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Cape Town - EXL, a Nasdaq listed business process solutions company, celebrated the opening of its new call centre in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The centre will support all regions that have customer relationships or processes conducted in English, particularly relevant to companies in the UK and Europe given cultural similarity and time zone advantages, according to Rohit Kapoor, vice chair and CEO of EXL.
The centre, situated in Cape Town's tallest building, the Portside Tower, currently employs 60 people, but this is expected to increase up to 3 000 jobs over the next three years.
"We're committed to growing this centre and will continue to invest in new ways to partner with our clients to improve business outcomes," said Kapoor.
The facility, which was inaugurated on Tuesday by Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille, is also able to support organisations with customers in South Africa.
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EXL provides operations management, analytics and technology platforms to insurance, healthcare, banking and financial services, utilities, travel, transportation and logistics companies. In 2015 Forbes recognized EXL as one of the 100 most trustworthy companies in America.
"Cape Town is the latest addition to our expanding footprint and we are excited to tap the rich talent pool within the country," said Pavan Bagai, president and chief operating officer of EXL.
"South Africa is a key extension of our global delivery model, which offers greater choice and flexibility as part of our operations management services. We’re delighted with the support we have received from our anchor UK client, local partners and advisers."
According to Gareth Pritchard, CEO at BPESA (Business Process Enabling South Africa) Western Cape, BPO capabilities are evolving to include highly specialised industry services, and South Africa is attracting new investment because of its growing infrastructure, skilled workforce and cultural affinity with the UK market.
"We have been working with EXL to build its own infrastructure in Cape Town, and are delighted to see its dedicated expertise and investment result in such a high value team and operation. The investment further adds to South Africa’s credibility as a mature destination that is able to provide high quality BPO services," said Pritchard.
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Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies has congratulated EXL on the launch of its Cape Town delivery centre, which follows an evaluation of global locations in Central Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Davies said the arrival of EXL Services into the business process services (BPS) sector is a welcome addition, not only as a new investor, but also because of the value added jobs created that further moves South Africa up the value chain.
"The announcement reaffirms South Africa's position as a credible Business BPS destination and follows on from the country’s recent nomination at the UK National Outsourcing Association (NOA) awards in the category, Best Offshore Destination of the Year," said Davies.
The BPS sector is one of the dti's priority sectors, attracting investment from English speaking source markets, in particular the UK. For Davies a key aspect of the sector is the ability to create jobs in the 18 to 35 year old youth age group and provide skills transfer.
The dti expects to see continued growth in the sector over the next five years as more international companies realise the quality of work delivered in the South African sector, associated cost savings and the ability to deliver complex processes.
He added that government support in the form of incentives and investment promotion further enhances the offshore BPS offering.
