Lessons from Promoting Business
Process Outsourcing ( BPO)
in South AfricaA presentation to the World Bank
Pumela Salela, Director : BPO
The Department of Trade and Industry
South Africa
30 September 2009
ALIVE WITH POSSIBILITY
•Area 1,219, 090 km2
•Population 44,8m
•Currency R1 = 100 cents
•Time GMT + 2 hrs
•Head of the State: President Thabo M Mbeki
•11 Official languages with English the business language
•Total GDP: 2006 R1 726 bn (US$ 255 bn)
•GDP 2006 per capita: R35 994 (US$ 5 324)
•Real GDP Growth: 5,0 (2006)
•Inflation (CPIX): 4.6% (annual 2006 average)
•Exports: Tourism, minerals, diamonds, metals and
metal products, food products & automotive components.
•Main trading partners: Germany, USA, China, Japan &
the UK.
South Africa at a glance
•Area 1,219, 090 km2
•Population 47,9m (2006 estimates)
•Currency R1 = 100 cents
•Time GMT + 2 hrs
•11 Official languages with English the business language
•Total GDP: 2007 US$ 259 864 m
•GDP 2007 per capita: US$ 13 564 at PPP
•Real GDP Growth: 5,0 (2007)
•Inflation : 6.4% (annual 2007 average)
•Corporate Tax rate : 29%
•Exports: Tourism, minerals, diamonds, metals and
metal products, food products & automotive components.
•Main trading partners: Germany, USA, China, Japan &
the UK.
Interesting Facts !
GDP sources (2007E)
Total Services 70%
Tourism Services 8%
Financial Services 20%
Industry/manufact
uring
25%
Agriculture 2.5%
Age Profile Stats (2006)***
Employed 16-65 yrs 42%
15-24 years old 21%
25-49 years old 27%
50+ years old 14%
•South Africa is 6 hours closer to the
USA than is the Philippines
•South Africa has roughly 150 000 call
centre seats.
•English is the language of business
and education. There are ~9 million
citizens that speak English as their first
language.
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
Background: South Africa‟s Window of Opportunity
• The South African Government has demonstrated its strong commitment to BPO in South
Africa.
• The government has set aside a dedicated fund over 5 years ( 2007 – 2011) for investors
in the country‘s BPO sector.
• The fund has been created under the Government Assistance and Support (GAS)
programme approved by Cabinet in Dec 2006 and launched in March 2007.
• The objective is to create employment opportunities.
Sources : www.southafrica.info and www.eassy.org
• Strategic focus areas identified:
– Incentives
– Talent development
– Marketing
– Industry mobilisation
– BPO&O standards
• Additional work streams were later identified :
– Telecommunications pricing packages for the BPO&O sector
– BPO 2nd economy strategy
– BPO infrastructure or BPO Parks or Special Economic Zones
Our Strategy for the BPO&O Sector
8
SOUTH AFRICA HAS A WORLD CLASS INFRASTRUCTURE…
Source: Team analysis
• End to end domestic fibre network with
uptime of 99.99%
• High international bandwidth available,
with 120 Gbps available to the US
• Over 16m square feet of premier grade
property available in prime locations, with
vacancy rates from 10% to 25% in major cities
• Premier international conference centres in
major cities, with the presence of premier hotel
chains (e.g., Hyatt, Sheraton, Hilton)
• 55 weekly flights to the UK, direct from
both Johannesburg and Cape Town
• 48 weekly flights to the USA, direct from
both Johannesburg and Cape Town
Telecoms
Property
Connectivity
Power
The CIA World Factbook:
“South Africa has …
financial, legal,
communications,
energy, and transport
sectors … and a
modern infrastructure
supporting an efficient
distribution of goods to
major urban centers
throughout the region”
Our BPO Strategic Pillars in detail…
10
An innovative government funded,
employer led, learner focused,
recruiter and trainer supported
training programme has
been developed
TRAINING PROGRAMS ARE BEING PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE SCHOOL
LEAVERS ARE SUITABLY QUALIFIED…
Government and industry‟s talent development
programme, aimed at training 30 000 learners, is being
developed . . .
