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Summit prepares Africa for outsourcing

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 22 Sept 2008

The first African Outsourcing Summit, hosted by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and Cyber Media, will be held on the 27 and 28 November in London.

The summit will bring together senior government policy makers and industry representatives from African nations, key decision-makers, outsource service buyers and other stakeholders from the European and global outsourcing industry.

A joint research report by CBC and Cyber Media will be presented at the summit. The report will benchmark the outsourcing initiatives of selected African countries, according to parameters that measure the capability and capacity of the outsourcing industry in those countries. CBC said the report aims to be a starting point for discussion for countries considering outsourcing in Africa, and highlights the key issues facing these countries.

The summit is being held at a time when outsourcing is going through major change, said CBC director general, Dr Mohan Kaul. A recent McKinsey report said the global outsourcing market in 2008 is estimated to be worth $150 billion, with the potential to double in the next year. The growth and potential of the industry has led countries such as India and China to look for partners offshore to match growing capacity needs. This need has led to the emergence of African countries as favourable outsource destinations.

According to Kaul: "[The] Commonwealth Business Council has made Africa outsourcing its main focus and is driving the agenda forward with this summit. We see Africa growing in strength, capacity and capability in the global business of outsourcing. We believe it will complement countries already within the outsourcing sector, such as India, China and the Philippines, and will bring its own diversity into the mix to make the sector even more attractive."

With improved connectivity, proximity to key markets, multilingual skills, lower wage costs and suitable time zones, many African nations are now vying for a share of the global outsourcing business, and there is a strong case emerging for African nations, concluded Kaul.

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