East Africa becomes a prized outsourcing destination

FOREIGN firms are establishing a strong presence in East Africa’s burgeoning business process outsourcing (BPO) sector as countries embrace innovative solutions to boost public and private sector competitiveness.Senior executives have said that outsourcing has re-engineered business processes in East Africa and is an integral component of companies’ rebranding. “Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has transformed operations in many firms across all sectors of the economy from finance, retail, telecoms, healthcare and transport,” said Munjal Shah, the Director, Business Development and IT, Techno Brain BPO ITES Ltd.Techno Brain Group is an African company focusing on IT solutions, training and BPO. It has established presence in 12 countries worldwide, nine of which are in Africa. Techno Brain has penetrated the nascent BPO industry in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia and has cut a niche in the public sector to provide solution to government ministries.Speaking to Xinhua on Wednesday during the ongoing East Africa Outsourcing Summit in Nairobi, Shah was categorical that the business of outsourcing critical services has gained traction in the East African region. “An organization outsources services that are non-core. This activity is no longer a luxury but an imperative for businesses that want to remain competitive and relevant to emerging dynamics,” Shah said.He regretted that the myth surrounding business process outsourcing has hobbled the growth of this crucial sector. “Outsourcing is not confined to the IT sector; it can apply to retail, banking and finance, human resource, healthcare, media and research. Many people associate business process outsourcing with call centers yet they comprise 5 per cent of the entire sector,” Shah added.He says the East African region can become an outsourcing hub in the light of abundance of skilled workforce, robust economies coupled with adequate infrastructure. “The policy and legal environment has improved. For the last two years, governments in the region have facilitated the development of BPO sector. In Uganda, there are public private partnerships that have enticed operators to set shop in the country.” Shah reiterated that for BPO sector to succeed in the East African region, governments must invest in supportive infrastructure and improve on business climate. “As for now, skills and expertise are satisfactory, what is needed is to get more companies to set shop in the region,” Shah said. He added that incentives such as tax breaks will attract large pool of local and foreign investors to the BPO sector.

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East Africa becomes a prized outsourcing destination