Outsource Global takes center stage at the Nigerian Exchange Group Closing Gong Ceremony
Gombe State, on the 31st of January 2024, marked a historic moment as our Founder/CEO, AmalHassan, took center stage at the Nigerian Exchange Group’s Closing Gong Ceremony. The event, themed“Gombe State: Leveraging on New Economies for Growth,” was a celebration of commitment andcollaboration. The invitation extended by the Gombe State Government to symbolically sign a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) was an honor. It signified the state’s dedication to exploring new frontiers foreconomic development and growth. As a key participant in this significant occasion, we were elated to contribute to Gombe State’s vision fora prosperous future. The ceremony emphasized the importance of leveraging new economies forsustainable growth, a theme that resonates deeply with our mission. The symbolic signing of the MoU underscores a shared commitment between our organization and theGombe State Government. It sets the stage for a collaborative journey, with a focus on economicprosperity and development. We are excited about the potential impact and the opportunities that lieahead as we work hand in hand with the state towards fostering growth. This event marks not only a milestone for Gombe State but also a testament to the power ofcollaboration and dedication towards positive change. We express gratitude for the opportunity andeagerly anticipate the positive transformations that will unfold as we contribute to the economicprosperity of Gombe State.
Outsource Origins: The Virtue of Patience
Having learned the value of not giving up, Amal started Outsource four times in a span of eight years. Moving to a new office in Kaduna, she picked up without resting her oars despite investors pulling out from her enterprise at the final stages of the launch.
Founder Institute Mentors Abuja Virtual 2022
Founder Institute Mentors join weekly feedback sessions and host office hours. They provide you feedback every step of the way. In addition, through Equity Collective, Mentors are invested in the success of your company both during and after the program. See the list of current and past mentors for the Abuja program below. Originally published by Founders Institute.
Amal Hassan Wins inaugural International Women’s Day Award 2022
Founder/CEO Outsource Global, Amal Hassan won the inaugural International Women’s Day Award 2022 at the #IWDNaija Gala in Lagos. Amal, who was nominated in the Private Sector category, was selected alongside Managing Director Procter & Gambles, Mokutima Ajileye, and Guinness Nigeria Breweries Company. She was recognized for her outstanding contributions in championing women’s political and socio-economic empowerment in the Nigerian Private Sector. The Awards Gala was organized by the British High Commission, the European Union Delegations and the Embassies of France, Germany, and the United States of America in partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). These awards recognized achievements by women and institutions across political leadership and governance categories, Private Sector, Arts and Culture, Media and Entertainment, Civil Society, and many more. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day celebration is “Break the Bias” and it encourages political decision-makers to ensure adequate space is created for women in politics and to advance women’s socio-economic empowerment. Women deserve to be celebrated for their extraordinary contributions to society, remarkable triumphs, and unmatched fearlessness. Women aim to promote gender equality in leadership, increase women’s economic resilience, and drive inclusion in peace and security in Nigeria. Amal Hassan was described as a champion who has empowered numerous women and youths through employment and the promotion of gender equality in Nigeria. The Inaugural International Women’s Day Awards Gala 2022 is an event that celebrates and recognizes champions in promoting women’s leadership and gender equality in Nigeria while inspiring accelerated action in fulfilling this goal. Outsource Global, a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company was birthed by Amal’s vision to provide job opportunities to women and improve their welfare with over 50% inclusion in the workplace. This has become a reality as her company employs over 1000 people with a greater percentage of women.
