The coastal city of Cape Town has become one of the most attractive offshoring destinations in the world, thanks to a number of telco and government initiatives taking place in the city.
This month industry body Business Process enabling SA Western Cape and the Department for Economic Development and Tourism partnered with Internet Solutions (IS) to offer new telecoms incentives to international investors.
Industry players believe the deal will significantly boost the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector in the Western Cape.
This incentive offers free international voice and data services over the IS multi protocol label switching network for the first six months to all new offshore investors in the region.
Internet Solutions regional head Stuart Birch says: “This is a competitive offering and we are confident that companies will take up permanent residence in the Western Cape once the six-month trial period is completed.”
Jed Hewson, director of hosted contact centre company 1Stream, says in addition to the partnership, large operators such as Teletech, Stream, eTelecare and Amazon have created a pool of trained and competent call centre professionals and hosted companies across the Mother City. He adds that the operators have proven their ability to provide and manage suitable technologies.
“It's great to see industry and government working together to make Cape Town a world-class destination for call centres. Cape Town is already well-established as a BPO destination for the Euro zone and the UK.
“Companies like TalkTalk, Budget, Teleperformance and Lufthansa all have major centres here, attracted by much lower costs than those in the UK and a superb local customer service ethic,” says Hewson.
Other important factors include availability of competent staff as well as skills such as language and education, he adds. “This is followed by factors such as cultural fit, time zones, security and stability.”
According to Hewson, as international hotspots such as India and Manila struggle to provide enough competent agents at the right price and Arabic countries struggle with security, Cape Town rises as a desirable destination.
He points out that although the call centre industry in Cape Town is still maturing, it has the potential of providing thousands of quality agents. “As other factors such as connectivity choice, skills development, and government incentives come, the location becomes more attractive.”
He also believes government involvement is very much reactive to a thriving industry, assisting projects in progress. “More government funding could help advertise Cape Town as a great destination.”
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