Rwanda is poised to substantially benefit from the growing African business outsourcing market owing to the available untapped pool of young talent, according to a report by Everest Group, a global research firm.
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Titled ‘Strategic Horizons: Mapping the CXM Outsourcing Landscape for English Support in Africa’ the report forecasts that at least 1.5 million new Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) jobs will be created in Africa over the next six years.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a business practice in which an organisation contracts with an external service provider to perform an essential business function or task.
Sometimes called the next stage of evolution for the outsourcing model, GBS can be defined as an integrated, end-to-end set of capabilities delivered globally to enterprise clients by a service provider.
The continent’s BPO workforce is expected to more than double by 2030, and the surge is fueled by the growing demand from global companies seeking outsourced customer service.
"South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt are poised to reap significant benefits, while emerging hubs like Ghana, Ethiopia, and Rwanda are also positioned for substantial growth,” it reads in part.
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Africa has the fastest-growing young population in the world and is the future of the world’s working force. The report notes that African countries have been investing in talent development, creating skilled labor and emphasising quality and continuous improvement to ensure the availability of a highly skilled workforce.
In addition to the 250 million-plus English speakers, Africa boasts proficiency in French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian, not to mention its large Arabic-speaking population.
"Africa is aligning its BPO operations with global CSR and ESG standards, which gives enterprises an edge in sourcing talent that aligns with ESG or impact sourcing requirements.”
Countries like Kenya have established a special economic zone for customer experience management (CXM) businesses, and Rwanda continues to position itself as a technology and innovation hub.
In 2022, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator reported that more than 254,000 youth in Rwanda are qualified for the Global Business Service and BPO for hire although they are among 731,000 out of work youth.
With a skilled workforce of over 60,000 English-speaking agents as of 2022, competitive salaries, and growing physical and ICT infrastructure, Rwanda's global services delivery is gaining exponential traction.
The widespread adoption of advanced technologies such as cognitive AI and intelligent automation in Africa's CXM industry is contingent upon several key enabling factors. Investments in robust internet connectivity, data centers, and digital infrastructure will be crucial to support the seamless integration of AI technologies into CXM operations.
The service provider ecosystem is expected to play a vital role in proliferating the use of these technologies and creating a skilled labor force that can function in the digitally driven contact center operations of the future.