Talent development programme
Objective • Increase the pool of entry-level employable
people by using a targeted customised
skills training programme aimed at 30 000
young, unemployed South African‟s
• Accelerate the development of homegrown
supervisors and managers
• Ensure the ongoing capacity building of a
globally competitive talent pool with the
required skills at all levels of employment
Targets • Train 1 000 entry level learners in 2007
• Train an additional 29 000 learners for the
period 2007-2010.
Source: Team analysis
Employer
Recruiter Trainer
Learner
11
…AND GOVERNMENT HAS COMMITTED TO FURTHER IMPROVING THE
DEPTH AND QUALITY OF SA‟S TALENT POOL
Source: Team analysis
Overarching government objectives
• Develop and improve the skills of the broader
South African workforce
• Reduce unemployment in the country
through increased economic growth
• Empower previously disadvantaged South
Africans, both economically and socially
• Encourage greater investments in training
• Create opportunities for the introduction of
new advanced skills
• The Skills Development Act provides a framework for the
development of South Africa‘s skills base, including the creation of
a National Skills Fund to provide for skills development initiatives
• The Skills Support Programme offers incentives with a value of up
to $840 000 for a 1 000 seat centre over 5 yrs. The programme
provides:
– Training grants for eligible training costs
– Learning development grants for developing customised training
programmes
– Capital grants for installation of training capacity
• A wage incentive programme for learnerships, available for
employers offering approved learnership programmes. Provides up
to $430 000 over 5 yrs for a large centre
Initiatives in place
investors could take advantage of a
range of support that is available to
investors to enable job creation and skills
development
ON TALENT DEVELOPMENT …
1129 passed (86%)
202 supervisors have been trained (against a required 146, exceeded target by 38%)
MONYETLA (WORK READINESS PROGRAMME) SUCCESS RATE :
In our first rollout …
1307 learners were enrolled, 1129 (86%) were certified competent,
and of the 1129 graduates,
1009 (89,4%) were successfully employed
1009 of the 1129 successful learners have been employed (89.4%)
13
SA LAUNCHED BPO SPECIFIC INCENTIVES…
National Incentive Comments Value
Investment Incentive Grant The incentives are offered to
local and foreign investors
establishing projects that aim
primarily to serve offshore
clients. The objective of the
incentives is to attract BPO
investment that creates
employment opportunities
From
$5300
[R37,000]
To
$8500
[R60,000]
per seat
Dependent on the level of
qualifying investment expenditure
and employment creation.
Minimum jobs = 200 and 90% of
revenue must be derived offshore
Training and Skills Support
Grant
The Grant supports company-
specific training
requirements including:
• in-house trainer/
facilitator/assessor
development/ skills
• costs for development of
learning materials/
programmes
• costs for trainer
secondment into South
Africa
• costs of purchasing and
installing training
equipment and facilities
Up to
$1700
[R12 000]
per agent
Grant per new employee trained,
calculated as 50% of qualifying
training expenditure
Source: The Department of Trade and Industry South Africa March 15, 2007
Note: The BPO Investment Incentives are effective from 06 December 2006 up to 31 March 2011
SA Rand (R) : US dollar exchange rate ~ 7 : 1
Employment Created Qualifying Investment Costs Per
Seat
Grant Per Seat
200 – 499 At least $10 500 [R74,000] $5300 [R37,000 ]– $6400 [R44,600]
500 < Greater than $12 700 [R89,200] $6400 [R44,601] – $8500 [R60,000]
200 < Less than$10 500 [ R74,000] Between $5300 [R37,000] and $7400 [R52,300]; or
50% of agents salary costs for 2yrs, whichever is
lesser
… DETAILS OF THE INVESTMENT INCENTIVE GRANT
Source: The Department of Trade and Industry South Africa March 15, 2007
• A project employing between 200 – 499 agents with Qualifying Investment Expenditure of more than R74,000 per seat is
eligible for a grant between R37,000 and R44, 600 per seat.
