Speakers at the Tech Entrepreneurs Forum (TEF) have argued that with the current state of unemployment, one area worth exploring is business process outsourcing (BPO), service delivery or remote working options, in which people operate remotely in and outside of their home nations.
Experts who spoke on the theme ‘Remote IT service delivery, challenges, and opportunities in Africa’ believe it’s one way to adjust and take advantage of the technology as it evolves.
“Unemployment is a big issue, and we think that getting our people to work for companies abroad while in Ghana is the way to go. And whether it is about IT services, document processing or anything that requires a group of people working for an organisation remotely is something we need to promote.
“And to do that, we think that bringing industry players-government institutions together will help us have a better conversation about the opportunities and how to tackle the challenges to ensure that we take advantage of the opportunity in this space. Countries like India and the Philippines have effectively managed this remote service delivery, and now they are employing a lot of people.
“There are companies like Mainone and also the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) that is providing data-centre services. We also have service providers in Ghana that provide in the space of BPO, and we think that if we were to bring these players together we would be creating a space where a lot of our young people can be employed,” said Executive Director, Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana, David Gowu.
Collaboration
He also stressed the importance of collaboration and engagement between the private and public sectors in this regard.
“Now collaboration and partnership between private and public sector is the most important thing we need to be able to do this BPO services effectively. That is why in this engagement, we brought in government institutions like NITA, a national IT agency that is the regulator of the IT industry in Ghana, Ghana digital Center, and Ghana Investment Promotion Center. They are all here because we think as a private sector we cannot do it alone,” he said.
Capacity building
For his part, International Management Advisor-AFOS Foundation, Mike Loose, noted that the country must increase its efforts in developing the capacity of its citizens, particularly youths, in information technology.
“You cannot see each element in isolation; we have capacity building for a purpose, and it’s to help students or graduates to move from capacity building and from being students into an employee or entrepreneur. As one of the speakers said about evolution, there is an evolution in capacity building. It must be for a certain purpose, and once you complete capacity building it should result in something and that is ideally employed for personal benefit and the benefit of the nation.
“Employment does not mean you have to necessarily work for a company in Ghana, but rather anywhere in the world via remote connection,” he said.
Infrastructure
According to Operations Manager at Ghana Digital Centre Limited (GDCL), David Ofori, BPOs are here to stay – but the correct infrastructure is required.
He explained that the Accra Digital Centre is a BPO hub created by government to provide world-class infrastructure and the enabling environment that will attract and retain ICT and IT-enabled BPO companies to promote entrepreneurship and digital job creation for accelerated growth.
“Ghana’s recent selection as host country for the AfCFTA should also be a major factor in encouraging BPOs by foreign companies to use Ghana as a base for expansion into the AfCFTA,” he said.
