Wow I like the part about the wisdom I forgot the url of the document . I have attached it hoping I am not going against the list rules if any on document attachments Happy reading MM -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.k e] On Behalf Of Walubengo J Sent: 02 June 2009 14:10 To: mureithi@summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 1 of 10 :-BPO discussions, Policy Framework MM, Thanx for your insights - you seem to have re-surfaced with enhanced wisdom after some self-imposed silence ;-). I am however unable to place my hands on the document from Ministry of Planning that u say details the BPO sector/strategy. The one I could get @ http://www.communication.go.ke/media.asp?id=611 seems to be a shallow on BPO. Also you cite BPO studies you did for UNCTAD - Plse share the urls if possible. In the same spirit, I seem to recall that a while back the Kenya BPO Society launched a - was it a BPO Policy or Strategy. Someone should give us the url to such a document. In addition, it would be nice to know to what extend this Policy/Strategy was (not?) adopted by the GoK. Plse share your ideas since we have less than half-a-day to the close of this theme. regards, walu. --- On Tue, 6/2/09, Catherine Adeya <elizaslider@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Catherine Adeya <elizaslider@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 1 of 10 :-BPO discussions, Policy Framework To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 2:19 PM Muriuki,

Your input is interesting and you touch on a number of areas that even go beyond policy. I think the key in a study like the one the UON has undertaken is that the selection of the countries may not be comprehensive mostly (I believe) due to funding constraints but they do give a solid basis to inform policy in Kenya. As I have noted on this forum before, there are a number of studies that have been undertaken (most are not in the public domain) and it is time we geared their findings in a common direction for Kenya's sake. Therefore, some of the studies you mention below (and maybe others may mention) would be useful especially if the findings/issues are collapsed into the relevant themes. However, your analysis is useful.

Best,

Nyaki

From: muriuki mureithi <mureithi@summitstrategies.co.ke> To: elizaslider@yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Tuesday, June 2, 2009 12:11:57 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 1 of 10 :-BPO discussions, Policy Framework

Thanks Tim for the context, it is now feasible to participate

Walu you may want to revisit your structure of the discussions to ensure that your structure maps to the objectives of the study. A very interesting topic - BPO marketing strategy is not in your discussion structure and is key to success of BPO. This is one of the study objectives

On the questions raised by the moderator and especially Q2 - a more detailed document published by ministry of planning - Kenya Vision 2030, A Globally Competitive and Prosperous Kenya published 2007 is very detailed on bpo. It gives a detailed background on bpo, the opportunities and a strategy to exploit the opportunities. The Document further develop an approach , the target markets and the strategy with timelines that can be monitored. One would expect that operational details would be worked out by the KICTB which I believe was the intent of v2030

On the broader aspect of the question, it is necessary for the country to have a specific policy on BPO. A desk study we did last year for International trade centre of UNCTAD - BPO/ITO activity in Sub Sahara Africa:Lessons from BPO/ITOs activity in selected (13) English speaking countries in Africa - noted the advantage of a policy that is BPO specific . The need for a policy is in cognisance that a wide array of multisectoral resources need to be deployed to ensure success of the sector. That policy helps to bring together and coordinate those resources and create synergy. Nigeria for example developed and promulgated a BPO specific policy. The policy explicitly recognizes the opportunity presented by the sector but also notes the challenge the sector faces to exploit the opportunity, defines the role of the stakeholders and the contribution , incentives to realize the benefits. It also sets out the time frame but most importantly the market strategy.

In the policy development, the strategy to exploit is critical. It is inadequate to stress the huge size of the market and focus of that market(off-shoring) without addressing our capacity to exploit the market considering the global competition. We can learn from some of the successful competitors like South Africa who built offshoring bpo on the back of inshoring . likewise, Nigeria policy strategy is based on local outsourcing first. Clearly, It is much cheaper to build local outsourcing capacity and then use this capacity and skill base to exploit offshoring

In developing such a policy we should not lose sight of the fact that bpo is not an end in itself but a means to fully exploit the immense benefits of ICTs

Cheers MM

-----Original Message----- From: Prof Waema [mailto:waema@uonbi.ac.ke]

Sent: 02 June 2009 10:56 To: mureithi@summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions' Subject: RE: [kictanet] Day 1 of 10 :-BPO discussions, Policy Framework

