Business Daily (Nairobi)
6 July 2009
editorial
For the last year and a half, there have been few people as hard-working as the members of the Kenya ICT Board, the body responsible for marketing the country's outsourcing sector.
The board members spend most of their time travelling to international destinations in order to promote the country as a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) destination.
Their marketing road shows are created with the aim of boosting the country's image as an outsourcing destination, an industry the country is counting on to realize its Vision 2030 objectives.
The road shows were especially critical in keeping the industry afloat after the negative effects of the 2007 elections.
Rising from the shadow of the post election violence which presented a negative image for the country to the world, 2008 turned out to be an outstanding year for the body, which managed through concerted efforts with the government to boost Kenya's image abroad.
From an all-time low of just 500 functional seats in the beginning of that year, there were well over 2,400 by the end of the year, a figure that represented the highest number the industry had seen since its inception.
The term seats refers to the number of personnel available in an outsourcing outfit, who typically take on non-core functions for companies such as data input or client service.
But early this year, the effects of the global financial crisis led to a drop in the number of international contracts that were sent Kenya's way with the hardest hit businesses being several small outsourcing companies.
Several small stakeholders have since been forced to close shop due to these market forces.
At last count, just 18 out of an original 42 BPO outfits are still operating.
While the ICT board may be succeeding in wooing international clients, the truth is, there may not be enough outfits left operating in Kenya to handle the business the ICT Board manages to win for the country.
Alternatively, a select few operations may end up benefiting from the Board's marketing efforts while small entrepreneurs are locked out.
Given outsourcing's status in the future economic prospects of the land, it is untenable for the current situation that is seeing a few big operations succeed while the small start-ups fizzle, continue.
These small businesses need guidance and a greater understanding of how the country is positioning itself in order to survive. It's time the ICT board turned its focus inward.
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