Press Release – 22 June 2022 – Melbourne, Australia – A Fijian Delegation led by the Outsource Fiji Executive Committee President, Mr James Mastapha, is currently in Melbourne Australia, to participate in the 25th Australasian ‘Shared Services and Outsourcing” Week (SSOW) hosted by the International Quality & Productivity Centre (IQPC), Australia.
The Australasian SSOW is Australia’s leading shared and business services transformational event that brings together Australia and New Zealand’s heads of businesses across sectors such as telecommunications, finance, and ICT, including representatives from the Australian local governments, and the Fiji government.
Mr Mastapha says the event provides an opportunity to showcase Fiji as the destination of choice for outsourcing services (OS) as Australians recognize Fiji as a “place where happiness finds you” but few know Fiji as the premium OS nearshoring destination.
“Fiji is growing into the hub for outsourcing services in the Pacific and with the Fijian Government support, the sector has flourished over the past few years. Despite the economic impacts of Covid, the outsourcing sector was able to secure new clients and employ people at a time when many businesses were struggling,” Mr Mastapha said.
“Events like this provide an effective platform to generate potential interest and gather valuable market intelligence on the latest trends and learnings for our members. It also helps us strengthen Fiji’s visibility in Australia which is a key source market.”
“Our participation at events like this have been only made possible with the grant funding we received in the 2021-2022 Fiji National Budget, and we are extremely grateful to the Fijian Government for this support. I would also like to thank Australia’s Market Development Facility for partnering with us and providing us with technical and financial support to push the industry forward”, he added.
This Australasian SSOW event has attracted over 200 delegates this year. A significant portion of the event will be dedicated to panel discussions, break-out, and networking sessions, with case studies presented by major leaders in the outsourcing industry (including, but not limited to Telstra, Woolworths Group, Fujifilm, and the ANZ Bank).
Labour skill shortages and distribution have led to many Australian businesses choosing to outsource or offshore different functions of their operations in-order to de-risk and reduce overhead costs.
“Fiji’s outsourcing sector remained resilient during the pandemic, largely due to the immense support by the national government which recognizes the sector as an essential service. Fiji also offers a cost-effective solution for nearshore markets like Australia and New Zealand with our highly qualified workforce, neutral accent, low attrition and competitive rates,” said Mr Mastapha.
Outsource Fiji Executive Director Ms Sagufta Janif says following Fiji’s inaugural participation at the SSOW event in Europe, this SSOW Melbourne event will build on Outsource Fiji’s commitment to strengthen Fiji’s position as a premier outsourcing destination in key nearshore markets such as Australia.
The Fijian delegation also includes Outsource Fiji’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Ms Shivika Supriya, the Fiji Consulate General & Trade Commission Australia & New Zealand, Marketing & Communications Officer, Ms Shazadi Durrani, and personnel from
the Australian Government’s Market Development Facility (MDF).
The SSOW 2022 is being held from the 22nd to 23rd June.