Hi Muriuki,

Thank you for the comments. There is no complete report at the moment but it is under preparation. The idea is to share the results so far and discuss salient issues before we have a stakeholders workshop later on this month. However, find below some background info:

The overall aim of the project was “to undertake comprehensive research in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sub-sector in pioneer, emerging and mature markets to provide evidence and a deeper understanding of the imperatives for success in this industry to better inform Kenya’s policy decisions and investment choices”. The specific objectives were:  To provide empirical evidence and recommendations to inform the development of BPO legislation, policy and strategy  To identify the critical success factors that underlie the BPO industry in developing countries (in pioneer, emerging and mature markets)  To examine and provide comprehensive case studies of eight countries representing pioneer, emerging and mature BPO markets  To analyse the business environment/culture in Kenya in order to identify a unique BPO marketing strategy.  To provide a deeper understanding of youth employment and gender issues within the BPO sector in pioneer, emerging and mature markets  To increase the level of awareness and input among key stakeholders through interactive dialogue on key BPO issues within the Kenyan context  To contribute to knowledge in this emerging sector through publication and dissemination.

The project was carried out using the case study method and involved desk research on the Internet and in libraries, review of existing documents, key informant interviews and structured questionnaires. The case study involved BPO firms and relevant national institutions in six countries classified as follows:  BPO clients: U.S.A. and U.K.  Pioneer BPO services: Kenya  Emerging BPO services: South Africa  Mature BPO Services: India and Mauritius

The project is funded by IDRC and the University of Nairobi. It was carried out by the University of Nairobi in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Kenya BPO and Contact Centre Society, the Kenya ICT Board and KICTANET.

I am sure you can commend on the policy framework without a full report.

Regards

Tim Waema

-----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+waema=uonbi.ac.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+waema=uonbi.ac.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of muriuki mureithi Sent: 02 June 2009 08:47 AM To: waema@uonbi.ac.ke Cc: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions' Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 1 of 10 :-BPO discussions, Policy Framework

Hi Walu

Thanks for madaraka day gift - a bpo.

To provide a context of the discussion, could we access the full report. This will help us to understand some aspects for example the TOR/objective for the study, how the three economies were selected and the time frame of the study among other issues. There are some other economies that have promulgated some BPO specific policies and innovative approach to BPO development. A deeper insight on the context will help us to see how to introduce such thoughts in the discussions

Cheers muriuki mureithi

-----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke

[mailto:kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.k

e] On Behalf Of Walubengo J Sent: 02 June 2009 08:14 To: mureithi@summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Day 1 of 10 :-BPO discussions, Policy Framework

Morning all,

I trust you have had a well-deserved, long weekend. Today we kick-off the BPO discussion by focusing on the BPO Policy environment. Indeed Policy informs both the Legal, Regulatory and Insititutional frameworks such that if we get things wrong at the Policy level, then naturally, the rest of the frameworks will not fly.

The BPO Research (synthesis attached) established very comprehensive Policy frameworks in the selected countries of study - S.Africa, Mauritius and India. When compared to the Kenyan situation, the Researchers found that at a National level, BPO is simply listed as one of the six KEY sectors of the Economic Pillar within Vision2030. They also found that the National ICT Policy (2006) does not explicitly mention BPO - even though some of the objectives may implicitly relate to BPO.

Which brings us to the specific questions for discussion: Q1: Should we at a National level be placing emphasise on an "ICT Sector" or on a "BPO Sector"? which of the two should be a subset of the other? Q2: Beyond the BPO policy statements in our V2030 document, dont we need to do more by creating clear and monitorable plans/targets for the BPO sector - BPO Strategic Framework? How should this be done?

We have only today for your views on this since tmrw we move into the Legal and Regulatory frameworks.

walu. Encl: BPO Research Synthesis1:-Policy, Legal, Regulatory Frameworks

----e-Discussion Program outline----- 1.The policy, legal and institutional frameworks for BPO sector (2days, Walu moderating) 2.Subsidies accorded to BPO sector (2days, Walu moderating) 3.Human capacity issues (2days, Walu moderating) 4.Youth and gender issues (2days, Dr. C. Adeya moderating) 5.Strengths and challenges for Kenya as a BPO destination (2days, Dr. C. Adeya moderating

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