NDESUMMIT: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RAGHAV PRASAD, DIVISION PRESIDENT FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, MASTERCARD ON LEVERAGING DIGITAL SOLUTIONS
At the Nigeria Digital Economy Summit (NDES), leading international and local investors, experts, and policy makers from across the world were present. They gathered to discuss vital issues under the theme “Leveraging Digital Economy for Trade & Investment.” The event took place at the Statehouse Banquet Hall, Abuja from the 14th to 15th of November 2019. This article was originally published by Ventures.
Magnifying Words and Sounds of Women at Ake Festival
An interesting session brought two women who have succeeded in their careers. Mo Abudu, acclaimed broadcaster and film producer, and Kano-based technopreneur, Amal Hassan both held the audience spellbound. They relayed their experiences, marching in a forest dominated by men. The session was moderated by Shoneyin. It was tagged ‘The Changing Face of Corporate Africa’. Abudu and Hassan urged all present (especially young ladies) to be ready to dare. They encouraged them on the need to stay focused on their dreams. And to be prepared to make sacrifices without compromising their integrity. Originally published by thisdaylive.com
OUTSOURCING FOR GROWTH
As a small business owner, the company has grown to an extent where you need an accountant, a lawyer, a content strategist and a tax advisor. But you cannot afford to put them on the payroll, and frankly, you don’t have the expertise to manage these roles. So, you’ve gone off the many freelancing platforms available. You post that you need freelancers to take up these tasks so you can focus on where the money is: convincing clients that your software company is nimble enough to deliver timely results. You get the freelancers but there is a catch: you will need to onboard each freelancer, make them understand your business ethos, teach them the peculiarities of your industry. Bottom line, you spend the next 6 weeks onboarding freelancers who will only work with you for 3 months. Then the cycle starts again. Mismanagement of critical business processes is one of the most common reasons why organizations fail to scale. Where a company wishes to allocate resources to processes that fundamental to the businesses, scholars and executives agree that outsourcing is the best route to growth. Outsourcing simply means that processes will become more efficiently done. When efficiency is established, business leaders can focus on core operations which will, in turn, lead to better outputs and increased business. Because Africa is gaining significant momentum as the next outsourcing continent with the radical industry growth experienced in the last 10 years, a company around the world who outsource to Africa will have access to some of the brightest and best minds in their fields without having to bear extraordinary costs. Outsourcing firms must by definition be up to date on the latest trends and technology in their industry. This knowledge is passed on to clients who may not have time for deep dive researches in areas that are not core to their business. So, companies can leverage specialized industry knowledge when they outsource.
5 SMART TIPS FOR CHOOSING A VIABLE OUTSOURCING PARTNER
Messrs ST Yakinson is an equipment manufacturer operating from Japan. Their clients are mainly in Europe. Over the years, as operations expanded due to increased business, activities such as payroll, inventory tracking, personnel management and material sourcing began to take its toll on the company. There was a high turnover of factory staff, entry and mid-level staff. The company recruited more staff to handle payroll and personnel management and a significant number of client care representatives to handle client complaints which increased by over 45% within two years. So, Messrs ST Yakinson outsourced. They outsourced about 80% of all back-office activities including material sourcing, client services, equipment purchase and maintenance, and personnel management. All was well in the first outsourcing year. By the second year, it became obvious that Messrs ST Yakinson was the only client of the outsourcing firm, as other clients had cancelled not renewed with them. Because of this decline, the outsourcing firm let go about 65% of their staff, keeping on barely enough hands to fulfil their contractual obligations to Messrs ST Yakinson. That affects the quality of service being provided as previously specialized services were now merged to reduce cost. By year three, Messrs ST Yakinson were back to the beginning — more client complaints, high staff turnover with an additional data breach of confidential proprietary information. Where did Messrs ST Yakinson go wrong? Let’s take a quick look at the process they should have taken when selecting an outsourcing partner. 1. Record of satisfied clients: would you trust your money to a financial institution that says yours is the first account they will be handling? How do you ensure that your funds are safe? History of satisfied clients with a critical look at the management team and financial assets gives one a sense of ease that such institution is OK to do business with. The same principle applies to outsourcing. While back-office operations can be a distraction for organizations whose expertise lie elsewhere, if not properly managed those operations can be the death of such an organisation. So, in choosing a viable outsourcing partner, ask for references from past clients to ascertain how long they have operated and how well they have served others. 