Representatives of NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) and SACCCOM (South African Contact Centre Community), the Indian and South African national contact centre and BPO ( business process outsourcing) industry bodies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) designed to drive closer cooperation between the two organisations with a view to increased business and information sharing.

Commenting on questions about why India should assist contact centre and BPO growth in South Africa rather than seeing it as competition, Md Shahab, Vice President of NASSCOM said, “There are many reasons why this agreement is good for India as well as South Africa. For example, the global outsourcing trend now demands that companies spread their risk, which means they do not want all of their outsourced support services in a single country. Many European companies also require multi-language call centre support and India can only provide this in English. We see aligning with South Africa, with its excellent infrastructure, language skills and favourable time zone positioning as a definite strategic advantage.”

The agreement covers cooperation across a wide range of areas including the sharing of information, publications and research reports, joint surveys as well as best practice and lessons learned in the dramatic growth of the sector in India. It includes a commitment to joint trade missions and conferences, the sharing of contacts, the pursuit of mutual business opportunities and the facilitation of alliances with companies in each country.

“The speed of India’s growth to become the world leader in this sector is demonstration of what is possible when the right conditions are created,” said Mfanu Mfayela, CEO of SACCCOM. “We expect significant benefits to flow to South Africa from this commitment to cooperation with us, as we strive to meet the expectations for growth in this sector.”

SACCCOM (the South African Contact Centre Community), is the national association for the Contact Centre and BPO industry in South Africa. SACCCOM promotes the growth and development of the contact centre, BPO and IT-enabled services sector in South Africa and aims to ensure that South Africa becomes a preferred location for international investment. In accordance with the scale of transformation taking place within South Africa and the recognition of being an all-inclusive association, SACCCOM will drive transformation and broad based empowerment in the industry. SACCCOM is also established as a conduit for building new relationships with other professional bodies, government departments, overseas agencies and other agencies that have an interest in the successful development of contact centres in South Africa.