Kano Women Entrepreneurs Are Bridging Gaps
The conference was held in Kano and brought together women in businesses to share their stories. They shared practical advice to help and inspire other women entrepreneurs as well as start-ups. They encouraged them to take their dreams with compassion and pride. Some of the Speakers are Hajiya Amal Hassan, CEO of Outsource Global; Zainab Buba Galadima, a grassroot politician; Hauwa Bako, CEO HB Green Acres Farm & Agro Allied Ltd; Hajara Masaga, Founder of The Airmingle; Dr Amina Sambo Magaji from Digital Economy, NITDA, as well as Mr Abubakar Suleiman, MD/CEO of Sterling Bank Plc. Originally published by Daily Trust
EXHIBITION TO THE US SECRETARY OF STATE
Secretary Antony J. Blinken at the Innovation Exhibition
Listen, it’s particularly a pleasure for me to be here this afternoon. Two things really struck me when I was last in Nigeria a few years ago. One, was the incredibly vibrant civil society that we see in this country. I had an opportunity to talk to some of its leaders just a short while ago. But the other thing that really struck me the last time I was here was a remarkable spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. This is something that I had some experience in seeing when I was here. I was really eager to come here. I wanted to in a sense, see where things are – both to see some of the incredible innovative work that’s been done, but also to try and understand what the environment is like for innovation and entrepreneurship. And how that can be made even better going forward. Originally published by U.S. Mission Nigeria
Poised for Growth: Nigeria’s Burgeoning BPO and Customer Experience Industry
Nigeria is quickly emerging as an ideal location for the delivery of outsourced services to the global and domestic markets. Services such as business processes, customer experience and contact center. Noted for being Africa’s largest economy, the country has a heavy reliance on natural resources, especially the export of oil. Therefore, there is a need to diversify the economy and capitalize on opportunities in the business process outsourcing (BPO) and customer experience (CX) industry. Originally published by GBS WORLD
OUTSOURCE GLOBAL Celebrates 5TH anniversary, reiterates commitment to operational expansion and service excellence.
Africa’s Premier Outsourcing Growth Partner, Outsource Global recently celebrated 5 years of building strategic partnerships with companies worldwide, tremendous socio-economic impact and exponential growth. According to the National Bureau of Statistics 2020, about 21 million Nigerians are presently unemployed, inclusive of recent graduates, and Outsource Global is focused on empowering women and youth, mainly through the creation of jobs and harnessing their creative potentials. Today, Outsource Global has created over 1000 direct graduate jobs for customer care executives, sales, marketing, tech, accounting, legal practitioners and Healthcare professionals serving the global market. Most companies are now considering business process outsourcing as part of their business strategy, which helps them focus on their core competencies, ultimately leading to revenue growth. As a result, the global business process outsourcing (BPO) market size valued at USD 195.2 billion in 2017 is expected to reach USD 343.2 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 7.4%. (Grand View Research) Within 5 years Outsource Global has become the clear market leader in Nigeria, with a dominant continental brand. We are experiencing a gradual shift from more established destinations like India and the Philippines as we advance boldly towards our vision of making Nigeria the premier outsourcing destination in the world. Speaking at the 5-year anniversary event, Founder and CEO of Outsource Global, Amal Hassan, remarked: “We have achieved the milestone of 5 years through the dedication of our employees, well supported by our partners, clients and customers creating a brand of authenticity with the goal to make Nigeria the Premier Outsourcing destination.” She further remarked that “Outsource Global goes beyond serving the clients in terms of customer service and telemarketing, to providing professional services and knowledge processes spanning legal, accounting, medical, software development and allied services. The company is focused on changing the business model from a traditional vendor-client relationship to partnerships where success is jointly determined by the impact we make on the client’s bottom line .” Outsource Global is fast growing Nigeria’s image internationally as the preferred outsourcing destination and ICT business hub by developing a globally competitive information technology-enabled services sector. The Group Chairman, Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida acknowledged the impacts, a remarkable feat achieved by the company and Amal Hassan being the face of the company globally. In his speech, “Outsource Global is creating social impact across communities ……” Also speaking at the event, Group CEO of BlueTag Group, Uzo Eziukwu, expressed his optimism at the growth and impact of Outsource Global on employment, job creation and its relation to the indomitable spirit of the Group. The company at the award night recognized and appreciated employees for their commitment, loyalty, exceptional service and invaluable contribution to the growth of Africa’s premier outsourcing growth partner over the past years. As Outsource Global celebrates and enjoys this milestone, the company is laser-focused on building more partnerships with companies worldwide to positively impact the global business services and foster exponential growth. Amal Hassan revealed the next 5 years road map of Outsource Global which include establishing US operations in Delaware, opening near-shore international offices (including Spanish based offices) and increasing the employee base to five thousand.