2. Identify an area of specialization: Outsourcing firms have specializations. There are facility management companies, there are call centres and business process outsourcing companies like Outsource Global in Nigeria; there are also technical outsourcing partners. Understand aspects of the business which are non-core and shop around for an outsourcing partner in a renowned outsourcing destination like Africa. 3. Use of technology: how technologically ready is your proposed outsourcing partner? The hardware and software components of the outsourcing firm should be the latest available, with the capacity to integrate with resident systems of the contracting business. A clear communication line must be established; uninterrupted connectivity and power availability must be assessed. In essence, the operations of the outsourcing company must not interfere with their ability to provide the services your business requires. 4. Workforce Strength: If you are considering outsourcing because your business has to manage much non-core staff, you definitely should be looking out for an outsourcing firm that will is not cutting corners by piling workloads on limited hands. A viable outsourcing company is one that fully understands a clients process has made available the necessary manpower to carry out said processes. A way to know this is to review your partner’s hiring policies and processes to understand the technical and soft skills that they look out for when hiring. 5. Understand the costs: a rule of thumb is that businesses must never outsource their core processes. Any mishap with an outsourcing vendor will practically ruin the client’s business so businesses must be able to identify their core and non-core tasks. Also look at the cost of outsourcing: which region has the best rates with commensurate quality service? Africa is the new frontier in outsourcing and Nigeria is leading the charge to the best outsourcing destination in the region.
OUTSOURCING TO AFRICA — THE NIGERIA ADVANTAGE
In the last century, there was a scramble for Africa. That scramble was in fact the precursor to the division and occupation of African states with the aim of making them annexes or subjects of their conqueror. While the methodology of this partitioning and the eventual leadership style has been heavily criticized over the years, it is not dissimilar to how African states took possession of both the territories and people of their weaker neighbours. The principle of the exploiting one’s economic advantage over another to optimize or maximize profit is a fundamental precept that guides successful global conglomerates. This is also one of the reasons outsourcing has become a crucial component of business operations. But where should organizations look to when choosing the ideal outsourcing destination? It used to be that the Philippines and perhaps China were the most sought after nations where companies would offshore their back-office operations to. But that was before African governments and indeed astute entrepreneurs in the region began to pay significant attention to the overwhelming advantages that Africa has over other continents in the world. Where else comes to mind when one speaks of Africa than Nigeria? The population speaks for itself: the people are so many that clusters of brilliance abound. Its strategic position on the continent also means that its distance from developed economies is not an insurmountable obstacle, making it easy for business associates in Nigeria and the US to have engaging conversations without undue disruption to operations. Why Nigeria, when companies think of outsourcing? We’ll tell you three things that make Nigeria the perfect outsourcing destination in Africa. Nigeria is home to over 200 million Africans, making up over 35% of Africans in the diaspora. The teeming population of the country conatins well travelled people, and they bring back the language, culture and mannerisms of their host countries when they come back to Nigeria. The nation thus has an abundance of youth who are able to speak international languages exactly as natives of those places would. This makes communication effortless. Nigeria’s time is GMT+1 — same as the UK, 5 hours ahead of Washington and 8 hours ahead of Japan. What this means for businesses considering the perfect outsourcing destination is that Nigeria’s time zone is perfectly suited for business transactions across the globe. 100 million plus Nigerians are economically engaged. These numbers mean that the country has an abundance of eager employees ready to work. Compared to other countries with a significantly reduced youth population, it makes outsourcing operations relatively less expensive. Companies can thus get the best value at 40% – 50% lower costs, thus increasing their savings and freeing up capital for business expansion. Africa’s story has metamorphosed – it is not to be exploited with subservient businesses. Africa has significantly invested in communicating its significant value proposition to Europe, rewriting history as a place once conquered to a continent now valued. And Nigeria is leading the charge.
