The Contact Centre Operations Industry in South Africa 2024

Challenges

Higher labour rates compared to major competitors such as India and the Philippines. Increasing cost of electricity and unreliable electricity supply. Slow economic growth, could cause South Africa to lose it competitive advantage.

Introduction

The growing local contact centre industry is part of business process outsourcing, whose revenue is expected to grow at a higher rate than global growth. The industry is labour-intensive and has been tipped as a catalyst for job creation, particularly among youth. The industry’s growth is attributed to government support, infrastructure, a favourable time-zone, work ethic, English language proficiency and neutrality of accent. As unemployment continues to increase, more unemployed local graduates have been turning to the industry, which is targeting 500,000 new jobs by 2030.

Opportunities

Corruption and failing government call centres provide opportunities for the private sector to manage/offer BPO services. Growing number of international businesses outsourcing call centres to South Africa to reduce costs.

Outlook

The industry is growing rapidly and providing jobs. Cape Town in particularly has emerged as a destination of choice and is driving overall growth of the market. Government is expected to continue supporting the industry by offering financial support for companies outsourcing to South Africa. Government grants have focused on expanding operations with a strong emphasis on the industry’s high-value services in the information technology, finance, health, legal, and retail sectors. As more companies look to outsource their business processes, South Africa is likely to remain an attractive destination for business process outsourcing services.

Report Coverage

This report on contact centre operations, including private and government operations, includes information on the size of the industry, such as number of jobs and service providers, growth, trends and issues, notable players, data security risks and threats, government support and influencing factors. It includes profiles of 38 companies that are notable players in the industry such as CCI, Merchants, Sigma Connected, Teleperformance and StarTek.

Trends

Government support and incentives are helping to encourage international investment. Some players are expanding into townships and creating more employment opportunities.