RE: [kictanet] BPO Industry Review (was Re: Stakeholder Queries:)Well spoken Liko! It is true that outsourcers tend to ask "who else have you done such work for?"...and that is where local companies come in. I agree the local pie looks small but if Government outsources a big chunk it is not too small and it will give local companies that experience to say ' I have done it". I cannot agree with you more that the ICT Board (Government) needs to open doors for private sector by SUPPORTING MORE PRIVATE SECTOR PLAYERS to be the FRONT FACE in these meetings. We need confidence building. Much as it is important that government officials attend these meetings, it adds much more value and translates into business when private sector is sitting in these meetings and being the front- talking stuff that the outsourcer understands! I strongly feel there should be a policy that for every business meeting that government officials attend, instead of carrying 3 or 4 government officials, carry 50-50 Private sector and Government. The results will be much better felt! I am not sure about the CEO of the Board sitting in the countries out there, how would we ensure he/she does not just join the others out there relaxed? I know of a few trade attaches in some countries out there that are creating linkages but can someone out there till me how effective most have been? I am challenging them to help us out, that is their job! The CEO of the Board need not add a burden to tax payers by joining them. His is to work closely with us here and get things moving on this end. My two cents. Great comments you have Liko! Gilda ----- Original Message ----- From: Liko Agosta To: Gilda Odera Cc: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions' Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 11:07 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] BPO Industry Review (was Re: Stakeholder Queries:) All that you guys are talking about is good ... but when I talk to clients they ask the following questions a. Can you do the job ? b. How much will you save me ? c. Have you done this for anyone else (especially in my sector/country) ? d. Can I talk to references 1-3 page executive proposals work better than 50 page proposals. C level execs never go past page 3 of proposals. They really don't care where I am working from Only 1 client asked about Kenyan copyright laws .. and our lawyer gave a sufficient answer... we got the work and have saved them over USD 500,000 About Safaricom and Land Registry and all this projects that keep breaking our hearts and hurting our feelings :) .... Let's assume Safaricom is has 400 customer services reps .... would they be an ideal client for any BPO in Kenya ? if they pay their employees 50k per month .. a BPO would have to charge them 100k per month FOR THE SAME EMPLOYEE across town. Now, maybe I have all this wrong but there are more than 10000 companies in the developed world with over 400 "clerical employees" who they pay an average of 3000$ per month. If you went and targeted these companies .... you can get 100k per employee, pay the employee 50k etc and the client will be happy, you happy, employee happy ... Many local clients take 60-90 days to pay invoices. In US for example, depending on state, it's illegal to hold a vendors payment when work has been done .. My point ... BPOs, Software Providers have to be willing to ignore the local market and focus on external sources of business. The local market is too small, too complicated and the waters are very muddied. About brokers and "consultants". I have been approached by quite a few. People who claim to have connections, venture capital and all that good stuff. I learnt early to say no. early. They are a waste of time in my book Kenya will not become a better outsourcing destination if we come up with ethics guidelines, an act of parliament and the like . now, those will not hurt . but we will benefit more if the ICT Board flanked companies when they are pitching their services to potential clients. By flanking I mean fly to meet the client, do research on financials, help with financing - have a conference in US and invite 100 potential and vetted clients to meet Kenyan providers .. This works like a charm here .. (if GOK spends 500k on tickets and 30 Kenyans are hired making 50k . - ROI is there pretty fast) If the CEO of the ICT board calls the CEO of ATT he is more likely to get a meeting and business as opposed to the CEO of Kamau Wanjala Outsourcers . again, I don't know what the ICT Board has been doing (am sure they have done a lot . may be like top secret strategy stuff) but in my opinion the CEO of that board should be based in US for like 90% of the year .. talk to clients, be a rain maker, schmooze, play golf and open doors. I have always felt that the ICT Board should headhunt and hire people with C level experience from either US or UK . people from the bigger consulting companies Bain, BCG, Accenture, Avanade, EDS . these guys work on million dollar outsourcing deals and have very good contacts. They also would be able to come up with a strategy immediately As Gilda has shown, the harvest is plentiful . Liko Agosta, CEO Verviant Consulting Services. www.verviant.com Phone : 1-919-341-1820 Fax : 1-978-268-8403 Toll Free: 1-866-551-4935 Pager: 9193891551@txt.att.net -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+likoa=verviant.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+likoa=verviant.