DBN Maiden Lecture
OUTSOURCED BUSINESS PROCESSES
The paradigm shift that the internet has brought about in communication has opened up a plethora of opportunities for outsourcing business processes across the continent. From offering single IT services, BPO has come a long way and now covers an array of operations that can be performed and managed away from clients’ location. Business process outsourcing is, therefore, a trend that is becoming common in organizations for services that have usually been regarded as intrinsic to managing a business. BPO is divided into 2 categories: Back Office outsourcing which includes internal business functions such as billing or purchasing, direct and indirect procurement, transport administration, logistics and dispatch, warehouse management etc. and Front Office outsourcing which includes customer-related services, marketing services, technology support, market research, hiring and recruitment, data analytics, web-related services, auditing, health care administration etc. Despite being unattractive, the Back Office contributes significantly to the success of any business, as it has the ability to impact the customer’s experience. Customers’ expectations are met and surpassed when Back Office work is done efficiently. Errors, leading to an increase in the volume of work that is done by the Front Office, on the other hand, can lead to disgruntled customers. The greatest challenge in providing a seamless customer experience is, therefore, balancing and outsourcing the different nature of the work done in an organization’s Front and Back Office. Outsourcing and especially BPO can be tedious and time consuming as there are numerous big and small steps (e.g. organizational culture, what business processes can be optimized, the outsourcing partners to look out for, and how to communicate the organization’s needs and desires regarding outsourced business process, to name a few) in between deciding to outsource and knowing exactly what business processes to outsource. A reliable outsourcing agency like Outsource Global will meet and exceed every Back and Front office outsourced requirements to help your business in order to overcome productivity blocks in order to survive the accelerated and intensive market competition.
Outsource Global Wins Service Exporting Award
Outsource Global wins the Service Exporting Company of the Year Award. The company has been recognized as Nigeria’s premier business process outsourcing company. Speaking during the awards ceremony, the Founder and CEO of Outsource Global, Amal Hassan said “our goal is to make Nigeria the leading outsourcing destination in the world. This article was originally published by TheGuardian
OUTSOURCE GLOBAL WINS SERVICE EXPORTING COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD
Outsource Global, Nigeria’s premier business process outsourcing company, has won the Service Exporting Company of the Year Award. The award was presented during the Nigeria Exports Awards supported by the Ministry of Communications, Nigerian Communication Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) amongst others. Speaking during the awards ceremony, the Founder and CEO of Outsource Global Amal Hassan said “our goal is to make Nigeria the leading outsourcing destination in the world, and we are glad that key domestic stakeholders are beginning to recognize the economic impact of Outsource Global in the industry and country at large. With over 850 employees, and plans over the next five years to increase that number to 6,000, outsourcing is an untapped market that only needs the right environment to thrive.” According to Mrs Hassan, “Nigeria’s BPO sector is able to provide substantial foreign exchange earnings to the country that will eclipse that of the oil sector. The country’s significant comparative advantages over countries like India and the Philippines have given us leverage in the UK, US and Japan where we currently serve clients looking for the best outsourcing destinations.” The Nigeria Exports Awards is an annual event organised by Afritex as part of its objectives to drive Nigeria’s non-oil export sector and utilising ICT to promote investments and exports. “We recognize that Outsource Global is the leading provider of customer/call centre services and customer service solutions in Nigeria with a focus on innovation, infrastructure and excellent service delivery,” said Oyesola Oworu, Founder/CEO of Afritex. Outsource Global is one of the biggest and leading African business and knowledge process outsourcing firms based in Nigeria, providing services such as data training, software development, back office outsourcing, remote sales development as well as market research services to businesses, NGOs and public sector clients across the world.
CHOOSING AN OUTSOURCING PROVIDER
It is important to note that the decision to undertake a Business Process Outsourcing initiative is not just to save cost or reduce overheads; it is also one of performance improvement of business functional areas that are critical. If the organization’s support team is overwhelmed by customer enquiries, then there is the need to consider a Business Process Outsourcing agency. If the development of an organization’s new product is slow, then there is the need for a Business Process Outsourcing provider. In each of these examples, the choice of embarking on the journey to outsource some of the business processes is based on improving the company’s performance in that process. With this advantage, it is therefore important that your organization choose a Business Process Outsourcing vendor carefully and systematically in order to minimize risk. The first step in choosing a Business Process Outsourcing vendor is to recognize that this is not just any other kind of project, but a technical one. Hence, the need to select individuals from the company that would act as the Business Process Outsourcing project management team. The reason for this is because the character of outsourcing business processes of an organization dictates the need for interdisciplinary skills to manage the outsourcing project and since such skills can hardly be found in one individual, managing the outsourcing process will most likely require a team. The team should have a head, who in this case is a member of the executive team. She, together with the chosen team members would be responsible for coming up with the outsourcing strategy, selecting and scrutinizing the outsourcing vendors, communicating its connection with corporate strategy, and making sure that the goals of outsourcing the organization’s business processes are achieved. The responsibility of choosing individuals representing the major departments (e.g. IT, Finance, Human Resource etc.) of the organization, who also work with the intending outsourced process on a daily basis also rests on his/her shoulders. Team members must be carefully chosen for their commitments to the organization, their capacity to embrace change, knowledge about the flaws and bottlenecks of the process and their capability to communicate and work with individuals from different disciplinary backgrounds. Choosing an outsourcing provider can be tedious by nature, since finding the right one is absolutely critical. There are numerous steps and processes in between putting a team together to eventually finding the right outsourcing business partner. Think of Outsource Global when your organization decides to eventually outsource its business processes. With our different range of services, from IT, market research, asset management, sales and marketing to customer relations that would cater to your company’s specific needs, we are your go-to outsourcing partner. We would meet and exceed every management, technological and strategic requirements which would enable your organization better strategize and focus on how to work with the current state of the market and attract more clients.
