Contact Centre Operations in South Africa 2021

Contact Centre Operations

The South African contact centre industry, which includes call centres, technical support and back and front office services for multinationals and South African companies, has recorded exceptional growth in recent years, driven by strong support by government through the incentives offered by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. The industry specialises in customer service and shared services, specifically in banking, financial services, insurance, and niche legal services. It is seen as an employment creator and foreign currency earner from outsource services.

Competitive Advantage

South Africa was voted by contact centre managers globally as the preferred business process outsourcing location in the world, after being placed second for three years in a row. More than half of the work performed by South Africa’s call centre outsourcing currently comes from the UK. South Africa’s competitive advantages include availability of skills, infrastructure, risk profile, business environment, English fluency and time zone alignment.

Government Support

Support by government, through the incentives offered by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, has seen the sector grow despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Global Business Services Incentive was introduced in 2019 to create employment for young people and contribute to the country’s export revenue from offshoring services.

Report Coverage

This report focuses on the South African contact centre industry, a subsector of the business process outsourcing industry. It includes information on the state of the sector, job creation, government support, and influencing factors. There are profiles of 40 companies including international companies with call centre operations in South Africa such as Aegis, CCI, Merchants, Outworx and Webhelp, and back office suppliers such as Altron and Business Connexion.