• A project employing 500 or more agents with Qualifying Investment Expenditure greater than R89,200 per seat is eligible for a
grant between R44,601 and R60,000 per seat.
• Should a project have qualifying investment expenditure of less than R74,000 per seat, but 200 or more agents, it will be
eligible for a grant between R37,000 and R52,500 per seat. The approved grant may not exceed 50% of the salary costs of
agents for the first 2 years of the project.
SA Rand (R) : US dollar exchange rate ~ 7 : 1
DISBURSEMENT OF INVESTMENT GRANT
The approved grant will be disbursed in 4 stages, over 3 financial years of the company, subject to performance criteria:
Claims Period Percentage
1 6 months 25%
2 Year 1 25%
3 Year 2 25%
4 Year 3 25%
16
IN ADDITION INVESTORS CAN ACCESS OTHER INCENTIVES
Source: The Department of Trade and Industry
General Incentives Comments Value
Technology and Human Resource
for Industry Programme (THRIP)
The aim is to build R & D capacity $1 for every $2
put in
Matching grant to support costs incurred in
R & D that enhances skills
Urban Renewal Programme The aim is to encourage the
development of businesses in urban
renewal areas
Accelerated depreciation allowance on the
capital value of buildings and improvements
in Urban Development zones
National Learnership Programme The aim is to develop a pool of
nationally accredited agents,
supervisors and managers
$8500
[R60,000]
Tax deduction per unemployed person at the
start of and on certification of a registered
Learnership (split into 2 amounts, before
and after)
$5700
[R40,000]
Tax deduction per employed person at the
start of and on certification of a registered
Learnership (split into 2 amounts, before
and after)
Location in Industrial
Development Zones (IDZ)
There are 3 IDZ‘s in South Africa Various • Grant to cover 50% of the cost of
developing innovative products and
processes
• Exemption from Value Added Tax (VAT)
on imported goods and a rebate on duty
on imported goods
Regional Programmes Each region offers individual investors
options; typically reduced facility costs
Various • In the Western Cape: 100% rates rebate,
free land and buildings, subject to
availability
• Gauteng: Highly reduced rental space
SA Rand (R) : US Dollar exchange rate ~ 7 : 1
ON INCENTIVES...
To date… 25 Applications received
22 Applications Approved
2 cancelled
1 was declined
BUDGET RECONCILIATION
Commitments = R619m until 2013
Total investments received = R1.5billion
Projected Number of Jobs = 21 052
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
SOUTH AFRICA‟S VALUE PROPOSITION FOR BPO&O
• South Africa offers a high quality, low cost destination for offshoring
business processes, in a stable investment environment supported by
world class infrastructure
• South Africa has a vibrant offshoring industry, which draws on the
country‘s linguistic, cultural and product affinity with the USA, UK
and Europe to deliver distinctive quality across service lines
• The public sector in South Africa has made a high-profile, long-term
commitment to the offshoring industry, resulting in strong investor support
and sustainable reductions in costs over the next several years
Source: SSF Team Analysis
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
ON MARKETING…2008
Sources : www.southafrica.info and www.eassy.org
Event Target Rationale Date
IAOP Outsourcing
World
Summit,
Florida USA
Outsourcing
professionals
from around the
globe
The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals
Outsourcing World Summit has been running for over 10
years and has managed to attract virtually every major
corporation involved in outsourcing. The conference is
attended by top executives and outsourcing practitioners
from around the world.
18-20 February 2008
Gartner
Outsourcing
and IT
Services
Summit,
London
700 core
outsourcing-
specific
attendees
The attendees make and sign off outsourcing decisions,
but are not ―C‖ level. The attendees will be the initial
contacts in persuading and influencing investment
opportunities.
2-4 June 2008
ITES-BPO Summit,
Bangalore ,
India
Indian
outsourcers/third
party service
providers
More than 500 delegates are expected over the two day
summit. This presents an opportunity to show SA case
studies and arrange meetings with target investors.
