Outsourcing and Kenya have never been synonymous. Rather, the term is better known in countries such as India, a place that is internationally known as a hub for technology and businesses. With countries like the U.S. and U.K. outsourcing to India and similar markets, they are utilizing its technological expertise and inexpensive labour for financial benefits. However, Kenya’s government has been pushing to make the country a major hub for outsourcing as of late. Recently, many Kenyan firms have capitalized on the outsourcing market and established themselves as a provider of call centres for various companies.

There are a few main reasons Kenya has been able to benefit from the outsourcing market. The past few years have proven to be exceedingly beneficial for Kenya in regards to technology and economic flourishment. In 2007 the government in Kenya revealed its Kenya Vision 2030 Program. The program’s aims include many development goals such as the use of technology, and emulating the success of countries that are known for outsourcing like India, the Philippines and South Africa.

Technology and innovation are a prime focus for Kenya right now and the country is utilizing this focus for outsourcing projects. The Kenya Vision 2030 program website states: “Through maximum exploitation of science, technology and innovation, we can initiate focused interventions targeting the elimination of absolute poverty; improvement of equity and access to social services; promotion of private sector development through a regulatory framework that reduces the cost of doing business; a sound legal system that protects property rights and effectively dispenses justice; all these underpinned by accountable leadership at all levels of government.”

Paul Kukubo, a member of the Kenyan government’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) board in charge of promoting Kenyan outsourcing for foreign firms said to the BBC, “It is not about taking India’s business away from them. The market is so big globally that the issue isn’t about competition. The source markets—the U.S. and the U.K.—are still looking for high quality, low cost destinations to do business.”

Undersea internet cables

Before the addition of undersea internet cables to Kenya, outsourcing wasn’t a great possibility. In 2009 high-speed undersea cables were put into place connecting East Africa with the rest of the world. Before these undersea cables, Kenya was not in a position to be a hub of outsourcing due to its lack of communication links with other countries, making the links too expensive for foreign firms.

With the addition of these internet cables, Kenya has increasingly become a competitive market in the information and technology arena. Before 2009, Eastern Africa was the only region in the world that was not connected through an undersea fibre optic cable. Because of this, Kenya and all of Eastern Africa relied on satellites which were expensive and slow, making it not ideal for international outsourcing. Other countries that already had undersea internet cables were naturally a more reliable choice for companies who needed outsourcing.

Kencall was Kenya’s first outsourcing firm, which started in 2005. Before internet cables were put into place, voice compression technology was utilized. This ensured that customers did not hear any delays in conversation as the calls all had to go via satellite first. Now, the cables have brought reliability and convenience to the sector as well as reasonable prices for outsourcing.

Job creation

Last year Kenyan Information and Technology Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo revealed that Kenya has a strategy to create up to 30,000 jobs in the outsourcing sector by recruiting at local universities.

The push for outsourcing also happened in regards to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy which will push the Kenyan economy more into technology. ICT has a strategy to develop Kenya into a regional hub. Ndemo believes that outsourcing will surpass tourism as a major source of foreign exchange. Outsourcing would not only create thousands of jobs for Kenyans but attract major companies such as international banks and airlines.

Though outsourcing has always gone towards India and other countries, Kenya is rapidly becoming a mainstay in the outsourcing business. In its future, Kenya may see increased jobs and less poverty due to its newly renewed status as an outsourcing destination. 

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