More than 254,000 youth in Rwanda are qualified for the Global Business Service and Business Process Outsourcing for hire although they are among 731,000 out of work youth, a new report has disclosed.

The "Rwanda Global Business Services Case Study and Special Country” report has highlighted Rwanda’s potential to become a global businesses destination over the next five years.

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a business practice in which an organization 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 that are delivered globally to enterprise clients by a service provider.

It is a cross-functional team of experts organized to provide services that meet or exceed customer expectations in terms of quality, cost, and delivery. In practical terms, this means creating a dedicated unit within an organization that is responsible for specific functions or processes that support the company’s core business goals.

These teams are typically composed of professionals with expertise in areas such as human resources, finance, accounting, information technology, capacity management, and procurement.

The Rwanda Global Business Services Case Study and Special Country Report which identified a number of Rwanda youth who have qualification to get hired in GBS and BPO models was released, on November 30, by Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator is an independent, not-for-profit social enterprise that works with individual businesses, government agencies, local and international donors, industry sector associations, youth-serving organizations, assessment specialists, behavior change experts, and technology providers.

"With an average age of 20 years and where 70 per cent of the population is under the age of 30, Rwanda has a significant youth population that can be leveraged for GBS/BPO scalability,” says the report.

Rwanda has an estimated four million youth population between the ages of 18 and 35. Majority of them are between the ages of 18 and 20.

Although Rwanda has made progressive gains in its socio-economic trajectory, the report shows that the youth unemployment rate is a significant 21 per cent, on average, across the country. Today, it shows, there are more than 731,000 youth that are in the labor force but yet to find employment.

Of those unemployed youth, more than 201, 000 have an upper secondary (high school), TVET, teaching diploma or a university qualification, making them eligible for Global Business Service and Business Process Outsourcing.

"Around 22 per cent of unemployed youth have an upper secondary or high school qualification, while 5.6 per cent have a university degree. In total 27.6 per cent of unemployed youth with a qualification have the level of education required for GBS/BPO,” reads the report. It notes that there is a largely untapped talent pool.

To understand how much of Rwanda’s youth can service the international GBS/BPO English-speaking source market, the study says, it is required to calculate the country’s total addressable talent pool that have at least a B2 level of English-speaking capability.

"The youth population, unemployed and underemployed youth, qualification holders, current GBS/BPO workforce growth and B2 English-speaking capabilities are key variables to find this magic number,” researchers said.

According to the report, there are more than 315,000 underemployed youth in Rwanda.

"These are youth that are part of the labour force that are not working full day and are available to work additional hours given an opportunity for more work,” the report found.

Of the 315,000 underemployed youth, 27.8 per cent or 87, 617 have a tertiary qualification and 53 per cent, or 166,429, have attained a general upper secondary education. In total, there are more than 254,000 underemployed youth that are eligible for GBS/BPO fire.

Each year, the analysis shows, more than 70,000 Rwandan youth qualify for either an upper secondary or university degree.

"Over 28,000 of these graduates cannot find employment after graduating and therefore could avail themselves for GBS/BPO hire.”

Most of these graduates have a general upper secondary qualification (54 per cent), followed by TVET (28 per cent), university (14 per cent) and teachers training college (4 per cent) qualifications.

The growth in GBS/BPO full-time employees must be factored in when calculating the total B2 English-speaking addressable talent pool.

Number of GBS/BPO full-time employees rising

As of 2021, the report shows, there are 4, 613 full-time employees working in Rwanda’s domestic and international GBS/BPO sector.

Factoring the number of qualified unemployed youth, underemployed youth, unemployed graduates and GBS/BPO full-time employees’ growth, Rwanda’s total addressable talent pool is 484, 146 youth.

"Over 62,000 of these candidates are considered to possess a B2 level and higher English-speaking capability, suitable to communicate to international English-speaking customers fluently.”

However, the report says, many of these candidates may still require work readiness training and elocution coaching.

"Each month, existing and new GBS/BPO operators can hire up to 1,700 candidates without depleting the talent pool,” the study disclosed.

