Features

South Africa has established itself as a quality, low-cost call centre destination. Despite ongoing challenges related to scarce management skills, high telecoms costs, a lack of overarching strategy and marketing plans, the country`s call centres are keeping a number of big international organisations very happy.

Although the location of AOL`s call centre in South Africa is one of the industry`s worst-kept secrets, the fact that the country hosts centres for UK retailer Asda, Virgin Mobile UK, Samsung`s European digital camera division and others, is a pretty well-kept secret.

IBM hosts a global delivery centre in Johannesburg, which employs 1 600 people. Opened in early 2006, the centre delivers technical IT support to more than 300 global and local customers; among others, Dutch banking group ABN-Amro, South African Breweries, Gold Fields and the City of Johannesburg. UK company Budget Insurance has a centre in Cape Town, run by subsidiary Fusion Outsourcing Services, which initially employed 40 people and will employ 780 by the end of next year.