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of David Otwoma Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 11:45 AM To: Liko Agosta Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] BPO Industry Review (was Re: Stakeholder Queries:) Dear Brian, Looks like you are fully re-charged after last weeks retreat in Naivasha on Strategy. Tell us some more of what is not confidential. Otherwise my wish is to take the baton from my able Chair and respond on bullet 3 in your beautiful rejoinder. As Chair of the Standards and Ethics Committee of the KBPOCCS we (are 7 members) did come up with Standards and Ethics Guidelines which took over eight (8) months to prepare and on June 22nd 2008 the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information & Communication led us (KBPOCCS members, KICTB who graciously sponsored the event at KICC, CCK, CSK, members of the public who have an interest in BPO&CC pie) into adopting the S&E Guidelines. The next milestone we wish to aim for is have the Guidelines upgraded into a Regulation or an Act of Parliament. Either achievement would be binding to all and sundry who operate in the BPO&CC world. A world which is moving the advancement of the human race from industrial age into information age. Just imagine Kenya having a binding law on Standards and a slice of the USD$310 Billion industry. It would make our young people, because they are the future force in the knowledge economy we keep talking about. What are the next immediate steps. Cozy relations between the Private Public Partnership. Another bullet I will let you peer into what you have been seeing but refuse to acknowledge is bullet No. 7. It was KPLC who introduced me to the world of BPO&CC when they sought S. African expertise to deal with their in-house contact centre better known to the general public (read Brian et al) as Customer Care Centre or Customer Relations Management. Ever wondered when power disappears at any time of the day or night where that 'frustrated' call 'agrily demanding 'where is power?' goes? Yes to a call center owned and managed by KPLC. KPLC as of 2005 when we engaged had a call centre running 24/7 with 210 seats in Nairobi alone. Telecom has a bigger one. Safaricom is soon overtaking Telecom with that news flash. Water companies have. So do all the banks, insurance, etc. companies both private and public owned. Since we have very able Chairs for Training, Marketing etc. I will stop there and go for my dear bottle.....tusker. David On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 6:12 PM, Brian Munyao Longwe <brian@caret.net> wrote:
Excellent Feedback Gilda,
So I see a few very clear issues arising out of your response:
1) There is a distinct global opportunity - but that calls for
appropriate positioning as well as preparation on Kenya's part
2) Capacity issues need to be addressed - knowledge transfer could be
on way - but that implies finding someone who is willing to impart
the knowledge - do they come from inside or outside?
3) Global standards must be recognised and adhered to in order to
ensure entry and competitiveness - what are these standards are they
clearly documented somewhere?
4) Many local operations have not had the exposure necessary/needed
to develop expertise/efficiency/etc - what kind of interventions can
facilitate this?
5) BPO is not the "Holy Grail" as some perceive it, but one piece of
the ICT puzzle that needs to be solved in order to help Kenya attain
it's ambitious goal of becoming a global ICT hub
6) There is a distinct and precise training need for personnel to
supply the Kenyan BPO industry with "bodies to put on seats",
presumably to allow the BPO industry to harness and deliver against
the global opportunity - what interventions (planned or otherwise)
are we taking to meet this target? How accurate is this estimate and
can it be verified?
7) Local Players - your website (must say it's very cute) lists quite
a number (28) - but I must say that I'm quite surprised at some of
the names I find there - didn't know KPLC was offering BPO services
for example - but maybe I'm mistaken in my assumptions....
8) Local opportunities: seems many/most local companies are looking
outside to outsource certain functions or simply "self-provisioning"
- why would Safaricom claim that it's too expensive to outsource
locally based on the price estimates that they got from industry. Is
there a need for our local BPO industry to do some kind of soul
searching and find ways of making themselves/their services more
palatable to local companies?
9) The industry for some reason seems to have attracted brokers - who
are watering down/diluting the true opportunity - what kind of
interventions do we need to "eliminate the middleman" - a seemingly
consistent argument in many sector e.g. tea, coffee, flowers, tourism
etc.....
Brian
On Sep 2, 2008, at 4:10 PM, Gilda Odera wrote:
Hi Brian,
You have raised very pertinent questions in your email below.
Let me answer your queries.
Firstly, it is true that BPO has taken centre stage in many
discussions surrounding Kenya's ICT development and growth and it
is a good thing, here's why:
We are looking at a USD$310 Billion industry by next year, up for
grabs for any destinations that get it right. India is currently
taking up 45% of the total share and China and Phillipines are
steadily growing. And what's more, it can only grow, with the fuel
prices soaring each year,what choice is there for the companies out
there to look for more affordable means of operating.
