In the global contact center outsourcing industry, South Africa has arisen as a formidable competitor for offshore investments. The area is focusing heavily on educating its labor staff, improving infrastructure, and updating technology. In doing so, the area is offering attractive alternatives to market leaders like India and the Philippines.
According to Frost & Sullivan, one country of focus outside of the Southern Region is that of Egypt. The research firm reported that Egypt is a rising star of contact center offshore destinations. Comparative analysis has proven that it has good potential to become a location of choice for European companies, as well as an interesting alternative for companies based in the U.S.
Over the past five years, Egypt’s GDP has been growing and inflation has remained at stable levels. The country’s telecommunications infrastructure is very well developed, and the international long-distance rates have been lowered in order to promote the contact center industry.
Frost & Sullivan also noted that offshore outsourcing has become on of the keys to lowering operating costs, increasing the focus on core competencies and improving customer relationship management. The associated pitfalls to offshore outsourcing can be avoided by diligent location and provider selection process.
The World Bank has ranked Egypt as the number one global economic reformer in two out of three years as an investor-friendly environment. Since 2004, the new government has focused on making changes to attract more foreign direct investment into the country that boasts a favorable cost structure, skilled labor force and enviable location.
With the global players that are showing force in the industry – such as the Philippines, South America, China, North Africa and Eastern Europe – it is still a toss up as to who will be able to knock India off of its leading pedestal. Egypt offers a sustained 55 to 65 percent CAGR over the past few years, making it one of the fastest-growing countries that should be evaluated.
Egypt offers a talent pool that blends location and ethnic mix to achieve a spectrum of languages that cannot be found anywhere else. International call centers can be served in English, Arabic, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Hebrew.
The government also focuses on providing incentives for foreign investments. And, its location and proximity to Europe, Asia and the Middle East positions the country as ideal to provide call center services to countries around the clock, making it more attractive to companies all over the world.
While it is unlikely that Egypt will gain enough ground to give India a significant run for its money, it still will be able to compete effectively within the global market.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.