10 – 11 June 2008
SA BPO Policy
Conference
BPO investors
SMMEs
Industry
Stakeholders
General public
SA to host its very own BPO Conference to include
international speakers. The objectives of the conference:
to review the current BPO&O Policy, to receive feedback
from the BPO&O industry on the dti‘s strategy for BPO&O,
to create a networking platform for BPO&O investors , to
create public awareness about the growing BPO&O
industry in South Africa
10 – 11 July 2008
(in South Africa)
Outsource World
Summit
New York
Business
executives from
more that 25
different countries
attended the 2008
summit
The Outsourcing World Summit is the world‘s longest
running and most highly acclaimed, global, executive
program on outsourcing.
15-16 October 2008
ON MARKETING… 2009
Sources : www.southafrica.info and www.eassy.org
Event Target Rationale Date
Nasscom Leadership
Forum,
India
The NASSCOM India
Leadership Forum 2009, a
milestone event that will
mark NASSCOM‘s 20th
year, will bring under one
roof industry leaders,
thought gurus, analysts,
Government decision
makers, academia and IT
users from across the world.
For the very first time, the
global conclave will journey
through three key themes—
one for each day—to
completely transform the
experience for delegates.
As the IT software and services industry gears up to touch USD 50 billion in FY 2008-09
and stay on track to achieve USD 60 billion in exports during FY 2009-10, it will use the
platform of the NASSCOM Leadership Forum to discuss the new industry drivers and
enablers that will take the sector forward. The aim will also be to develop a platform where
global companies , customers and analysts can come together and define the strategies
and challenges for the next decade .
11 – 13 February 2009
International
Engineering and
Technology Fair (
IETF)
India
Top companies and
investors from India , South
Africa and the rest of the
world
Organised by the dti Export Promotion , South Africa is partnering the Confederation of
Indian Industries ( CII) at the 18th IETF in India , the CII‘s biannual flagship event. As one of
the largest events of its kind in Asia, the Fair allows countries and companies to showcase
their entrepreneurial and technological expertise, and build strategic partnerships and
networks, benchmark themselves internationally, and market their brand presence in Asia
23 – 26 February 2009
Africa Outsourcing
Summit
London
Ministers, Corporate and
experts in the fields of BPO
and ICT.
A number of delegates are expected over the two day summit from source destinations (
UK, US ) and more than 15 African Countries . This presents an opportunity to show SA
case studies and arrange meetings with target investors. Is the first time that there is an
event focusing on Africa as Outsourcing destination. Issues for discussion will include
Infrastructure, Education, Governance and Support as it relates to BPO and ICT.
2– 3 March 2009
Gartner 6th
Annual Outsourcing
Summit
Sao Paulo
Third party service
providers/ Outsourcers
Delegates from all over the world from Multinational Corporations, Outsourcers, Third
Party Service Providers.
15 – 16 July 2009
South African seminar
on Legal and
Knowledge Process
Outsourcing
New York
Representatives of
Corporate America,
Outsourcers/ third part
service providers
This presents an opportunity to show SA case studies and arrange meetings with target
investors. It will be arranged with the dti office in New York.
September 2009
International BPO
Policy Conference
South Africa
Potential investors,
government, industry and
the general public
To review the current BPO policy
To receive feedback from the BPO&O industry on the dti‘s strategy for BPO&O
To create a networking platform for BPO&O investors
To create public awareness about the growing BPO&O industry in South Africa
17 – 22 November 2009
SOUTH AFRICA CONTINUES TO ATTRACT SOME SIGNIFICANT
CAPTIVE AND THIRD PARTY BPO INVESTORS
23
europ
assistanc
e
The „Triple Play‟
customer service
functionality makes
Merchants one of the
most advanced
contact centre
operations in South
Africa
Customer
satisfaction
results are in line
with the UK
centres: Virgin
Brightview was
rated 5 stars in
customer service
by “Which”
Magazine in 2006
23
“South Africa's excellent infrastructure,
together with first-class financial, legal
and commercial systems, makes this
country a natural location to pursue the
significant opportunities of South and
southern Africa….We look forward to
successful and profitable operations in
southern Africa, that meet our global
goals and create wealth for the GE
shareholder."