It is a fact that the western countries are looking for new
alternative destinations to Asia so they do not put all their eggs
in one basket, not with the terrorism threats all over. Where else
but Africa. Why would Kenya not put its house in order to take a
piece of this pie?
Now in regard to your comment on BPO taking centre stage in ICT
development, I would say one thing we need in this country is
opportunity for knowledge transfer done right here. We may produce
more technology oriented personnel but as long as we operate within
the Kenyan way of operating, we are not developing our personnel to
the global standards we want them to attain.Not because we are not
capable, but because many operations have not had the exposure.
I would beg to differ (and government can speak for itself) that we
are putting all eggs in one basket. BPO is but one sub-sector in
the ICT arena. Many other sub-sectors within the sector are quite
active. Software development is coming up and I keep reading
debates on KICTANET. There is an interest.
Content development is also being encouraged. The
telecommunications sector is busy preparing for real competition
and we the consumers can't wait for the benefits, they will have to
have great value adds and affordable pricing.
What steps are we taking to enhance BPO? I leave the ICT Board to
answer that although as Kenya BPO and Contact Centre Society, we
have presented to them the need to train not less than 10,000 per
year, specifically for this sector. Frost and Sullivan who are
normally 90% accurate in their new destination analysis says Kenya
will by 2012 have a BPO sector employing about 120,000 direct jobs
( you can add indirect by another 3-5) as long as the fibre optic
infrastructure is in place on time next year and marketing of the
country takes root.
Who are the players? Our members are on our website
www.kenyabposociety.or.ke . There are ofcourse others quietly
operating.
What are the local opportunities- Our biggest challenge is getting
local companies to outsource though some have started. We expected
the giants like Safaricom to play a role even if it is a CSR role
to demonstrate a level of confidence in the local companies. This
is possible, other companies work with those they outsource to for
a given period, and leave them running efficiently as they require.
All is not lost. Some local companies are outsourcing BPO work and
I wish to challenge Safaricom to outsource part of their BPO work
if they say local outsourcing is not competitive.
The international opportunities are the ones that I have mentioned
are worth $310 Billion. The ball is in our court as Kenyans to
market Kenya as a destination if we are to make any gains. We need
to attract direct clients and not the current brokers who are
exploiting the existing centres,much as their contracts are keeping
some of the centres going.
I hope I have addressed your queries.
Gilda Odera
Chair, Kenya BPO and Contact Centre Society
----- Original Message ----- From: "Brian Munyao Longwe"
<brian@caret.net>
To: "Gilda Odera" <godera@skyweb.co.ke>
Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 11:12 AM
Subject: [kictanet] BPO Industry Review (was Re: Stakeholder Queries:)
Hi All,
It is interesting that BPO seems to have taken a centre stage in many
discussions surrounding Kenya's ICT development and growth. While I
do believe that BPO/KPO has huge potential. I am a bit skeptical
about this "silver bullet" approach which might be akin to putting
all our eggs in one basket.
What if the basket gets stepped on by some giant like Malaysia, South
Africa or others?
I would be very interested in taking a much closer look at the BPO
industry in Kenya. Who are the players? What are the opportunities?
What is the potential for growth? What steps are we taking to enhance/
develop/increase capacity in BPO/KPO? What kind(s) of investments are
required to make this industry boom? What are the local opportunities
for BPO/KPO? What are the international opportunities for BPO/KPO?
I think that answers to these and many other questions will help
other like me who are a bit unclear in their minds as to how BPO will
be our saviour have a clearer view. It might also just show that BPO
is a contributing factor and not necessarily the holy grail that at
the moment seems to be the general perception.
Regards,
Brian
On Sep 2, 2008, at 8:25 AM, David Otwoma wrote:
Dear All,
"Comments from BPO operators and of course other Stakeholders"
please.
Safaricom in Sh1bn customer care plan (see Daily Nation page 28)
-------------------------------------------------
Many companies have been turning to BPOs as the financial benefits of
outsourcing continue to make it compelling, with cost savings and
efficiency improvements being the dominant reasons companies use such
services. However, companies biggest concerns on outsourcing
relate to
data security.
-----------------------------------------------------
The move, seen a precautionary measure in the face of growing
competition, marks a complete turnaround by the mobile provider which
in July last year had sought quotations from local Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) firms.
