Fiji positions itself as Outsourcing Destination – Ms. Carol Watkins
The BPO Council Fiji is determined to create awareness about the Fiji brand as the preferred Outsourcing Destination, targeting in particular those in financial services, insurance claims processing, accounting back office services, debt recovery, IT help desk services, outbound telemarketing and in-bound multi-channel customer support in Australia and New Zealand.
Currently, there are some 3000 people working in the outsourcing sector in Fiji, with estimated annual earnings of $90 million for the country. The BPO Council currently estimates that if we continue to create market awareness for our brand and invest in our infrastructure to get us to the level where banking services can be outsourced to Fiji, then the Industry could possibility see the creation of approximately 15,000 new jobs in the next 5 years which would take the earnings for the sector to over $500 million per year.
Education and Training
The BPO Council together with the Ministry is lobbying tertiary institutions to add Contact Centre courses to their curriculum that are accredited to Australia and New Zealand standards.
We are also interested in increasing the focus on artificial intelligence to ensure that teaching material is aligned with the world’s demands today.
Incentives and Policy
We had have some success in the area of Incentives and Policy, where restrictions that previously existed to qualify for the 13 Year tax holiday were removed by Government last year. In last year’s budget also, the license fee required for BPOs was removed as well.
The Council is also lobbying for separate legislation to protect the industry and is also seeking tax incentives for investors that provide infrastructure and support for the Industry.
Infrastructure
Having an ICT infrastructure that is reliable and affordable is key to our line of business, and the Council will also work with key stakeholders to provide tailored solutions for the BPO sector. Whilst Fiji has made significant improvements in the infrastructure provided, we will need to ensure that our infrastructure is on par with Australia and New Zealand if we are to compete for banking work. Furthermore, in terms of building infrastructure the BPO Council believes growth is scalable with Major Business Park investments planned in the Kalabu Tax Free Zone (developed by the Lyndhurst Group) and Navutu Lautoka (developed by FNPF). It is also important to note that under infrastructure, reliability of electricity supply is critical to the success of the Industry.
Quality and Certification
To get more recognition on the world stage the Council will be lobbying for funding to provide assistance to members of the BPO Council for certification like ISO COPC Certification. Having certification such as these will go a long way towards providing credibility for the Industry in Fiji.
Marketing and Branding
The Council has prioritised the action items under this area mainly because of the immediate need to create awareness for Fiji as an Outsourcing Destination on the world stage as most organisations offshore looking to outsource are unaware that Fiji provides these services. To date we have finalised the logo and branding for the Council and we have secured funding from the Australian Government to allow us to hire a Business Development Manager based in Australia who will work with members of the Council to develop a marketing plan and generate qualified leads for members. A firm with extensive experience in this area in Australia has been selected by the Council together with MDF and is expected to start in the role as early as next week.