Outsource Global Extends Services to Silicon Valley, to Work with Business Reactors
Coming on the heels of its recent expansion to the UK and Japan, Africa’s leading business process outsourcing company domiciled in Nigeria has announced its strategic working relationship with US-based information as a service firm, Business Reactor. “We have traditionally served mainstream clients in financial services, legal, social advocacy, consultancy and healthcare within the US and UK markets. But technological advancements across the world shows that the tech industry is underserved,” said Amal Hassan, the Founder and CEO of Outsource Global. “Where else do we show the viability of this cost-effective business model to tech founders, accelerators and venture capitalists than the home of tech innovation — Silicon Valley. We now have a working agreement with Business Reactors to introduce Outsource Global and its services to key players in Silicon Valley.” Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is considered not only a simple cost-cutting mechanism but also a strategic initiative used to improve the quality of business processes while managing the bottom lines of a company. Such services are particularly important for tech innovators and global software companies that require acceleration partners to manage different operational processes to help deliver more efficient and lean growth while maximising operational expenses. “I am confident, with the company’s sharp focus and strong leadership skills, Outsource Global is poised for global domination,” Valeiry Galistky, CEO Business Reactors said. Speaking on the capacity of the organisation to handle the expected increase in client requests, Peter Oriabure, the Head of Infrastructure and Technology at Outsource Global said: “Keeping in view our strategic growth plan, and anticipating an increase in the number of clients that Outsource Global will serve over the next five years, we have established critical technological and infrastructural protocols to handle large client requests. We currently have about 800 remote teams working in three locations across Nigeria. We are able to increase that number to over 2,000 with 99.9 percent uptime.” Outsource Global is one of the biggest and leading Africa business and knowledge process outsourcing firms based in Nigeria, providing services such as data training, software development, back office outsourcing, remote sales development as well as market research services to businesses, NGOs and public sector clients across the world.
Outsource Global Extends its BPO Service to Japan
The Africa Business Process Outsourcing industry got another boost as the leading player in that space, Outsource Global, recently announced its expansion into Japan. Speaking from Japan at the recently concluded Japan IT Week, the Founder and CEO of Outsource Global Amal Hassan said “we are particularly excited about this strategic expansion. It not only allows us to serve the Japanese market, it is also an entry point for us to provide a full range of outsourced services to the Asian market. We are also thankful to ITC SheTrades for facilitating our participation at the Japan IT Week thereby giving us the platform to have these strategic conversations.” Asia is the world’s fastest growing economic region, with an estimated annual GDP growth of 5.7%. Within that region, Japan is the second best economy by GDP growth and third wealthiest in terms of GDP per capita. “With Japan being the 23rd wealthiest nation in the world, and home to global automobile giants we are confident of our capability to serve this new market. Our over 800 agents are spread across three locations in Nigeria and our facilities have the capacity to cater for over 2,000 remote teams who can work with organisations around the world” says Nusaibah Kofar-Naisa, the COO of Outsource Global. The company’s participation at the Japan IT Week was sponsored by SheTrades. SheTrades is an initiative of the International Trade Centre, has a mandate to connect three million women-owned businesses to international markets by 2021. The Japan IT Week is a B2B exhibition where the latest IT products and solutions gather in one place. Professionals in charge of system development and operation of social infrastructure, distribution, services and marketing attend the exhibition to implement new IT solutions and engage with optimal business partners. Outsource Global is one of the biggest and leading Africa business and knowledge process outsourcing firms based in Nigeria. Their recent expansion to Japan comes on the heels of the earlier announcement of their expansion to the UK where they will provide outsourced data training, software development, telesales and marketing as well as remote professional services to leading organisations across the world.
