Botswana is making the right move to develop a strong contact centre offshoring sector, states a report by independent market analyst Datamonitor.
However, the report, "Profiting from Contact Centre Outsourcing in Botswana", stipulates that the country`s government must immediately address the high telecommunications charges being levied to contact centres, if the industry is to be allowed to move forward and realise what could be a promising future.
"The excellent incentives which the government has afforded foreign investors, together with an educated labour force, are core strengths," says Peter Ryan, outsourcing and offshoring analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report.
"However, elevated telco costs are a major drawback. If the current charges remain in place, Botswana`s industry has no chance over the long-term, relative to international competition."
Target markets ideal for Botswana include English-speaking locations such as North America, the UK and Australia/New Zealand. Ryan also identifies SA as an excellent possibility.
"SA is rapidly becoming one of the world`s highest-quality locations from which to serve offshore customers. However, with that comes a higher cost per agent. Botswana is well-positioned to provide near-shore contact centre services to South African customers, especially given their close proximity and common commercial/popular cultures."
Datamonitor expects outsourced call centre agent positions in Botswana to rise from a small base of less than 100 to nearly 500 by 2009.
The report identifies a number of targeted incentives available to foreign investors provided by the Botswana government. These include training subsidies, low corporate taxes, a VAT holiday and the permission to import specialised staff from abroad.
"Botswana could be an ideal location of choice for offshore investors looking for new offshore opportunities," says Ryan.
But, says Datamonitor, offshore investors are concerned about extremely high call charges levied by the Botswana government. Not only are they significantly more costly than those found in most other offshore destinations, they also threaten the long-term viability of the contact centre industry, the report says.
"Botswana has half the equation correct. However, the local telecommunications provider must immediately address the high call charges being levied to contact centres. If it can succeed in reducing these levies to competitive levels, this industry will have nowhere to go but up."
Share