The Road Map: Outsource Global’s 5 Years Timeline
In 2016, Outsource Global Technologies Limited began an ambitious journey. Jul 2018, Amal Hassan Founder/CEO Outsource Global was named among 16 women business leaders who made it to the 2018 Fortune-US Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership. Nov 2018, Outsource Global engages world leaders at the UN General Assembly on ways to expand employment opportunities for African Youth In 2018, Outsource Global positioned the company as a leading business and knowledge process outsourcing services provider in the region. Receiving the Innovative Contact Centre and BPO Operator of the Year at the prestigious 2018 Nigeria Technology Awards. In early 2019, Outsource Global expanded its geographic footprint to the UK. In an announcement by the company, following participation at the B2B Sales Innovation Expo in London. This expansion strengthened our footprint and reinforced the drive towards growing our global market presence. May 2019, Staff recognized as one of the Top 20 Employees in Nigeria. Over the years, Outsource Global has created a culture of togetherness and discipline and at the annual TAMS Summit, one of their employees was recognized as one of the top 20 employees in Nigeria for her commitment, dedication, productivity and dedication. Jul 2019, Outsource Global won Service Exporting Company of the Year. 2018 saw Outsource Global officially established as Nigeria’s premier business process outsourcing company. The previous year award only spurred the Company towards winning 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. Also in July 2019, The Company Extended BPO services to Japan. In the CEO’s statement “We embarked on a strategic expansion that not only allows us to serve the Japanese market, but an entry point for us to provide a full range of outsourced services to the Asian market.” November 2020 saw Outsource Global Extend its services to key players in Silicon Valley, USA. Since operations, the company has traditionally served mainstream clients in financial services, legal, social advocacy, consultancy and healthcare within the US and UK markets. Hence, Outsource took their partnerships a step further to have a working agreement with Business Reactors to introduce their services to key players in Silicon Valley. The year ended with Outsource Global partnering with Qwasar to Launch Software Development Department. Amal Hassan stated that “In one of the roughest years of the decade, we partnered with Qwasar, a global leader in tech talent training to launch a pilot 3-month training program for 10 young developers in full-stack development to Silicon Valley standards.” March 2021 saw Outsource Global Win 2021 Service Exporting Award, Outsource Global won the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Service Export Sector at the NPNEN Annual Non-Oil Export Conference, Exhibition and Awards 2021. Outsource Global only needed 5 years to build partnerships with companies worldwide to positively impact the global business services and foster exponential growth. The Company has created over 1000 direct graduate jobs, with over 50% being females, in an economy where the girl child needs significant support. Today, Outsource Global is the first ISO certified commercial delivery center in West Africa, and the first Nigerian international contact center serving the US, Africa, UK and Japan markets.
AMAL HASSAN PARTICIPATES IN NEXIM BANK LAUNCH OF EXPORT FACILITY IN KEBBI
Amal Hassan participated in the Women and Youth Export Development Facility launch (WAYEF) by the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, NEXIM at the Banquet Hall, Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State. The Managing Director of NEXIM, Abba Bello gave reasons why Kebbi became the first state where WAYEF was launched after the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. He added that the decision to launch the scheme in Kebbi was due to the strong enthusiasm shown by youths in the state. According to Bello, the United Nations Population projection for Nigeria in 2020 indicated that about 62 percent of Nigerians are below 25 years, while over 50 percent belong to the female gender and as such, this segment of the population cannot be ignored. Also, the Governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu gave a virtual address at the event where he expressed that the target beneficiaries of WAYEF launched by NEXIM demonstrate remarkable success towards achieving targeted objectives of the scheme. The Managing Director of NEXIM, Mallam Abba Bello enumerated the numerous facilities, services and programmes offered by the bank, including the newly introduced Women and Youth Export Facility, WAYEF launched on Thursday in Kebbi State, as the pioneer state for the scheme. CEO/Founder Outsource Global, Amal Hassan among others participated in the panel session which was moderated by Mr. Olutayo Omidiji, Head Strategic Planning, NEXIM Bank. She explained that companies in USA, the UK and Europe outsource a segment of their business to countries with cheap labour as this is done in order to reduce costs and increase revenue. Amal shared her story with everybody at the event, explaining how she started her first business with an IT Training center in Kano but found out after two years that a majority of those trained were still out of jobs. As a result, she researched the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and discovered that it provided about 2.2 million jobs for Indians at that time. According to Amal, Nigeria has the capacity to maximize the opportunities provided by the BPO industry with an abundant talent pool, good time-zone, excellent skillset and good English accent we possess over India. In her words; ‘’It took me eight years to start the company, and I started it four times and failed… we finally went live in June 2016 and today our company provides different services for companies in US, UK, and Japan’’. With over a thousand employees, Outsource Global provides telemarketing, legal service, customer service, software development services to its diverse clients in the world. Speaking at the event, the Executive Director, Business Development of the Bank, Stella Okotete urged the women and youths to embrace the facility provided to improve their lots noting that the Federal Government is determined to continuing the empowerment programmes.
