South Africa has received the accolade of being “the most favored offshore CX delivery location in 2022” according to the annual Ryan Strategic Advisory Front Office BPO Omnibus Survey. This consolidates South Africa’s position as the emerging leader in global CX delivery. The fact that South Africa is sharing the spoils with BPO heavyweight India demonstrates the growth of South Africa’s reputation as a CX delivery location of choice in the BPO CX sector. A congratulations must also go out to all the others who were in the running.

The survey considers the views of nearly 700 enterprise contact centre decision-makers across the demand markets of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA.

Cape Town and the Western Cape continue to be the most sought after location for offshore CX delivery in South Africa and in the past year this region has improved its market share to 65% of all delivery in South Africa. In the last year alone more than 6,000 new jobs were created and the target is to double the present total of over 41,000 jobs servicing international customers in the next 5 years.

Clayton Williams, CEO of the Cape Town based sector body organisation CapeBPO, which serves as the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government’s strategic business partner responsible for the growth and development of the BPO sector, remarked “The Ryan Strategic Advisory accolade is a massive endorsement of all that is being done to cement South Africa’s reputation as the leading provider of CX services on the global stage.”

CapeBPO believes that the differentiator in the Cape has been its absolute focus on its CX offering and not to be distracted with other elements of BPO delivery. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic Cape Town was able to build on its reputation and attract new clients from primarily from the USA and UK. According to Williams, this was primarily due to the ever increasing supply of “natural” talent: “our people are the ones who are selling our destination and, sadly, due to a high youth unemployment rate of more than 50% the talent pipeline will remain full for a long time to come.” Williams also cites the collaborative spirit demonstrated by local government and operators as a critical success factor.

Williams believes that strategic projects, developed to support both supply and demand, will build the foundation for future growth and success: “Our co-funded skills programmes are hitting the sweet spot and in the last couple of years we have seen major US interest, built on the back of prolific growth with Amazon.” The region boasts skills academies which are targeted at supporting the verticals of greatest success: retail, telco, utilities and travel and tourism with more to follow.

Whilst the Cape offers an attractive price point as far as labour and real estate are concerned, it is the unity in purpose of all stakeholders, both private and public (both City and Provincial government) and the quality of a service-oriented skills base which will keep South Africa at the top of CX delivery locations for years to come. Williams believes strongly that Cape Town and the Western Cape will become the “Manila of Africa” and that the Ryan Strategic Advisory Front Office BPO Omnibus Survey bears the latest testimony to that claim. He no longer sees Cape Town as an “also ran” in the offshoring stakes. He sees Cape Town and the Western Cape as one of the new leaders in CX delivery.

 “Year after year we have proven ourselves as a quality skills destination. During the Covid-19 pandemic we have demonstrated resilience and shown the world that Cape Town and the Western Cape is a safe pair of hands for offshoring of business services. This year’s accolade is especially meaningful for all the stakeholders in the Cape, as it recognizes the hard work and effort that countless  people put in to ensure business continuity amid the pandemic.” 

“This accolade validates our collective efforts, and highlights what is most important: underneath all the glamour that comes with receiving such accolades, lies the heart of the Cape’s impressive and genuine success: authentic leadership amongst all its operators and public representatives,  an understanding of the needs of our people and a constant pursuit of goals that positively impact the careers, futures, and livelihood of Western Cape based employees and their communities. We are proudly South African and believe that the best contribution that we can make to South Africa is to showcase the excellence and world class service that has become synonymous with our CX-focused value proposition” said Williams.

About CapeBPO

CapeBPO is the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape’s strategic business partner responsible for the growth and development of the BPO sector in Cape Town and the Western Cape.

The organisation operates as a specialized member-based investment agency for BPO (including contact centres) as well as a regional trade association and networking body for the industry.

The main purpose of CapeBPO is to successfully profile the region to potential investors, ensuring the sustainability of the sector. Furthermore, through industry-led and co-created skills programs, CapeBPO facilitates talent supply to service current and future demand.

Contact us

Clayton Williams

CEO

[email protected]

Gareth Pritchard

Chief Marketing Officer

[email protected]

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