Free SA data for foreign BPO

In an effort to attract foreign investors, BPeSA Western Cape and the Department for Economic Development and Tourism have partnered with Internet Solutions to offer free international voice and data services for the first six months.

BPeSA Western Cape and the Department for Economic Development and Tourism have partnered with Internet Solutions (IS) to offer a new telecoms incentive to international investors that will significantly boost the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector in the Western Cape.

The telecoms incentive offers free international voice and data services over the IS MPLS Network (Multi Protocol Label Switching) for the first 6 months to all new offshore investors to the region.

‚Traditionally high telecoms costs have been a limiting factor for new investors: with the new incentive, this limitation has been significantly reduced,‚ says Gareth Pritchard CEO of BPeSA Western Cape.

The telco incentive compliments the Department of Trade & Industries national incentive scheme which provides wage subsidisation for local employees of R40,000/employee for the 1st year, R40,000/employee for the 2nd and R32,000/employee for the 3rd year.

‚By combining these two offerings, the Western Cape is able to provide a highly competitive value proposition that rivals the world’s top BPO destinations,‚ says Pritchard.

Regional Head of Internet Solutions, Stuart Birch says that Internet Solutions is pleased to come on board with this incentive offering. ‚BPeSA Western Cape approached us to get involved in this initiative and we felt it was a good fit for our business. This is a competitive offering and we are confident that companies will take up permanent residence in the Western Cape once the 6-month trial period is completed.‚

Alan Winde, Minister for Finance, Economics Development and Tourism in the Western Cape, says his department is focused on building the province into an attractive place to live and work by increasing our competitive edge in terms of pricing and by building an appropriately skilled workforce.

‚Major players, such as Bloomberg and Amazon, have recognised this and have chosen to base their operations here. This incentive will induce others to follow suit and puts us on track to build the Western Cape into a world-class BPO and call centre hub,‚ says Winde.

The Western Cape’s call centre industry is currently worth an estimated R6 billion and is responsible for 30,000 jobs in the Western Cape.

To find out if you are eligible for the incentive scheme please contact BPeSA Western Cape on info@bpesawesterncape.co.za or visit them atwww.bpesawesterncape.co.za.

*