The South Africa business process outsourcing market size was valued at USD 1.4 billion by the year 2019 and is projected to increase at a compound annual growth amount (CAGR) in the range of 13.2 percent from 2020 until 2027. The growth in the market is driven by advancements in technology, continuous innovation, and a growing the competition. This trend is expected to continue for the forecast time. The need for control of operating expenses, improve processes, concentrate on core competencies, and attract skilled talent is anticipated to drive growth in the coming years. South Africa has been home to many call center operations over in the past couple of years and has since gained international recognition as a favorite and reliable offshore outsourcing location.

It is also one of the leading destination for Global Business Services – or offshoring business processes. The right expertise, a massive capacity of employees, lower costs and easy-to-understand English accents are a few of many factors motivating companies to look at South Africa among their preferred outsourcing destinations. With the focus on the use of analytics as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven solutions, South Africa has a larger quantity of actuarial professionals as compare to India and is able to provide support across a range of languages, which includes French in addition to Spanish. The use and application of AI and robotics as a complement to a strategy for managing human resources could assist the established companies of South Africa BPO industry. South Africa BPO industry in competition with competitors in Europe and in the Middle East & Africa.

This is anticipated to accelerate market’s growth in the near future. In addition, Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA), that is the Top BPO companies in Africa industry body has played a key role in abetting the industry expansion through assisting with skill development by sharing best practices and offering its members connections to business networking networks and associations that influence the sector’s transition into the digital age. In addition, the South African government has introduced various tax incentives and programs for the development of infrastructure and supporting skills. One of these notable initiatives is Monyetla Work Readiness Programme. Monyetla Work Readiness Program.

The focus of this program is to broaden the quantity of employed entry-level employees. Through this program, known as the Monyetla Work Readiness Program, BPO employers lead a consortia approach to recruit and train entry-level employees. These initiatives provide young people with work opportunities and thus contributing to the region’s revenue from exports through offshoring services. In the past, the afribpo sector in SA has been growing continuously which has created new opportunities for workers, subsequently playing a decisive role in the region’s development. Outsourcing service providers believe it is because South Africa enjoys better opportunities when compared to other nations in Africa in providing BPO services to businesses. Cape Town has particularly emerged as a BPO destination that is a preferred destination.

Service Insights

The customer support segment was dominant in the market with a market share of over 31% in the year 2019 and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 220-2027. The reason for this is the growing number of service centers that necessitate online and offline technical assistance. Customer service BPOs focus on managing customer inquiries made via chat, email, phones as well as social media platforms and many other channels. Customers can contact them via chat, email, social media platforms and other channels. BPO business is flourishing within Cape Town and has risen dramatically in recent years and is likely to witness significant growth in the next few years. In addition, South Africa holds an advantage when it comes to client service BPO services. The capability to help companies cut costs overall, coupled with a rapid transition to remote work operations as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak has made south africa’s centers for customer service an edge over the other hubs.

The finance and accounting segment is expected to grow at a substantial growth rate of 13.6 percent during the forecast time. The benefits of finance and accounting BPO services in the cost reduction of finance functions is also driving their adoption across various financial institutions across the country. South Africa is steadily advancing in the field of international services to the financial industry. Several financial organizations are also increasingly settling on South Africa for establishing their African back-office shared services hubs as part of their global delivery networks.

End-use Information

The IT & telecommunication segment took the lead in the regional market, with a market share of more than 35% as of the year. The IT and telecommunication sector is one of the leading adopters of BPO services. In the IT sector, South Africa has performed a vital role in the realm of technical helpdesk and service desk due to its impressive communication skills. Further, the nation is comprised of a significant number of IT graduates with relevant technical expertise, which means that it reduces the obligation and the expense of training on the part of companies. South Africa continues to remain one of the top locations to outsource IT services due to the rapidly growing cluster of businesses. These firms provide IT-focused solutions to several industry verticals with respect to websites, development and architecture, and application and platform development. The increasing ICT spending in the country to ensure the regular maintenance of the existing systems for communication and information technology as well as the replacement of outdated systems are expected to propel the sector’s growth.

The BFSI segment is predicted to record the highest CAGR over the forecast time. A readily available qualified workforce, comprising Chartered Financial Analysts (CFAs), Chartered Accountants (CAs) and actuaries, have been the key driver behind success for South Africa in this area. In addition, global banks are embracing South Africa for the delivery of complex work in banking sectors, like life insurance and fund accounting. The country offers a vast array of voice operations in the insurance industry that includes commission handling, process of processing claims and policy administration.

Key Companies and Research on Share of Market

The marketplace is extremely competitive since the majority of major companies are concentrating on increasing their market share through various strategies for business like alliances, mergers and acquisitions as well as product development. These strategies can help companies expand their geographic reach and broaden their offerings in local and international markets. For instance, in the month of August in 2020 WNS (Holdings) Ltd has launched EXPIRIUS which is a distinctive customer experience (CX) solution that integrates human-assisted design with AI-driven conversations insight to improve customer interactions. Some of the biggest players operating on South Africa’s South Africa business process outsourcing market are:

• Accenture Plc

• Amdocs

• Capgemini

• HCL Technologies Ltd.

• IBM Corp.

• Infosys Ltd. (Infosys BPM)

• NCR Corp.

• Sodexo

• TTEC Holdings, Inc.

• Wipro Ltd.

• Mango5 BPO

• Indox (PTY) Ltd.

• Outworx Contact Centre

• SA Commercial

• Talksure Group

• Boomerang Marketing

• iContactbpo

• 121 BPO Services

• Altron

• The IT Guys

• Merchants SA (Pty) Ltd.

• CCI South Africa

• Capita plc

• Digicall Group

• DSG Group

• Startek

• WNS (Holdings) Ltd.

• Webhelp

• O’Keeffe & Swartz

• Ignition Group

• Rewardsco

• Teleperformance SE

• Encore Capital Group

• Pra Group, Inc.

• Paschoalotto Logo

• Pioneer Credit

• Credit Corp Group

• Collection House Ltd.

Segments included in the Report

This report anticipates revenue growth at the national levels and offers an analysis of the current trends in the industry from 2016 through 2027 in every sub-segment. To make this report, Grand View Research has divided in the South Africa business process outsourcing market report based on final-use and service:

• Service Outlook (Revenue USD Million (2016 – 2027)

  • Finance & Accounting

  • Human Resources

  • Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO)

  • Procurement & Supply Chain

  • Customer Service

  • Other

• Use Outlook for End-Use (Revenue USD Million (2016 – 2027)

  • Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI)

  • Healthcare

  • Manufacturing

  • IT & Telecommunication

  • Retail

  • Others