Outsource Global partners with FG to Launch Annual Fellowship Programme
The Nigerian Government in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme and other private sector partners is set to launch a 20,000 yearly graduate job fellowship to be called the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme, NJFP. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday, attended the official announcement of the Nigerian Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP) at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. Speaking at the event, the Vice-President said “We are resolute in our determination to make the needed difference and rebuild the confidence of our young people in the ability of their government to rise up to the occasion and guarantee a future that is better and more prosperous than the past”. The event was also attended by the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mo Yahya and other distinguished guests including the Ambassador of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS Ketil Karlsen, the CEO Outsource Global, Amal Hassan, CEO SecureID Limited, Kofo Akinkugbe among others. Also, speaking at the event, Amal Hassan expressed that “this is an excellent initiative that will go a long way in solving unemployment in Nigeria, our biggest asset base is our talented pool of youths. This will provide them with the opportunity, the structure, and the system to deliver; and they will deliver.’’ The project tagged, ‘Nigerian Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP)’ is in collaboration with UNDP, EU and private sector partners such as Dangote, Visa Nigeria, BUA, Lafarge Africa, Microsoft, Outsource Global, among others. The programme seeks to connect young Nigerians directly with industry leaders to kick start their careers and help them gain valuable skills for a lifetime. The job training fellowship, is an initiative championed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, with the technical lead of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to mitigate the development impact of rising unemployment and underemployment rates in Nigeria.
Toast to an Invincible People
It is a testament to the resilience of the Nigerian Spirit and an innate grace to defy all the odds, a young lady from Kano State, Amal Hassan established Outsource Global, which is the first International Contact Centre and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Company in Nigeria, employing more than 850 people. Today, she has made Nigeria a global outsourcing destination. Each time they tell you that Nigerian youths are all fraudsters, tell them about Amal Hassan. Originally published by ThisDay
DEFYING THE ODDS OF SUCCESS-AMAL HASSAN
Amal Hassan shared her story with Dr. Soliman in a new episode of the Professional’s Lounge on Youtube shows. Amal who participated in the interview is the CEO of Outsource Global, Africa’s largest BPO Company. The Professional’s Lounge is a YouTube Podcast that focuses on discussing with professionals, entrepreneurs and experts in different fields. Dr Soliman is a Physician/Scientist, certified Career Transition and Life Coach and a host on Youtube shows. He is Youtube channels features a variety of shows with over three thousand subscribers. The Host of the show really expressed his excitement about Amal’s story mentioning how she had to survive in the harsh business environment and also the challenges she faced as a mother and entrepreneur whose company failed four times. However, defying the overwhelming odds her company grew from a startup to becoming the largest BPO Company in Africa. In Amal words, “people have to believe in themselves…change your mindset from it can’t be done to it can be done…” She also mentioned the strong faith she had regarding changing the lives of numerous unemployed Nigerian graduates, changing lives one step at a time. She attributed the support she received from her husband and family as key factors that propelled her to keep pushing despite the setbacks she encountered. Amal also added that looking inwards and having faith in your business idea will lead to success. She shared insights about the business process outsourcing sector and how Outsource Global Company has to compete with successful BPO companies by providing top quality service according to international standards, cutting costs and achieving clients’ goals with the best employees from around the world. Outsource Global as business BPO Company has grown within four years of operation from providing telemarketing and customer services to legal, accounting, software development as a service, respectively. They have been able to impact the growth of their partners and clients by over 25%. Amal has successful built an Outsourcing company that can compete with other top companies in the world with various redundancies from more than three fibre-optics providing strong internet service, top-notch power system with high-quality inverters, generators and many more. According to industry statistics, the market size of the Business Process Outsourcing Service industry in the US is about $54.8bn in 2021. The global business process outsourcing market size was valued at USD232.32 billion in 2020 and is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% from 2021 to 2028. This provides a unique opportunity for Africa, and specifically Outsource Global in achieving its goal to make Nigeria an outsourcing destination of the world. You can watch the show here.