Much Ado About Business Process Outsourcing
The term ‘Outsourcing’ is not a new concept. The rationale behind it stems from the fact that if an external service provider can perform a business function faster and at a reduced cost than your organisation, then the strategic thing to do will be to outsource those functions unless they are core to the business. So sourcing out business processes already existed before now but, it was without the interconnected business networks that cut across two or more countries. The business processes that were outsourced in the past were limited to an organisation’s supply chain, which often involves the production and distribution of goods and services. In today’s contemporary business world, business and technology have become intertwined, such that companies are beginning to transfer non-core, yet critical business processes to a specialised and efficient third-party company in a different country. In some cases, organisations are outsourcing their entire back-office operations like human resources, technical support, customer service, finance etc. to control cost, compete effectively and extend their reach into new markets. Technological developments and networking in industries have therefore facilitated the outsourcing of products and services beyond national boundaries. In the context of this new normal, the BPO industry is said to have undergone a revolution. It has become an important new force in the global economy. Organisations are increasingly relying on offshore BPO providers for myriad of operations. In fact, having an off-shore team who apply their advanced degrees and technical skills in specialised areas is now the norm. Companies that outsource these core business functions to these agencies, thereby have access to new technology, intellectual and other material resources that would strategically position them for global competitiveness. The BPO revolution is upon us! The industry has grown and will continue to grow exponentially. Presently, two-thirds of companies worldwide already outsource at least one business process to third-party firms. This growing number of contracts focusing on BPO service delivery clearly demonstrates a belief in its value and the impact on the companies that outsource as well as the individuals who welcome the prospect to work with foreign businesses in their country. Outsource Global is an example of a truly global business outsourcing company, serving markets in the US, UK, Japan and Nigeria. Its 2000+ staff capacity facility in Nigeria is fully equipped with the latest technology to ensure that partner clients enjoy optimal service delivery.
Increase Productivity and Efficiency with Business Process Outsourcing
In today’s competitive world, successful businesses are often resourceful ones that apply innovative processes to significantly lower overhead costs without sacrificing quality and productivity levels. In fact, utmost importance is given to profitability at every level, and if any necessary business processes are non-core, then the alternative would be to outsource those functions for better productivity. Today, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is considered not only a simple cost-cutting mechanism but also a strategic initiative used to improve the quality of business processes while managing the bottom lines of a company. Outsourcing describes an arrangement whereby a company provides services for another company. This concept is not new, but it has evolved in recent times. The perception about outsourcing has gone beyond engaging a particular company for a specific operation (e.g. hiring security firms for superior security services and advice) to delegating or subcontracting non-core business processes to third-party agencies. If a business is then able to focus exclusively on its core business activities, costs will be reduced, overall efficiency improved and quality service rendered to its clients. The BPO industry is developing rapidly, indicating the increasing demands of organisations who must balance cost, productivity, and performance. It is, therefore, becoming inevitable for businesses to outsource some of its important services to not only achieve its business outcomes quickly but also to increase profitability per business process. BPO services that can be offloaded to be performed and managed by other agencies include market research, software development, accounting, human resource management, estate management, specialist support, etc. With an established local and global footprint in Nigeria, United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA) and Japan, Outsource Global is strategically positioned to cater to the needs of companies both in the developed and growing economies. The company offers BPO services such as data mining and training, image tagging, software development, remote sales development, market research, and back office outsourcing. Outsource Global currently serves clients in social advocacy, social networking, engineering and information technology, banks and public sector organizations.