- GE South Africa president Michael C
Hendry
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
THE INDUSTRY IS SUPPORTED BY A NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP
OF GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR
Source: SSF Team Analysis
Partnership Committee
Steering Committee
National Working Committees
Leadership Management and
Customer Satisfaction Management Practices
Operational
Management
Practices
IT Management
Practices
HR Management practices
Performance
ON BPO STANDARDS…
Sources: ARP – 99 under the auspices of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)
• Launched in October 2008
• Collaboration between industry and government
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
Telecommunications in Summary.
Sources : www.southafrica.info and www.eassy.org
Seacom
• East Coast
• 13 700km undersea cable
• to connect Southern & East Africa
• to India and Europe via Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya
• complete 17 June 2009
• to provide low cost broadband
EASSy
• East Coast
• 10 000km
• to connect SA, Mozambique, Madagascar, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan
• to be complete by end of 2010
• Financed by WorldBank and DBSA
Infraco
• West Coast
• to UK
• Complete first half of 2010
• Orinally built by State Companies Eskom & Transnet- both shareholders at Neotel.
Sentech
• To provide state owned internet connectivity through wireless systems rather than fibre optic
cable.
South Africa wants to bring down the cost of telecommunications and internet connectivity
THE TELECOMS SCENARIO
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
3131
SUMMARY OF THE EVEREST RESEARCH REPORT ON SOUTH AFRICA BFSI CAPABILITIES
From a talent perspective, SA is well positioned with strong availability of
Financial Services specific domain skills
Management
talent
Entry level
pool
Entry-level
specialized skills
(e.g., accounting)
Language
skills
FS Industry
experienced pool
Views on talent pool
1
2
3
4
5
Source : Everest
55%
18%
27%
Services provided cut across most sub-verticals and BPO functions
Asset
managementRetail
banking
Insurance
FS BPO employee split by sub-verticals
Number of employees
100% = 11,000
33%
5% 2%
40%
20%
FS BPO employee split by BPO functions
Number of employees
Industry
specific
back-office
Inbound
Outbound
KPOCorporate services
Fro
nt
off
ice
(53
%)
Ba
ck
off
ice
(4
7%
)
100% = 11,000
SERVICE PROVIDERS = SUPPLIERS AND OFFSHORE CAPTIVES
Sources: Everest Questionnaire responses; Interviews with leading service providers
Several examples exist of high end back-office work being
supported for UK clients
Scale: 160 FTEs
Scope: Insurance
BPO and KPO
Life Administration
Legacy
transformation
Actuarial
analysis
Product
development
Global supplier
Scale: 500 FTEs
Scope: Investment
operations
Investment
management
Trade processing
Funds accounting
Accounting, Tax and
regulatory
compliance
Global investment bank
Scale: 430 FTEs
Scope: End-to-end
insurance operations
including
Voice
Quotation
Underwriting
Broker support services
Commission calculation
Loyalty administration
Insurance major
Sources: Everest Questionnaire responses; Interviews with leading service providers
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
3636
SOUTH AFRICA HAS LEVERAGED DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE IN KEY
VERTICALS AND DEEP SKILLS IN ASSOCIATED SERVICE LINES
South Africa‟s Strengths
• Mature industries in insurance, banking and telecoms
• Widespread use of English with similar accents to UK/US
• Cultural similarities to US/UK
• Strong product similarities in banking and insurance
• Compliance with internationalregulations
• Data privacy and intellectual
• Property legislation in force
POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY AREAS
• Mature industry;
• First world operations
• Large, experienced players
with scalable infrastructure
• Sophisticated product line-up
similar the UK/Europe
• Examples: Old Mutual, AIG,
Budget Insurance UK, Zurich
Financial Services
Insurance
• Mortgage application and
loan processing
• Payments and settlements
• Credit card operations
• Account opening
• Account management
• Customer service
• Transaction processing
• Finance and accounting
• Asset Base US$311bn
• Financial services hub for
Africa
• Sophisticated banking
• Well regulated