The attractiveness of Rwanda’s deep GBS talent pool is heightened by the competitive salary costs for contact center and Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) roles, it adds.

"Africa is the new frontier in Global Business Services (GBS) and Rwanda is emerging as a regional leader due to their talented and willing-to-learn workforce. Combined with their warmth, nothing but quality outcomes are achieved-something that is strongly resonating through the international GBS market,” said Martin Roe, the Group Chief Executive Officer at CCI Global-a group of companies that provides and delivers leading Business Process Outsourcing.

Dominant capabilities for GBS/BPO market

Rwanda has a strong focus in ITO, with technical support (33 per cent) and software development (30 per cent) being the two dominant capabilities among the country’s ITO operators.

Like ITO, Rwanda Finance and Accounting (F&A) delivery is also growing in its range of expertise and prevalence, notably in tax and accounting management (25 per cent).

Internal auditing (19 per cent) and F&A strategy (17 per cent) are among the top three F&A capabilities delivered from Rwanda, primarily to the domestic market, the analysis indicated.

Due diligence (three per cent) and mergers and acquisitions (three per cent) are nascent yet emerging F&A capabilities offered by Rwandan F&A providers.

"The availability of English-proficiency talent is driving Rwanda’s budding GBS/BPO sector. This is evident in contact centre and digital contact centre CX, IT outsourcing and finance and accounting horizontal services,” the report highlights.

ICT is seen by the Rwandan government as the central pillar of Rwanda’s transformation to a knowledge-based economy and growth of its GBS/BPO sector.

Rwanda has one of the fastest-growing ICT sectors in Africa, growing by 29 per cent in 2020 and contributing 3 per cent to the national GDP.

Kigali Innovation City project

A further boost to Rwanda’s ICT and GBS/BPO value proposition is the ongoing development of the Kigali Innovation City (KIC), a mixed-use innovation city to be located on 60 hectares of land within the Kigali Special Economic zone.

With a focus on ICT and innovation, KIC will provide a supportive and connected ecosystem for Pan-African start-ups, financial investors, innovation development and academia.

The project is expected to create 50,000 jobs and $150 million value of annual ICT exports.

"Rwanda is a country on the rise with immense potential in the GBS/BPO sector. With its harmonious workforce, competitive salaries and excellent physical and ICT infrastructure, Rwanda’s global services delivery is gaining exponential traction,” concludes the report.

"Sharpening the country’s GBS value proposition is its 43,000-strong pool of potential and trainable English-speaking workers that can be tapped by medium-to-mid-sized international operators and investors to scale operations.

"Moreover, Rwanda’s favorable investment environment and customizable GBS incentives make it an ideal place to do business, all of which were developed within a cooperative, synergized stakeholder ecosystem.”

As such, it is noted, Rwanda is poised to become a leading destination for global business buyers looking to outsource their business functions and operators to leverage this advantageous operating environment.

With an average age of 20, and 70 per cent of the population under 30, Rwanda provides a capable and largely untapped talent pool for Global Business Services investors or employers, according to the report.

Motivation for an investor and employer to come to Rwanda include ease of doing business, a strong and growing talent pool of young people, strong and reliable IT infrastructure, and a high level of service delivery.

The report also revealed some of the key business drivers that make Rwanda an ideal destination for Global Business Services employers.

These include Rwanda’s bilingualism in English and French, the government’s prioritization of the Global Business Services sector as an investment opportunity, the collaboration potential of key sector players, attractive investment incentives, and its capacity to flourish as a boutique near-shore services location.

"I have always relied on my technical skills but realized I’d need to work on my communication skills to succeed in my career. The English program and technical training I’ve received have set me up for success. I’m excited to work with an international company and have the chance to interact with many people which is not typical in the IT field,” noted Didier Nkundimana, a Customer Success Manager.

Other key determinants of location selection for Global Business Services investors in Rwanda’s favour are infrastructure – including ICT and transport, a cost-competitive and skilled workforce, business-friendly government policies, and most importantly, the experiences of other Global Business Services investors that joined and are thriving in the Rwandan market.