Celebrating 50 Inspiring Nigerian Women
Amal Hassan, CEO/Founder Outsource Global was named one of 50 Inspiring Nigerian Women by BusinessDay Nigeria among other women such as the current Direct-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngonzi Okonjo Iweala. Kemi Ajimobi, Associate Editor Business Day Newspaper, put together this list as part of the celebration for the international women’s month in the Women’s Hub Magazine. She believes their stories would inspire women in every way. We congratulate Amal on this esteemed recognition. To see the full list: https://lnkd.in/eWC3HRW #Choosetochallenge
Leading Ladies Podcast with Marianne Rutz
Amal Hassan shared her experiences with Marianne Rutz on the first Interview session of the Leading Ladies series by The Operational Excellence Show Podcast. Marianne talked about the stereotype of Nigeria in the news and how it affected her perception. She also expressed her surprise about finding out about Contact Centres in Nigeria. She posted on her LinkedIn page; “…when I met Amal Hassan, Founder and CEO as #oursourceglobal I was intrigued, to say the least…Our conversation about her journey, her Why in business, her drive and her experience is amazing! Ok — I’m bias — I accept this — but I say it anyway!” Amal spoke extensively about the challenges she faced before establishing Outsource Global Technologies and one of her motivation is to change and impact lives. 🎧 Check out the full interview: ow.ly/kWTN50D7gCn# #contactcentre #customerexperience #leadingladies
El-Rufai inaugurates the Kaduna Investment agency, with Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II as Vice Chairman
The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has officially inaugurated the Board of Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), on Thursday 4th of March 2021. The Governor has charged the agency to amplify its effort in making Kaduna State the topmost investment destination in Nigeria, by improving its Ease of Doing Business ranking. Speaking at the inauguration the Governor welcomed all the Board Members and sent out a special welcome to the Emir of Kano & former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Muhammadu Sanusi II to the board as Vice-Chairman, he thanked him for accepting to serve the people of Kaduna State. The Governor highlighted the importance of KADIPA, and how its success has increased investment in the state, helping since 2015 to attract over $2.1bn in actual and pledged investments. Governor El-Rufai also mentioned that Kaduna State will not only be competing with other states in Nigeria but will also compete against all emerging markets, so he urged the agency to put in maximum effort to drive business to Kaduna State. In 2018, the World Bank had rated Kaduna state as the best sub-national in its Ease of Doing Business ranking and in 2020, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) also ranked the state as the first in the quantum of foreign direct investment attracted within the first six months of the year. Also speaking, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, promised to contribute his best to uplifting KADIPA. As a renowned economist, he has given assurance to give necessary input to the overall policy of Kaduna State. Amal Hassan the Founder and CEO of Outsource Global thanked the Governor and KADIPA for being selected as a key board member. She has promised to dedicate her time and effort towards achieving the goals set out by the Agency. Amal is big on changing the Nigerian Narrative, she believes Nigerian biggest asset is its people, so much so that Outsource Global has been able to create over 1000 jobs since its inception, serving the Africa, US, UK and Japan markets. As a Business Process Outsourcing Company (BPO) Outsource Global has capitalized on the skillset of the Nigerian people, with the country producing more than a million graduates yearly. Outsource Global has single-handedly put Nigeria on the Map as the next Premier Outsourcing destination.
