City welcomes the world’s top BPO decision-makers to Cape Town for the Global Sourcing Summit

Statement by the City’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille

Today, I opened the inaugural GSA Global Sourcing Summit and Awards in Cape Town. Professionals in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector came from across the globe to attend the two-day conference.

The Conference was organised by the City of Cape Town-funded Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPeSA), a special-purpose vehicle for growing the BPO sector in Cape Town. Delegates are discussing the latest trends and predictions affecting the industry and are providing tangible insights into subjects such as customer experience, robotics process automation, digital transformation and innovation.

Cape Town hosts the majority of South Africa’s BPO industry companies and continues to attract business from top firms across Europe, the United States and Australia.

The BPO sector is experiencing massive growth in South Africa with almost 40 000 people, mostly between the ages of 18-30, currently employed. Although the majority of roles in the BPO sector are contact centre agents, there are other career opportunities in operations, HR/training, sales and marketing, workforce management, finance, technical/IT, administration and facilities management.

In 2016, South Africa was named ‘Offshoring Destination of the Year’ at the GSA Awards in London.  South Africa also received the National Outsourcing Association’s (NOA) Skills Development Project of the Year award in 2014, the European Outsourcing Association’s (EOA) Offshoring Destination of the year award in 2013, and the NOA’s Offshoring Destination of the year award in 2012.

A few months ago, I visited the innovative Zoe Incubation Academy in Delft where young Capetonians are being trained at the first community-based call centre in Cape Town.

The City is supporting the pilot project that is currently training 42 unemployed youths and placing them with businesses in the BPO sector. The City is looking at further supporting the project based on the outcomes of this pilot.

The incubation academy is creating a steady pipeline of highly skilled individuals who can be placed in any call centre across the city. The BPO sector is one of the fastest growing and biggest job creators in Cape Town.

Cape Town presents a number of opportunities and advantages to BPO businesses to locate here, including:

• A rich talent pool with an English-speaking workforce
• Cape Town is in the same time zone as Europe
• Its natural beauty provides a high-quality lifestyle
• South Africa has strong data protection laws and standards, similar to those in Europe
• Good quality technology services
• Relatively low cost of doing business
• Closely integrated public transport system
• Complementary and supporting industries like the finance and ICT industries are also strong in Cape Town

The City also offers an enabling environment for the BPO industry to flourish. To attract investment, the City has created a checklist of indicators that we know are top priorities for investors. They are: reliable infrastructure, fast internet, energy security, clean governance, good air access, a one-stop-shop for investors, and a skilled and talented labour pool.

More than 60 000 students graduate with IT, engineering and other related degrees in South Africa every year. This talent pool is trainable in specific skills as witnessed in the experiences of Amazon and Accenture, which have paved the way for cloud infrastructure development, blockchain, artificial intelligence development and big data analytics.

Cape Town is truly keeping up with its commitment to be a globally competitive, forward-looking city.

New jobs are the quickest and most sustainable way to improve social mobility and take young South Africans out of poverty and into prosperity.

The GSA Global Sourcing Summit and Awards in partnership with BPeSA brings a commitment to create 1 000 new jobs in South Africa and the City is delighted to be a part of it.

ABOUT THE GSA:

The Global Sourcing Association is the industry association and professional body for the global sourcing industry, and the home of the Global Sourcing Standard, a world first for the provision of a portfolio of best practice methodologies and accreditation programmes supported by both buyers and suppliers of sourcing. The GSA is a not-for-profit membership association with fully licensed, affiliate and associate members, and serves to share best practice, trends and connections across the globe. The Global Sourcing Association has a presence across the globe and provides guidance in economies such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Egypt, China, India and the United States.

ABOUT BPeSA:

BPeSA is a non-profit industry association for the BPO sector in South Africa. The organisation’s core focus areas are attracting foreign investment, facilitating job creation, developing skills and creating an enabling environment for companies and individuals operating in the sector. To learn more please visit www.bpesa.org.za.

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Issued by: Media Office, City of Cape Town

Media enquiries: Zara Nicholson, Spokesperson for the Executive Mayor – Patricia de Lille, City of Cape Town, Tel: 021 400 4998 or Cell: 079 416 5996, Email: zara.nicholson@capetown.gov.za