Outsource Global at the Japan IT Exhbition Week
The Japan IT week kicked off today at the Tokyo Big Sight, Japan. It is one of the largest Information Technology show bringing together over 1,180 exhibitors and 70,000 solutions seeking IT professionals. Productive business discussions on sales, orders, and consultation are held between exhibitors and visitors. The week also contributes to the business expansion of all attendees. From the opening ceremony to exhibits and special events, Day 1 set the tone for what is sure to be an exciting week. Photos: To learn more about Outsource Global, visit www.outsourceglobal.com
International Women’s Day 2019: CELEBRATING WOMEN AT OUTSOURCE GLOBAL
Today is International Women’s Day and we are pleased to celebrate it with all of the amazing women in the world. We know so much more needs to be done to ensure women can be fairly represented at work, and we are dedicated to doing everything we can to build a gender-balanced workforce. At Outsource Global, we promote the principles of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion across our workforce valuing different perspectives, depth of experience and the strength and potential of individual teams. Gender equality is more than a ‘nice to have’ Time and time again, we hear that companies must do more to address this gap, and find concrete ways to welcome these ‘missing’ women. But it’s not just about making the figures look good to the outside world, ensuring a balanced male and female workforce can bring a financial boost to companies — studies have found that for every 10 percent increase in gender equity, there is a 1–2% increase in revenue. How are we bettering our own balance? At Outsource Global, we recognize the importance of gender equality and employ males and females in all roles. Women constitute 60 percent of our workforce and are represented in top management roles. That’s why we are supporting International Women’s Day and this year’s campaign theme, #BalanceForBetter. To make this happen, everyone has a part to play — all the time, everywhere. We’re proud to showcase our amazing women who create new and inspiring possibilities every day. We are Outsource Global, and every day is International Women’s Day! Regards, Amal Hassan, CEO Outsource Global. #InternationalWomensDay2019 #IWD2019 #BalanceforBetter
OUTSOURCE GLOBAL WINS AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE CONTACT CENTRE AND BPO OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
Leading Business and Knowledge Process Outsourcing services provider, Outsource Global, was named the Innovative Contact Centre and BPO Operator of the Year at the prestigious 2018 Nigeria Technology Awards held in Lagos. Nigeria Technology Awards (NiTA) is an award organized to recognize, celebrate and reward Technology entrepreneurs, innovators, academics, inventors, and policy makers (Government) in Nigeria. The award, as projected by the organisers, is aimed at building a large scale and internationally recognized Technology Awards in Nigeria. By rewarding professional expertise in the technology space the organisers have, in many ways, helped to build a culture that will in return promote innovation, healthy competition, and improve service delivery. Outsource Global’s Chief Executive Officer, Amal Hassan, who received the award on behalf of the company said, “Outsource Global is honoured to receive this award; and in a special way would like to thank our clients, partners and other stakeholders for supporting us throughout the journey. The award is a great step to further enhance Outsource Global’s brand perception and positioning as a leading business and knowledge process outsourcing services provider in the region.” Today, Outsource Global’s clients span the full range of industry leading and performance-driven brands around the world.
Outsource Global engages world leaders at the UN General Assembly on ways to expand employment opportunities for African Youth
The Chief Executive Officer of Outsource Global, Amal Hassan, recently met with world leaders at the just concluded United Nations General Assembly to present bold new ideas for job creation for African youth. Amal, a leading Nigerian technopreneur, who is passionate about fostering economic development through creating growth-enabled career paths for knowledgeable African youths through Global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), recently discussed with world leaders on ‘How to deliver a new approach that raises ambition and meets the scale and complexity of the challenge’. She shared practical knowledge and innovative ways of solving the unemployment challenges in Africa. Amal’s presentation, made at a workshop, during the 2018 UNGA, co-hosted by Theresa May (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) and Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister of Canada), had other world leaders and international actors such as Shinzo Abe (Prime Minister of Japan), Uhuru Kenyatta (President of the Republic of Kenya), Paul Kagame (President of the Republic of Rwanda), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (President of Ghana). Others include: Antonio Guterres (Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Amina J. Mohammed (Deputy Secretary-General of the UN), Bill Gates (co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Kristalina Georgieva (CEO of the World Bank), in attendance among many others. Her presentation brought to the fore, practical approaches to dealing with the African dilemma: “Job creation for youths is a major problem in most developing countries. Between now and 2035, Africans will have to create 18 million new jobs every year to keep pace with the rapidly growing population. The reason is not far-fetched from the fact that, the problem of unemployment is more complex in Africa than other parts of the world” As a promoter of youth empowerment, she illustrated how she has created employment opportunities for over 700 youths, and women in particular across major cities in Nigeria within 1-year using the instrumentality of global business process outsourcing, adding: “We are partnering with global investors and leaders to increase access to economic opportunities, create lasting jobs that will reduce the rate of unemployed youths in Nigeria, and bring about sustainable development growth across Africa.” Her presentation which met with a standing ovation has since generated much interest, commitment and focus around ameliorating the African unemployment issue leveraging BPO. This is now generating interest in partnering with Outsource Global in delivering private sector-led initiatives that can meet the scale of the challenge while creating truly win-win Economic relations between African and 1st world Nations. With this in view, it can be safely stated that African youth stand to benefit from these new ideas around employment and career growth potentials within the BPO sector. It however remains to be seen how readily the African Governments transmute some of the ideas espoused into policy frameworks that support the employment, economic exchanges and investment opportunities discussed.
