South Africa Named among Top Three Emerging Destinations - Boost for Western Cape Call Centre Industry

According to the latest Everest Consultancy survey, South Africa is among the top three emerging offshoring BPO destinations in the world. The Western Cape is a leading South African call centre destination and stands to benefit substantially from the positive sentiment expressed by the survey.

Western Cape Economic Development Minister, Alan Winde, was thrilled with the results: "The Western Cape call centre industry has become a global contender for offshore call centre operations, and a major source of growth and job creation for the region. This is in part due to the strategic focus placed on this sector by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism through its sector promotion agency, BPeSA Western Cape. They have successfully put the word out that we have several competitive edges, including our ability to offer a great service at a great price, and this has been recognised by major global players."

The survey aims to understand companies' perceptions and plans in terms of choosing global service locations and is made up of 340 respondents across multiple sectors - buyers, service providers and others.

The survey excludes India and the Philippines and focuses on emerging destinations such as South Africa, China, Brazil, Poland, Egypt, Ireland, Morocco, Costa Rico, Mexico and Singapore.

The results of the survey highlight destinations that are most likely to benefit from offshoring in 2011 and beyond. The results are divided into four specific job categories:

1. 0 - 1 000: South Africa placed second, behind Singapore.

2. 1 000 - 5 000: South Africa placed fifth, with China in first position, 7% ahead of South Africa.

3. 5 000 - 10 000: South Africa placed second, behind Brazil.

4. 10 000+ South Africa placed first ahead of Brazil.

"Being listed as one of the top three emerging offshoring locations worldwide is a huge vote of confidence, especially when you consider the quality of service destinations out there," says Gareth Pritchard, CEO of BPeSA Western Cape. According to leading BPO analyst John Willmott MD of Nelson Hall, South Africa and the Western Cape will experience substantial growth in the next few years, with continued BPO investment from the UK as well as increased interest from Australia and potentially the USM.

"As one of the key strategic locations in South Africa, the Western Cape has a vital role to play in the growth of the sector and I am confident that over the next few years, we will see substantial foreign investment into the region," adds Pritchard.