WOMEN IN BUSINESS: AMAL HASSAN
Amal Hassan is a leading Nigerian technopreneur with diverse interests across different technology verticals in 2003. Amal set up the first organized ICT training institute in Kano that provides IT training to young Nigerians especially women. Her passion to unlock Nigeria’s developmental potential through technology-driven innovation and value addition led her to build, capitalize and restructure a series of technology-related businesses that succeed in developing talents and creating employment for young Nigerians. In 2013, she founded the Outsource Global, a contact centre business process outsourcing that now has offices in Abuja, Lagos, and Kaduna. Under her leadership, Outsource Global has emerged as the leading Nigerian contact centre provider, servicing the international market, turning the company into a truly global BPO giant, creating over 700 jobs and putting Nigeria on the global map for contact centre business process outsourcing. They have deep vertical expertise and unique understanding of the industry’s specific needs. They are known to put their clients at the heart of everything they do and deliver robust customer support solutions that span every segment of the customer value chain. As Africa’s leading global contact centre and business/knowledge process outsourcing provider, they are successfully making Africa and International KPO/BPO destination. They are the first IAOP compliant commercial call centre in West Africa, and the first Nigerian international call centre serving the UK and US markets. Hassan’s entrepreneurial prowess and business acumen continue to set her apart as a highly regarded business leader in Nigeria. Over the years, she has participated in local and international business missions and attended various professional and leadership courses, conferences and seminars both locally and abroad. Widely regarded as a role model for the girl-child and women especially in northern Nigeria, she has continued to mentor young leaders across her industry. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administrations from Bayero University Kano, Nigeria and a Master degree in Business Administration from the same university. Amal is a partner in Bluetag, the holding company for Parkway Projects, HealthStation, Bluetag Technologies, Bluetag Synergy and Outsource Global. Amal is also an Alumna of Fortune-US Department of State Global Women Mentoring Programme, which links young female leaders to Fortune’s most powerful women. By Kemi Ajumobi Culled from https://businessday.ng/women-hub/article/women-in-business-amal-hassan/
Women in Business: Amal Hassan
Amal Hassan is a leading Nigerian technopreneur with diverse interests across different technology verticals. In 2003, Amal set up the first organized ICT training institute in Kano that provides IT training to young Nigerians especially women. Her passion to unlock Nigeria’s developmental potentials through technology-driven innovation and value addition led her to build, capitalize and restructure a series of technology-related businesses that succeed in developing talents and creating employment for young Nigerians. She founded Outsource Global in 2013. The contact center business process outsourcing now has offices in Abuja, Lagos, and Kaduna. Under her leadership, Outsource Global has emerged as the leading Nigerian contact center provider. It services the international market, turning the company into a truly global BPO giant. Thereby, creating over 700 jobs and putting Nigeria on the global map for contact center business process outsourcing. Read more
OUTSOURCE GLOBAL CEO /FOUNDER, AMAL HASSAN, JOINS PANEL AT THE VIRTUAL LUNCH OF THE NIGERIA COUNTRY PRIVATE SECTOR DIAGNOSTIC
Nigeria, Africa’s largest market, is rich in natural and human resources. Yet, the country faces challenges which have hindered it from leveraging opportunities to achieve sustained economic growth and shared prosperity for its people. Our CEO and Founder, Amal Hassan joined other panellists, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank Nigeria; Kola Masha, Founder/Managing Director, Babban Gona; and Obi Ozor, co- Founder/CEO, Kobo360 to discuss the theme ‘Looking beyond COVID-19: Opportunities on the Horizon, Leadership in Focus.’ at the virtual launch of the Nigeria Country Private Sector Diagnostic. The opening remark was made by the Honorable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, and IFC’s VP for Economics and Private Sector Development, Hans Peter Lankes while the panel was moderated by Eme Essien Lore, Country Manager for the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Nigeria. The panellists addressed a series of questions about Nigeria’s private sector, including how their organizations responded to the COVID situation, challenges holding back Nigeria’s private sector, challenges deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as leadership challenges during the pandemic. As competition becomes more intense in the global space, investors or partners tend to depend more on a country’s reputation than on its actual attributes in making business and investment decisions. Amal noted that Outsource Global has proven to her international clients and partners, she can deliver even during the global pandemic. “We launched financial operations, Artificial Intelligence (AI), among other processes which were not in place pre-COVID era and constantly exceeded our clients’ expectations. Amal said, Outsource Global success during COVID-19 pandemic has given her reassurances that Nigeria is the leading Outsourcing destination.” Responding to the question about leadership challenges she faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amal noted employees safety, implementing a remote work structure to keep serving her local and international clients, and building trust and efficiency were the challenges faced during the period. She also highlighted the need to increase Nigeria’s market share in the business and knowledge process outsourcing space. Eme Essien Lore, IFC Country Manager for Nigeria, said, “Nigeria’s private sector is among the largest in Africa and plays a critical role in providing goods, services, and quality jobs to the country’s growing population. Addressing the challenges holding back Nigeria’s private sector — challenges deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic — will be critical to the country’s goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030. Through the CPSD, IFC, and the World Bank have identifiedpolicy actions and interventions that can help unlock investment and jobs.” Kelvin Njirai, Regional Director Southern Africa & Nigeria, IFC surmised by identifying four key points from the conversation with the Panelists, they include; Agility, collaboration, Learning and branding as pertinent factors in launching the Nigerian Country Private Sector Diagnostic. IFC and the World Bank have also published a COVID-19 Rapid Assessment alongside the Nigeria CPSD. The rapid assessment provides insights for stakeholders on accelerating Nigeria’s recovery from the impact of the pandemic.