Africa Aiming To Be Next BPO Core

The world is spinning fast and Africa should not be left behind. What is considered edge technology today may be obsolete in the future, thus business corporations need to adapt fast. The Asian tigers China, India and Philippines among others are just doing that –outsourcing. Africa also needs to jump in and compete to be the next Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) hub.

BPO simply implies the rising trend of transferring business processes to either private or third-party providers, usually in lower-cost locations. It aims at alluring clients with low-cost labor promotion and providing an atmosphere that favors IT infrastructural growth. East Africa has launched into outsourcing whole-heartedly, with Kenya having over 20 registered BPO and contact centers.

BPO activities and preparations are underway in northern and southern Africa regions with the majority of other African countries closely following suite. South Africa hosts Africa’s main BPO center that offers back office and call center operations services. Egypt is also leading with its capability to handle all BPO related-aspects. Morocco is also keen on call centers.

Africa is striving to curve a niche in the worldwide outsourcing market. Similar to other places in the world, Africans are highly interested in the hefty amounts of cash that multinational corporations (MNCs) are ready to offer for services.

Language is a very vital component. Good command and understanding of the English language is a super plus. Moreover, even when a North American detects an accent, it will normally not hinder any communication problem. To add on this, Africa’s geographical position is a beneficial.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing began thousands of years ago with the making and selling of tools and appliances. In the industrial age, outsourcing low-tech items became the norm. Outsourcing the manufacture of shoes, apparel and toys began. Within no time, manufacture of high technology components and electronics began as well. Indeed, manufacturing was the first outsourcing activity moved offshore. With the development of better transportation and infrastructure offshoring costs decreased, which greatly increased offshore outsourcing.

Modern day outsourcing includes outsourcing call centers, business processes, and knowledge processing outsourcing. Strategic partnerships are fast becoming the trend in modern day outsourcing. Large companies are happy to outsource even core activities in order to reduce overheads and make greater profits. Outsourcing has become a vital part of any organization wishing to make it in a cutthroat economy.

Regardless of the controversies around outsourcing, nearly every activity is now outsourced. These include telemarketing, computer hardware and software, finance, accounting, research, transcription, human resource development, customer service, legal, and logistics among others.

Africa has been slow to come onto the outsourcing scene. However, with costs rising in more mature outsourcing markets, Africa has become the last frontier in outsourcing. Kenya has many advantages for organizations looking to outsource processes. With 75% of the total population (37 million people) under the age of 30, there is a large work force waiting to be utilized. Additionally, having been colonized by the British, Kenyans speak perfect English. Indeed, for most of those born and bred in urban areas English is a first language. These among other reasons make outsourcing to Kenya a solid argument.