Call Centre at the Cape

The establishment of Call Centres or Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) measures in general continues to be one of the most rapid growing sectors in recent years. Since the beginning of the new millennium this sector has seen significant growth. In the city of Cape Town we have now about 167 Call Centre /BPO companies with a total of 15,000 employees, making this sector one of the most important employers in the region. Since 2004 foreign investment in the Call Centre /BPO sector mounted to more than EURO 110m only in the Cape Town area. In 2005 investments increased again by another 19%.

European companies maintain Call Centres in South Africa

Also European companies have invested in the region around the Cape. Lufthansa for example, together with Global Telesales maintains its own Call Centre in Cape Town. Although there is only a limited pool of local employees with European language skills, an investment in the Call Centre/ BPO sector can be an interesting step for European companies. With the Immigration Act the South African government created the opportunity for companies to ‘import’ large numbers of foreign workers.

South Africa offers alternatives and has an aim

In the relation to other traditional off-shore countries such as the Philippines or India, South Africa presents an interesting alternative. From special importance here is the ratio of high quality standards and low costs. South Africa offers the most modern standards of communication. Furthermore South Africa closes the gap for European global players between the neighbouring countries in Eastern Europe, offering regional and cultural proximity and the traditional locations such as the Philippines and India, attracting business mainly due to their cost advantage. The South African government supports the development in the Call Centre /BPO sector and has ambitious goals. In 2008 South Africa wants to become number three outsourcing centre in the world behind India and the Philippines. Until 2014 the country aims for the second place.