The Head of the State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU), Col. Edith Nakalema has reiterated the government’s commitment to create sustainable employment opportunities for the youths.
According to Col. Nakalema, one of the avenues where the youths could be employed is Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
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BPO is a business practice in which an organization contracts with an external service provider to perform an essential business function or task.
“We view the BPO industry as a pathway to positioning Uganda as a global hub for service exports, talent sourcing and talent exports. With a youthful population and over 700,000 reaching the working age each year, BPOs have the resources needed to service the global outsourcing industry,” she said.
Col. Nakalema made the remarks today during a BPO strategic meeting with stakeholders, aimed at harnessing BPO to address employment among the youths.
The meeting took place at SHIPU Offices in Kampala.
The Head of SHIPU also noted that Uganda can be successful in the field of BPO due to the favorable factors in place such as talent and young workforce that is so much in tune with modern trends of ICT.
“This is further enhanced by the fact that this work force is largely educated and yet probably cheaper compared to the labour force of already developed economies. It is such enabling factors that give us confidence to assure investors in the BPO industry like you that – Uganda is your destination for doing business and your gateway to other regional markets,” she urged.
“It is also key in meeting our commitment to develop Uganda as a services hub of the region or even the East African Community. This is primarily the reason the government is interested in working with the private sector to drive opportunities in the BPO sector for the scores of unemployed yet able young men and women.”
Additionally, Col. Nakalema assured the meeting that the government is continuously enhancing the country’s digital infrastructure to ease the cost of doing business for both domestic and foreign investors.
“We are already seeing lots of young people exploiting their digital skills to access global opportunities. By investing in a robust digital economy, we enhance our strategy of driving job creation in the emerging knowledge-based sectors which are increasingly pivotal to our socio-economic transformation,” she said.
“Considering that tech-jobs are more appealing to our digitally exposed young people, the BPO industry is well positioned to meet this demand.”
The Permanent Secretary- Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Aminah Zawedde revealed that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is very passionate about BPO, and he believes that if Uganda leverages technology, the country will be able to create employment opportunities for the youths.
She also disclosed that recently, the Cabinet approved the BPO policy which is meant to make the outsourcing subset thrive in Uganda.
“We have that policy in place, and it has recommendations on how to make BPOs thrive. For any business to thrive, we must have the right policies and an enabling environment,” she said.
“India is number one when it comes to BPOs, and Philippines is number two. With this policy in place, we aim to become number three in BPO success. The Philippines has been successful in BPO because they have much talent and a lot of marketing of their talent. We have also started that campaign to contribute to the promotion of BPO initiatives and this also requires a good network infrastructure and reliable power. We have all what it takes for Uganda to thrive in the BPO.”
The Executive Director of the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U), Dr. Hatwib Mugasa thanked Col. Nakalema for identifying the BPO gap which when well covered, can benefit Ugandans through creation of jobs.
He also encouraged the government to create a BPO fund as a way of empowering the sector.
“BPO has a multiplier effect when it comes to creating jobs,” Dr. Mugasa added.
He further highlighted the role of NITA-U in the promotion of the BPO sector, such as putting up an enabling infrastructure and subsidizing the price of internet for BPO to enable them operate efficiently.
Prof. William Bazeyo, the Chairperson of the BPO Council tasked the stakeholders to create awareness about BPO in order to ensure that citizens get to know what it means and how the country benefits.
“It’s not only for call centres or ICT. No! It’s something that we practice in our homes everyday. We have maids at home, gardeners and some hire people to wash your cars,” he said.
“Do we have a chance to excel and be at the top of other countries? Yes. If we create awareness plus a right policy, we shall be able to create over 30,000 employment opportunities for our youths through BPOs.”
The former Attorney General, Hon. Fred Ruhindi suggested that, “A policy is for guidance but for purposes of effective enforcement and legality, we need a law.”
The Chairperson of BPO Association-Uganda and General Manager of Exquisite Solutions, Mr. Steven Kwesiga advocated for the government to set up a deliberate policy to support outsourcing.
“We should focus on outsourcing and generate demand locally so that we can capture all these people in the system. The outsourcing beat is extremely important,” he said.
The Chairperson of the Makerere University Convocation, Mr. George Mugabi Turyamureeba called for a mentorship program for the convocation to lecture the students on how they can fit and thrive well in the job market.
The meeting was also attended by the Private Secretary to H.E the President Investment, Ms. Hiromi Abe, the Director General of the Indian Business Forum, Mr. Rajesh Kumar, the Founder Yako Bank and ICT Centre, Mr. Rajnish Jain, among other stakeholders.
