The Department of Trade and Industry South Africa, has created 30,000 jobs through its Business Process Services Incentive Scheme since the scheme’s inception in 2011. This was said by the department’s Chief Operating Officer for Incentives Administration, Ms Susan Mangole.
Mangole was speaking during the visit of Members of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry to one of the beneficiaries of the scheme, Conduent which is based in Sandton. The MPs are on a two-day oversight visit to companies that have received funding from the Department of Trade and Industry South Africa.
“The objective of the BPS scheme is to create employment opportunities particularly for the young people of South Africa through servicing offshore activities. To achieve this objective, we have created more than 30,000 jobs by supporting forty-three companies through BPS at a cost of almost R1 billion. About 86% of the jobs are for the youth,” said Mangole.
She added that the scheme was also aimed at contributing to the country’s export revenue from offshoring services.
Mangole also said the business process services industry, which has been identified by government through the Industrial Policy Action Plan as one of the country’s key job drivers, has been growing at an average of 26% annually since 2011.
Internationally South Africa is recognised as a leading offshore destination for business process services with its highly competitive costs, deep domain skills, English-speaking talent and world-class infrastructure. In November, last year, South Africa won the Offshoring Destination of the Year Award from the Global Sourcing Association in London.
Addressing the MPs at the company premises, Conduent’s Senior General Manager, Jim Beatie said his company was grateful for the support provided by the Department of Trade and Industry South Africa. Conduent, one of the largest business process services companies in the world, was funded by the Department of Trade and Industry South Africa for more than R10 million in a project that will create 1,600 jobs over a five-year period.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, Joan Fubbs, said the purpose of the site visit to the Department of Trade and Industry South Africa-funded companies was to assess how the funds that the department disburses are making an impact.
“We would like to get first-hand information from the beneficiaries themselves on how the incentives are applied, whether they achieve their objectives, as well as the challenges companies could be experiencing,” said Fubbs.
Key role players in the Business Process Services in the United Kingdom who are based in South Africa have agreed to set-up a technical working-group with the Department of Trade and Industry to enhance South Africa’s value proposition. The decision was taken in a meeting that South African Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies hosted with BPS investors in London. Minister Davies is on a two-day visit in the United Kingdom to engage the government on Brexit transaction and to showcase opportunities for investment in some of South Africa’s priority sectors.
A number of companies that attended the meeting were pleased with South Africa’s service offerings. Davies also welcomed the Global Sourcing Association Summit which will be held in Cape Town, South Africa in October 2017.
Minister Davies launched the revised Business Process Services incentive at South Africa House in the UK in October 2014 to promote investor retention and expansion. As a follow up, Davies hosted a roundtable discussion with BPS investors during the visit which facilitated a fruitful discussion with companies on the future outlook for South Africa.
Minister Davies also met with Chatham House on the Trade and Investment Policy, including South Africa’s economic outlook. He stated that government was encouraging private-sector investment with the establishment of InvestSA, a one-stop shop to boost investment.
“The aim is to remove administrative barriers, reduce regulatory inefficiencies, improve turnaround times, and coordinate and fast-tract investment enquiries,” said Davies.
