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PORT LOUIS: Mauritius, with its palm fringed white beaches and clear blue lagoons, is famous as a getaway resort for those wanting to escape the stresses of work.
But this Indian Ocean island has big plans to become a regional centre of business process outsourcing (BPO) — the emerging practice where companies farm out tasks such as call centre operations, accounting and administration.
Globalization has prompted an increasing number of businesses to outsource their non-essential activities to an outside low cost provider, often located in a remote destination.
The global BPO market is estimated to grow from $127 billion in 2001 to $234 billion in 2005 and $310 billion in 2008. Not surprisingly, Mauritius wants a slice of this lucrative market.
However, it does not aim to compete with major outsourcing centres like India, Australia, Singapore, or Philippines. Instead it plans to use its existing attributes to secure a modest portion of the BPO pie.
BILINGUAL LEGACY: The island wants to exploit its complex colonial linguistic legacy — the population speaks both English and French — and market its workforce as an attractive one for companies seeking to serve European clients.
There are currently over 20 BPO companies in Mauritius, employing about 1,300 people, most of whom serve British and French markets as well as the local market.
These include IT services and consulting firm Accenture, British-based human resources services firm Ceridian Centrefile, and Cendris, a Dutch company that offers services like information management and marketing advice.
“Our agents are bilingual so they can converse with French callers one day and British callers the next day,” says Peter Hansen, operations manager for local company Rogers Call Centre, which started operations in 2001 and employs 160 agents.
Situated 4,000km east of South Africa, Mauritius is also connected to the South Africa Far East (SAFE) submarine fibre-optic cable, linking it to Malaysia, South Africa, and then onwards to West Africa and Europe.
“A major advantage of SAFE is that it provides competitive rates and secure connection between Mauritius and the world,” says Dev Chamroo of the Mauritius Board of Investment.—Reuters
