FINANCE Minister Dr Ashni Singh said Guyana remains committed to facilitating the growth and expansion of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry as it seeks to establish a deeper foothold in the US$10 billion market between Information Technology (IT) and business call centres outsourcing in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Founder and Managing Director of Nearshore Americas, Mr Kirk Laughlin, recently said while some markets are ambitious and aggressive, virtually all are faced with some challenges, ranging from crime, violence, human capital development, proximity and time-zone distance.
In addition, he said, there is no guarantee that ascendancy will continue, as some markets in the Nearshore arena have fallen out of favour for various reasons, including high costs and loss of edge.
Minister Singh said Guyana is trying to capitalise on the opportunities available, and pointed out that the BPO industry has been recognised as a source of growth in the future of Guyana.
He said the industry has been a main driver of job-creation, probably creating more jobs than any other sector in the past five years.
The commitment to the industry in attracting and facilitating small and large clients, he said, includes addressing issues such as cost of bandwidth, reliability and cost for international connectivity, both tele and geographical connectivity.
The latter will be fully achieved when upgrade and expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) are completed.
Laughlin had said that Guyana’s prospects of doing well in the multi-billion-dollar industry are bright.
A study commissioned by Nearshore Americas said there are a number of compelling reasons why Guyana has become a desirable location for BPO.
Language, it said, is a key advantage and because Guyana’s population speaks English as a first language, BPO operators can plan for the long haul, knowing that they will not be resource-constrained should they need to expand.
About 70 per cent of Guyanese pass the Versant English language proficiency test, compared to only 25 per cent of bilinguals who pass the test in Latin American countries, the study said.
“Language is a big thing,” said Adrian Collins, the founder of Clear Connect, Inc., which is active in BPO in Guyana.
“As customer service becomes more automated, what you are left with are increasingly complex transactions. These include customer-centric issues originating in the States, perhaps specific to retail or telecom, where having a strong command of English, and a neutral accent, makes a big difference.”

STRONG ADVANTAGE
According to the study, from a BPO perspective, this gives Guyana a strong advantage for those service providers who need flexibility, and who anticipate growing their footprint and deepening their offerings.
“Phone support can be brought in for more complex scenarios, delivering higher value service without having to pay at a premium, as is the case with bilingual employees in Latin America.
“This speaks to strong and affordable capabilities for both outbound sales and inbound customer support. It also offers opportunity for growing niche areas such as medical records transcription, legal process outsourcing, even online gaming support, and all within a highly competitive cost structure,” the study said.
The report also found Guyana’s labour-market dynamics to be highly favourable from a BPO perspective.
With unemployment at 12.2 per cent, Guyana has an available labour force, but also a strong workforce that can contribute to the country’s tax base and ongoing social and financial stability.

CULTURAL FAMILIARITY
“The population has a significant level of cultural familiarity with the United States, with a 90.1 per cent literacy rate – one of the highest literacy rates in the Caribbean and Latin American (CALA) Region. Labour costs are 10 per cent below the Philippines and 15 per cent to 30 per cent less than the CALA average,” the report said.
On Thursday, Mexican outsourcing giant, Qualfon, opened a new US$12 million ‘contact centre’ campus at Providence, East Bank Demerara which, when fully completed, will be the largest in the world.
Qualfon Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mike Marrow said: “Now, we’re seeing this market really take hold, and Qualfon is extremely excited to more than double and triple its presence in Guyana when the campus is at full capacity.”
Qualfon started operations here in 2005 with a single client, but has since grown significantly, serving a number of mega overseas clients.
Minister Singh said the Government cannot be more pleased that these big international clients have come to Guyana, assessed the country as a potential place to put their business, assessed Qualfon not only as a Mexican but as a Guyanese company, assessed Guyana and Qualfon in Guyana, and deemed both as fit to handle their business.
Meanwhile, Laughin, speaking at the commissioning on Thursday commended Guyana’s investment strategy.
“Guyana has made it very clear that this country is willing to work with investors to meet them half-way, to provide value, to expose to these investors what the value is,” he said.
Nearshore Americas produces authoritative and independent news, analyses and research on the fast-emerging Latin America and Caribbean business process, Information Technology (IT), software and call centre industries.
The company, dedicated to expanding knowledge around Americas-centric investment and innovation, is on a mission to illuminate, inspire and motivate business decision-makers to more closely examine services’ investment and partnership opportunities in the Americas.

Guyana has incredible potential for business, and importantly, it has begun to execute it…investors are coming and seeing the opportunities here, the right infrastructure is being put in place to encourage business and there are ready ‘associates’ [government and other partners] to “enact the dream and make it come alive” – Mr Kirk Laughlin
‘Guyana is a special place for investors…with vast investment potential’ – Mr Kirk Laughlin

By Tajeram Mohabir