Kenya, Ghana challenge BPO giants as Africa eyes outsourcing market
BERLIN, GERMANY — Africa is making a concerted push to capture a share of the $300 billion global business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, long dominated by countries such as India and the Philippines.
Improved digital infrastructure and a growing pool of skilled workers are enabling African nations like Kenya and Ghana to compete for international contracts, according to a report by African Business.
Kenya leverages connectivity and talent
Kenya is rapidly positioning itself as a regional tech hub, with the BPO Association of Kenya estimating nearly two million digital workers in the country.
Speaking to African Business at the GITEX tech conference in Berlin, Kenya’s tech envoy, Ambassador Philip Thigo, highlighted the nation’s robust digital infrastructure.
“We have good infrastructure. We have six fiber cables coming in, we have a seventh one coming, so in terms of connectivity and infrastructure, we have good high-speed internet,” Thigo said.
He also pointed to Kenya’s time zone alignment with Europe and the Middle East, widespread English fluency, and abundant green energy as strategic advantages for data centers and AI-driven services.
“As we’re seeing the next evolution of business, which is AI, we’re one of the countries that is working on AI factories,” Thigo noted.
He cited partnerships with Nvidia and Cassava Technologies to establish the region’s first AI factory.
Thigo further emphasized Kenya’s political stability: “Also, we have democracy. So we don’t shut down the internet.” This follows a recent High Court ruling blocking government and ISPs from disrupting internet access, a move seen as bolstering investor confidence.
Ghana offers cost-effective solutions and skilled labor
Ghana is also emerging as a significant BPO player, contributing over $200 million annually to its economy and employing more than 6,000 people, according to BPO Search. Matthew Darkwa, director of operations at Ghanaian IT service company AmaliTech, told African Business, “The most important thing now is cost. Every company has to grow its digital components.”
He added that Europe’s aging population is driving demand for overseas talent.
Ghana’s digital infrastructure is also robust, with multiple international fiber optic cables and the recent addition of Meta’s 2Africa cable.
“We’ve been running since 2019 and the internet has never been a problem,” Darkwa said.
With 150,000 graduates entering the labor market each year, Ghana is well-positioned to meet growing BPO demand.
As Africa’s digital landscape evolves, industry leaders believe the continent is poised to play a significant role in the future of global outsourcing.
As Darkwa concluded, “We are growing. We are developing. The beauty about what we are doing is we’re not reinventing the wheel…We are the future.”