"Outsourcing the customer care function proved to be too expensive
for
the kind of quality that we required. We will just have to run the
service in-house," said Safaricom chief executive Michael Joseph.
http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/-/1006/466372/-/jiyt3xz/-/
index.html
On Mon, Sep 1, 2008 at 8:58 PM, Sean Moroney
<seanm@aitecafrica.com> wrote:
Dear Liko,
We would like to invite you to make a presentation at the
forthcoming
Outsourcing & Contact Centre Conference, which we will be holding
over 4-5
November under the auspices of the Ministry of Information &
Communications
and in partnership with the ICT Board. The programme of confirmed
presentations so far is attached.
It would be great if you would be willing to share your experience
with the
other participants.
Yours sincerely,
Sean Moroney
Chairman
AITEC Africa
seanm@aitecafrica.com
UK Tel: +44(0)1480-880774
UK Fax: +44(0)1480-880765
UK Mobile: +44(0)7973-499224
Kenya Mobile: +254(0)721-845674
Mozambique Mobile: +258-82-6181618
Nigeria Mobile: +234(0)802-0571766
SA Mobile: +27(0)724-577887
Skype: seanmoroney
www.aitecafrica.com
Please visit our discussion group on The Banking Technology sector
in Africa
AITEC Africa is the trading name of AITEC Conferences Limited
UK Company registration number: 4698475
________________________________
From: kictanet-bounces+seanm=aitecafrica.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces
+seanm=aitecafrica.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On
Behalf Of Peres Were
Sent: 01 September 2008 12:23
To: seanm@aitecafrica.com
Cc: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions'
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Stakeholder Queries:
Liko,
It would be great to hear from you and others, your insights into
sales and
marketing insights that can benefit the BPO, KPO sector. We can
continue the
discussion off the list.
Kind regards
Peres Were
________________________________
From: kictanet-bounces+pwere=cascadegl.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+pwere=cascadegl.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke]
On Behalf
Of Liko Agosta
Sent: 01 September 2008 10:33
To: pwere@cascadegl.com
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Stakeholder Queries:
About ICT Board and all these Boards .
Do they ever have open sessions where stakeholders can review
strategy,
advice, brainstorm ?
As CEO of verviant, I have been able to get business . I feel like
I have
insights into the sales and marketing process that can benefit other
software/ICT providers .
Thanks
Liko Agosta, CEO
Verviant Consulting Services.
www.verviant.com
Phone : 1-919-341-1820
Fax : 1-978-268-8403
Toll Free: 1-866-551-4935
Pager: 9193891551@txt.att.net
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brian Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com>
Date: Aug 29, 2008 9:31 AM
Subject: Re: [kictanet] ICT Board Strategy a Farce
To: wambuiwakarema@yahoo.co.uk
Very strong language - but I think you should relax as your
concerns are
unfounded.
I am at the Strategic retreat. Unfortunately Gilda Odera -
Chairperson of
BPO, who was supposed to be present had to cancel at the last
minute.
Brian
On 8/29/08, Wambui Wakarema <wambuiwakarema@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
I have read with surprise the Kictanet mailout from the ICT Board
claiming
they are going for a stakeholders strategy workshop in Naivasha.
Who are these stakeholders? Are there any representing the BPO
sector?? I
ask this because I have contacted the industry association and
they dont
seem
to be in the know either. This is quite bizarre, especially since
BPO is a
key sector of the ICT Board's mandate.
Who are the stakeholders from the other ICT sectors? Shouldnt the
Board be
getting input from key stakeholders at this workshop.
They are wasting government resources going to write strategies
and then
'presenting' to stakeholders, yet stakeholders should have been
involved
from the word go.
The
--
David Otwoma,
Chief Science Secretary,
National Council for Science and Technology,
Utalii House 9th Floor,
Mobile tel: +254 722 141771,
Office tel: +254 (0)20 2346915,
P. O. Box 29899 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
email: otwomad@gmail.com & otwoma@ncst.go.ke
www.ncst.go.ke
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-- David Otwoma, Chief Science Secretary, National Council for Science and Technology, Utalii House 9th Floor, Mobile tel: +254 722 141771, Office tel: +254 (0)20 2346915, P. O. Box 29899 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya email: otwomad@gmail.com & otwoma@ncst.go.ke www.ncst.go.ke _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: likoa@verviant.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/likoa%40verviant.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: godera@skyweb.co.ke Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/godera%40skyweb.co.ke