Joburg becomes SA`s call centre hub

Johannesburg has positioned itself as SA`s call centre hub, with about 60% of the country`s business sites based in the region.

This is according to David van Niekerk, programme manager of economic sector support for the Joburg 2030 initiative run by the City of Johannesburg. He says the city of Johannesburg is a profitable international destination for providing improved call centre services, mainly for the banking and insurance industries.

"Joburg has the largest base of call centres on the African continent, offering high value services to the local and international market," Van Niekerk says.

"The biggest international service call centre in the city is Merchants, a subsidiary of Dimension Data, which employs 1 500 agents."

He says the City of Johannesburg, in partnership with the SA Foundation and the Commark Trust, commissioned research undertaken by McKinsey to evaluate strategic ways of breaking into the international market.

"The report states that the call centre sector could create 100 000 jobs by 2009, with 60% of the business based in Johannesburg. SA could gain about $90 million in foreign direct investment, with 0.3% to 0.5% contributions to the gross domestic product."

Van Niekerk predicts that with all the direct foreign investments, Johannesburg will get most of the future business.

He says a Web portal and database will be launched on 6 August, to provide current information on the industry and serve as a one-stop reference point for potential foreign investors.

"We will also launch a business process outsourcing (BPO) marketing DVD that will be distributed to potential international clients at international conferences and trade fairs."

Other projects include a BPO skills hub, a joint venture with CIDA City Campus and the private sector to facilitate call centre agents` skills development using an innovative business model and a simulated training facility.

"Some 35% of people living in Johannesburg are unemployed. This is the best strategy for job creation seeing that other industries` entry barriers are much higher."

Van Niekerk says while the local call centre market has been strong and growing, the industry has not grown as anticipated.

"In the past, there was no strategy and no value proposition. The call centre industry did not come together at a national level. Growth in the local call centre sector will depend primarily on a collaborative international marketing approach and skills development initiatives."

Van Niekerk says there are problems with the local telecommunication rates but voice over Internet Protocol has improved international pricing to a competitive level.

"The business infrastructure in Johannesburg is the strongest in the country, with 78% of major corporations based here. Property rates are also low, especially in the CBD, and we have a sustainable labour cost based on the potential pool of agents coming from the 9 million people living in and around the city.

"In future, no city will compare with us in terms of labour costs."

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