• Strong Compliance
framework - Basel II, Data
Privacy Act
• Examples: ABSA (Barclays
UK), Standard Chartered
Bank, Citibank, JP Morgan
Banking
• New business
• Application processing
• Account opening and
maintenance
• Claims administration
• Payments processing
• Large scalable telecom
infrastructure
• Many experienced players
• Good technical know-how
and capability
• Examples: Virgin Mobile
(UK), Vodacom
(Vodafone), MTN, Telkom,
Telecoms
• ITO
• Customer service
• Billing
INDUSTRIES
Number of qualified
actuaries
2008; Total number
800-
900
80-90
70-80
4,000-
4,500India
South
Afric
a
Philippines
Czech
Republic
225
65
80
770
90
15
4
26
Number of Chartered
Accountants
2007; ‗000s
Number of CFA charter
holders
2008; Total number
While not the largest in every domain, there are clearly pockets of niche skills in meaningful
scale (e.g., in actuaries)
Analysis of specialized skills and qualifications
in South Africa
Sources: EIU Master country database, Industry reports, Internet Research, Everest-Letsema Analysis
English language skills comparison
Brazil
Mexico
Argentina
ChileSouth Africa
China
Philippines
Malaysia
India
Canada
Costa Rica
Caribbean
PolandCzech Republic
Hungary
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Can support small scale; typically as
part of multi-lingual center
Can support large scale English
language centers
Robust English skills, can support
medium scale centers
ILLUSTRATIVE
SA is one of the few
alternatives that can
provide good English
skills at scale
Romania
Vietnam
Kenya
Source: Everest Research Institute analysis
Egypt
South Africa could have different roles to play in the global sourcing
delivery network
Offshore destination for
high-quality English
language front-office
1
Offshore destination for
complex FS back-office
work
2
Near-shore scalable
destination for sub-
Saharan Africa
3
Risk diversification
option for India /
Philippines
4
Source : Everest Research Institute
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
ON INDUSTRY MOBILIZATION…
Before …
After…
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
BPO&O IN SOUTH AFRICA, NOW AND BEYOND …
Objectives of the 1st National BPO Conference held in July 2008
Review the current BPO Policy
Receive feedback from the industry on the current dti strategy for BPO&O
Create a networking platform for local and international investors
Create public awareness about the growing BPO&O industry in South Africa
The next BPO policy conference will be held in South Africa, Port Elizabeth
from 17-22 November 2009. It will be a joint collaboration between
government and industry under the theme BPO Week Local and
International Speakers are expected.
TEN TOP LESSONS FROM PROMOTING BPO IN SOUTH AFRICA !
1) Get the foundation right ( Strategy, policy, create an enabling environment)
2) Develop a Unique Selling Proposition ( Value Proposition)
3) Identify target markets and chase them
4) Partner and collaborate with industry
5) Seeing is Believing !
6) Research ! Research ! Research!
7) Identify niche offering
8) Build an Industry Association
9) Monitoring and Evaluation
10)Continued Government Support
46
THE DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY (THE DTI) IS WILLING TO
ASSIST INVESTORS IN SETTING UP A BPO CENTRE IN SA
Source: Team analysis
Government is willing to facilitate…
• Fulfilment of regulatory requirements
– Information on all regulatory requirements
– Progress tracking on different applications
• Access to Incentives programmes
– Information on which incentives are
available
– Assistance in applications for incentive
programmes
– Progress tracking and feedback on
incentives applications
• Acquisition of work permits
– Information on work permit requirements
– Assistance in applications for work permits
– Progress tracking and feedback work
permit on applications
• Required information relating to
– National data, e.g., telecoms, connectivity,
transport
– SA BPO landscape
– More detailed regional information e.g.
average salaries, rental costs, amenities etc.
• Assistance for investors in setting up
site visits with
– Vendors
– HR agencies
– BPO centres
• Assistance in identifying a location for a BPO
centre
– Identify available space
– Consider required amenities
Government
Support Offered to
investors
• Support in planning further
investments/ramp up of existing investment