The Enduring Partnership between the United States and Nigeria
Nigeria has a wealth of smart, talented, and successful people. Take the story of Amal Hassan from Kano State, who is a Nigerian technopreneur and CEO of Outsource Global. Last year, the U.S. State Department and Fortune Magazine honored her as one of 16 female global business leaders to join the Women’s Mentoring Partnership. And, here’s why. In just the past two years, she expanded her workforce from 50 positions to more than 700, with 70 percent of the jobs held by women. This article was originally published by U.S Mission Nigeria
MAKING NIGERIA A PREMIER OUTSOURCING DESTINATION: A CHAT WITH AMAL HASSAN, CEO OF OUTSOURCE GLOBAL
Interviewed by: Chukwuemeka Agbata (ChannelsTV TechTrends) Interviewer: What is Business process outsourcing (BPO)? Amal Hassan: Business process outsourcing (BPO) involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business process to a third-party service provider. Companies in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia outsource their customer service to mostly third-world countries for a cheaper rate. So, America international clients have been outsourcing to India since 1980. Interviewer: The Indian outsourcing sector is reported to worth over $150 billion. How can Nigeria take part in this market share? Amal Hassan: Nigeria has all the requirements to take part in this market share. Nigeria has English as its official language, we have good accents, with excellent technology, manpower, better timeline, talented and educated citizens. This puts Nigeria in a better position than India to Serve the International Market. Interviewer: So what has prevented us from taking over India in the outsourcing space? Amal Hassan: Lack of initiative, high capital involved in setting up business process outsourcing, and lack of awareness, Just to mention a few. Interviewer: The outsourcing business relies so much on technology. Do you have a computer science degree? Amal Hassan: No, I don’t. I studied Business Administration at Bayero University, Kano. You don’t need to have a degree in computer science to get into Information Technology (IT) business. All you need do is employ people with the Information Technology skills needed for the business. Interviewer: Looking at your background, why did you decide to go into this industry? Amal Hassan: In 2005, we started with an Information Technology training centre in Kano where we had trained a lot of IT professionals. We started researching what we could do to provide employment for the youths and women we have trained whilst I was dealing with a lot of Indians at that time. I looked at India and researched on what they did. I found out Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provided over 2.2million jobs and it kept increasing by 15 percent every year. From my research, I discovered we have all the requirements needed to set up a business process outsourcing firm in Nigeria hence, I worked towards establishing my company. Interviewer: As a woman in technology from the Northern part of the country, what challenges have you faced? Amal Hassan: The most common challenge I face is balancing family and work- to make sure the both don’t suffer. Also, I found out people do not take women seriously. It is very hard for me as a woman to sell what I do. For instance, prior to my establishment of the company, I met a lot of people for investment and they didn’t believe a company in Nigeria can service the international market. Another challenge is the environment. It is very difficult to do business in Nigeria as we all know. But for the passion I have to change the country, I am ready to succumb the challenges by providing employment for youths and women in the country. At Outsource Global, more than 50 percent of over 700 employees are women and 90 percent of the team leads are women. Interviewer: What do you think we can do to encourage more girls in technology and what would you say to leaders/government? Amal Hassan: By creating more awareness of the need for technology in Nigeria. We need to introduce technology to our primary schools’ system. I was not exposed to technology at a very young age. I got married at a very young age and had my 4 children in Kano. I went to the university as a married woman. It was after marriage my husband encouraged me to learn basic computing skills. In the North, we can introduce more schools, create more awareness so they can even learn IT while conserving its norms and traditions. If the Northern leaders can invest more in training youth and women in Information Technology, we will have more of “Amal Hassan” today. Interviewer: Finally Amal, as you work towards making Nigeria the premier outsourcing destination. Where do you see your company in the next 5 years? Amal Hassan: I see Outsource Global providing employment for over 6000 people. We have already opened 3 centres with a plan to opening the fourth one in North East very soon. I will keep on increasing centres based on my client needs. The current clients we have affords us the opportunity to expand our centres for now till next year. We have a stable plan to execute this so you can imagine when we have new clients, they keep expanding because we render better services and efficient delivery. Watch full interview: — https://youtu.be/1D8yPmnneJs