certification and Government of India approval as an international recruitment agency (RA ID 3704, valid through May 2027).

Continental Holdings extends its portfolio through two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Continental HR Solutions, providing recruitment, payroll management, and outsourcing services across India, and Contico Trades, a trading subsidiary connecting products to international markets. Distribution is primarily direct sales-led, with the CEO T.S. Jairaj conducting extensive international client engagement, supplemented by inside sales for executive search and self-serve resume submission via the corporate website. The firm is family-controlled, with T.S. Jairaj as CEO and Akash Jairaj as COO, and operates without external institutional investment.

Name

Continental Holdings

Legal name

Continental Holdings Inc

Website

https://continentalholdings.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Continental Holdings is an India-based international recruitment agency founded in 1993 that places candidates across oil & gas, construction, infrastructure, hospitality, IT, and other sectors, primarily serving enterprise employers in the GCC from offices in Cochin, Dubai, and Kuwait.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cochin

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Recruitment Services: The company acts as a recruitment intermediary between candidates and employers, providing placement support for various projects. Service charges, recruitment fees, and related payments are governed by mutually agreed terms and applicable regulations. Certain overseas recruitment services may involve fees in accordance with Government of India and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) guidelines.
2. HR Solutions: Continental HR solutions provide recruiting, payroll management, and outsourcing services across India.
3. Cost of Service: INR 30,000 + GST as per guidelines provided by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for overseas recruitment services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Continental Holdings is an international recruitment agency that places candidates from entry-level to C-suite across industries such as Oil & Gas, Construction, Infrastructure, IT, Banking, Hospitality, and Facility Management, primarily serving employers in the GCC region. It delivers end-to-end recruitment and mobilization services including candidate sourcing, verification, trade testing, visa processing, medical examination, and deployment, supported by the proprietary EasyHire ATS platform and a 30+ year candidate database.

Product overview

Continental Holdings operates as a multi-brand recruitment and HR solutions company with a portfolio of distinct offerings. The core business includes Executive Search (targeting C-suite and senior leadership roles) and Project Recruitment Solutions (providing placement support for various industries across GCC). The company extends its portfolio through Continental HR Solutions (a subsidiary offering recruiting, payroll management, and outsourcing services) and Contico Trades (a trading subsidiary). The service offering spans 15+ industry verticals including Oil & Gas, Construction, Hospitality, IT, Banking, and Facility Management, with operations across India, UAE, Kuwait, and broader GCC markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Continental HR Solutions: HR solutions subsidiary offering Recruitment, Payroll management and Outsourcing services across India.
• Contico Trades

Products and services

• Executive Search Confidential and strategic hiring services dedicated to helping organizations identify, engage, and onboard high-impact talent from entry-level graduates to C-suite leaders, with a focus on Gulf market dynamics.
• Project Recruitment Solutions End-to-end international recruitment providing placement support for various projects across GCC, covering Oil & Gas, Infrastructure, Hospitality, IT, Banking, Construction, and Facility Management. Includes order receipt, candidate verification, interviews, trade testing, contract signing, visa processing, medical examination, and deployment.
• Continental HR Solutions Wholly-owned subsidiary providing HR services across India including recruitment specialists for IT, Engineering, Construction, Sales, Marketing, Logistics, Finance, and Hospitality, plus payroll management and outsourcing services.
• EasyHire ATS Platform Proprietary Applicant Tracking System allowing recruiters to post jobs, search the candidate database, shortlist candidates, view contact details, and schedule interviews with automated email and SMS reminders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 years of continuous operation since 1993 serving clients across GCC
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Solminds TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner providing IT recruitment services. Continental serves as their preferred partner for recruiting software engineers.
• Magnicode SolutionscoreTechnology or IntegrationIT solutions company with ongoing recruitment partnership. Testimonial indicates filling several positions in less than a month.
• MariApps Marine SolutionscoreTechnology or IntegrationMarine solutions company for which Continental recruits DevOps Engineers, QA Test Engineers, Full Stack Developers, and CRM Project Managers.
• Contico TradesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGroup company that connects products to people globally, operating as a separate subsidiary under Continental Holdings umbrella.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Foundit (formerly Monster India): Indian recruitment platform connecting job seekers with employers across India and overseas. Comparable to Continental as a competing Indian-origin channel for outbound candidate placements, especially into IT and professional roles.
• GulfTalent: Leading online recruitment platform focused on the Middle East and GCC, with a strong database of professionals seeking jobs in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and surrounding markets. Directly comparable to Continental's GCC-focused executive and project recruitment offering.
• Nadia Global (Nadia Recruitment): Middle East-based recruitment consultancy with offices across the GCC. Comparable to Continental Holdings as a similarly structured agency offering executive search and permanent placement services for regional employers.
• TASC Outsourcing: Dubai-headquartered staffing and outsourcing company serving clients across the GCC. Directly comparable to Continental's project recruitment and HR Solutions offerings, with overlap in sectors like construction, oil & gas and facility management.
• Naukri.com (InfoEdge): India's largest online recruitment and job-search platform. Directly comparable to Continental Holdings as a primary channel for Indian candidates seeking employment, including overseas placements — though Naukri operates a marketplace model versus Continental's agency/headhunting model.
• Bayt.com: One of the largest job sites in the Middle East and North Africa, serving employers and job seekers across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other MENA markets. Comparable to Continental as a competing source of candidates and employer leads in the same GCC region.

Broad incumbents

• ManpowerGroup Middle East: Global staffing and workforce solutions company with significant GCC operations. Comparable to Continental in providing staffing and recruitment across multiple verticals, though operating at much greater scale with broader service lines including RPO and talent mobility.
• LinkedIn: Global professional networking platform with Talent Solutions for employer sourcing and recruitment. A broader incumbent that increasingly competes with traditional agencies like Continental by enabling direct employer-candidate connections across the same GCC and Indian talent pools.
• Michael Page Middle East: Global professional recruitment consultancy with a dedicated Middle East practice covering banking, construction, oil & gas and IT. A larger incumbent directly competing for the same mid-to-senior permanent placement mandates Continental targets.
• Hays Middle East: Global recruitment firm with a substantial Middle East operation, providing permanent, contract and executive search across multiple sectors. Broader incumbent competing for the same enterprise clients Continental serves, though at a materially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/continentalcok

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Continental Holdings