The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the outsourcing landscape the world over, and Egypt has fared better than most in these uncertain times, establishing itself as a primary destination for the delivery of such services. With Xceed as one of the major Egyptian players providing extensive and high-quality outsourcing services to major clients both domestic and international – and re-entering the UK market with vigour – it is clear the Egyptian Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector is a force to be reckoned with.
Egypt is favourable to the UK
With the generous investment in telecom, the Egyptian government supports the outsourcing industry well. This combines with a sophisticated network of universities and institutes producing over 330,000 skilled graduates, every year, qualified to work in the sector. Considering its position as a regional leader in education and innovation, along with highly competitive operating costs, it is clear there are real advantages to be gained from engaging with Egyptian outsourcing companies.
Infrastructure
Under Egypt’s 2030 strategy, billions of dollars are being invested on upgrading and expanding high-quality digital services across the country. This is ensuring Egypt re-emerges as a key global provider in high value BPO services. The technology-enabled business sector benefits greatly from Egypt’s superior technological infrastructure, especially with millions of Egyptians now working from home due the virus. The country’s sophisticated and extensive fibre-optic networks have meant that disruption to BPO service delivery has been minimal.
Around one-third of global internet traffic travels through Egypt, and the country’s strong operational resilience – despite the challenges of a global pandemic – demonstrate its value as a high-quality and reliable BPO service provider for international and domestic clients alike. Egyptian outsourcing companies have demonstrated their flexibility and strength of service, reflected in their strong performance and ability to navigate rapidly changing consumer habits and client needs with ease.
Xceed is a case in point, their handling of BPO operations in the past year is particularly commendable, with the company being shortlisted for the GSA UK award for the ‘Best Corporate Response to COVID-19.’ Even with a significant increase in homeworking, Xceed has maintained quality of service and continue to be awarded excellent Call Center and Customer Experience Operations standards (COPC), something they have had since 2006.
and was endorsed by continuing– further demonstrating the high degree of adaptability and commitment to delivery among BPO service providers in Egypt.
Talent
Yielding a large and diverse pool of graduates every year, Egypt is home to fifty universities and more than one-hundred academic institutions. The highly skilled graduates are well-suited candidates for employment in the BPO workforce because they mainly come from information technology, science and linguistic backgrounds.
Egypt boasts an impressive supply of multilingual talent, with large numbers being proficient in English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Russian and Turkish, among others. Egypt’s highly skilled people enable the provision of quality BPO services to wide range of international clients, supporting operations in an array of countries. At the forefront of the global BPO sector, Egypt has much to offer, and with large numbers of talented, English speaking graduates, the UK is well-placed to benefit from offshore outsourcing in the region.
Staying with Xceed as an example, as well as supporting critical facilities in Egypt, such as the ambulance service and COVID hotline, they also support overseas operations in nine languages and offer companies with a trans-national presence a centralised location for service delivery. They have developed long-term partnerships in sectors such as telecommunications, tourism, F&B, and automotive. With high levels of English language proficiency amongst its workforce, Xceed deliver exceptional service to UK clients, re-entering UK markets with considerable ease despite this protracted period of global uncertainty.
Egypt’s impressive education system supports its reputation as a leading provider of global BPO services, guaranteeing a diverse, motivated, and talented workforce, and affirming its status as a significant destination for offshore outsourcing services.
Cost
Aside from its favourable, central geographic positioning, Egypt also continues to be one of the most cost-effective countries internationally.It enjoys some of the most-competitive operating costs in the EMEA region, with pricing of BPO resources and salaries comparable to those of other high-profile offshore players like the Philippines and Malaysia. Egypt is certainly a desirable destination; especially for tier-2 locations like the UK, where operating costs can be up to five times greater.
Being mindful of the disruption faced by the BPO sector, especially in the UK where the pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities, the Covid19 outbreak has highlighted the benefits of outsourcing business processing overseas. As one of Egypt’s longest-serving providers, Xceed’s extensive and omni-channel solutions are especially appealing to UK markets, whose own operations providers have been slow to adapt to changing habits, and the rapid need for the digitisation of BPO services.
Worldwide, companies are struggling to contend with the economic, social, and logistical challenges caused by the COVID virus. There has never been a better time to consider the benefits of offshore outsourcing. Egypt stands out as a nation which fared well throughout the pandemic, and who have re-emerged as key players in this new dawn for the global BPO industry.
