The dtic says the growing local business process services sector is evidence of what SA has to offer.
In a boost to business confidence, South Africa has won an award as the top global location for business process services. This is a sector that is rapidly expanding locally and exporting call centre and related services to other parts of the world, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) announced in a statement on Friday.
Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel said: “The rapid expansion of business process services is a tribute to the skills of young South Africans and evidence of what South Africa has to offer as a business and investment destination.”
Ranked number two last year, South Africa has beaten tight competition from India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Poland, Egypt and Northern Ireland to claim the top award for the first time.
The department said sector growth was interrupted by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic that led to the closure of businesses in many parts of the world.
“Patel issued regulations during the lockdown that enabled call centres to support local and global essential services to continue to operate,” said the dtic.
Further support was provided by the Presidential Jobs Fund during the pandemic.
Patel said the sector is a large and growing employer of labour. "The ‘re-imagined industrial strategy’ outlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019 laid the basis for growing established sectors (like clothing, poultry, sugar, and steel) and emerging or new sectors (such as call centres, the green economy, and digital industries)."
The statement noted that the South African industry believed it is poised to experience even higher growth rates in the years ahead.
The minister noted that industrial development is no longer only about manufacturing.
“Industrial development is no longer only about manufacturing – productive services like business process services (BPS) and film-making are examples of new job-creators that we are actively backing.”
