1-800-Divert-To-Nairobi
There’s an interesting article in the Standard about call centres coming to Kenya. I guess this cable line has everyone excited about outsourcing opportunities. If you are based in America, you’ve pretty much dealt with call centres in India and I know of very few people who are impressed by them (heavy accents, unpleasant personalities, rude, etc, etc,). I am now noticing that many of the calls I make are being diverted to the Phillipines. The Filipino’s are much better. They are easier to understand and are much more pleasant than the Indians.
However, I think getting the technology is the easy part. I remember reading a story from the founder of WIPRO and he said that the most difficult part of his business was getting the customers. They actually sent a salesperson to California and told him not to return to India until he had customers lined up! From what I remember (& I’ll try to find the link to that story), this sales guy found a small apartment in Silicon Valley, got a copy of the yellow pages and would spend hours of his day on the phone cold calling potential customers. Eventually, they got one and then two and then just moved on from there.
If you read the Standard article above, it’s really focusing on the technology, but the real question is, how are these Kenyan Call Centers going to get U.S. customers? You can have the best technology in the world, but if you have no clients, it’ll be useless.
So, if you are based in Kenya or anywhere else and are familiar with this industry, we’d like to hear from you.
I have the standard story with me…..am in the industry….we are waiting for the optic fibre like yesterday…the peace too will be no disadvantage
As for customers thats the hardest part……but let me give you a hint…you do it with westerners just like succesfull tourism packages
‘me in the inside you in the outside’ right
lord,
Could you please provide more info on this industry and it’s potential for kenya? I’d like to know if what advice you would give to someone who was thinking about starting such a business.
KE
I think it will boil down to the cost of doing business. I am not in the industry but a close friend in Kenya is in the thick of it with (UUNET). I believe if Kenyans offer lower costs for the western customers, they will get the business. I agree with you that getting it will not be easy but it is certainly doable. Would you believe there are already call centres in South Africa?
The thing is, with call centres you do not need a very sophisticated workforce. They just have to speak good english and also have basic computer skills i.e. they can work through a database, spreadheet or wordprocessor. Kenya has this sort of labour in abundance.
There is another level work that is even more lucrative than call centres and that is data processing. This is where western companies are outsourcing their menial jobs e.g. accounting, coding etc to firms in India, South America and other countries in Asia.
Kenyan programmers, software developers, accountants etc can pitch for and actually get this work.
They just have to be bold. – sorry “ancestral land” is not the only way to make money
There is a whole new exciting world out there waiting to be discovered by adventurous Kenyans. BTW, my friend is poised to enter this market!
Intresting article i have actually been in the BPO secto for the last four years and currently in the US working as a call center manager there is great pottential in Kenya but the marketing of Kenya as a BPO destination needs to be adressed issue like security will also need to be looked in to since the diffrence in the time zones. Kenyans have pleasant accents and are able to learn quickly this is the most ideal BPO destination in africa but with the way political situation is customers will be hard to come by.Lets see how it goes
Phew, at least less of the political flatulence. Well, there is a little secret that is not being said , out here in the West, the Indians have a bad reputation. Many quality clients are tired of them. There is a level of rudeness and arrogance that has turned many off them. Infact, there is a huge lucrative market to be tapped of projects coming back (of course I am laughing all my way to the bank). It is not by coincidence that GE got out of the outsourcing business.
The Philipinos are winning the contracts, becuase of their reputation for customer service. They also understand the American culture, and when presented with problems do not hesitate in providing solutions.
For the programming in India, India has a shortage of well trained programmers. I have worked with the teams companies have outsourced, to and in certain cases, those projects have been brought back. Sometimes, I think they get people with fake degrees, based on the crazy questions I am asked. Programming, is not just about typing there is computer science and analysis that is needed (note the Heathrow Terminal 5 baggage issues).
Kenya has potential, if it utilizes the quality educated workforce, and continually improves it’s delivery, once a contract is obtained.
Without the laying of the fibre optic cables being finished the costs are still too high. Once this project is completed next year (minus the power sharing mess) I still plan on software development outsourcing. Since some of us here in the US are already in IT and are working with our India offices, the thing would be to convince our bosses to route some business to Kenya. This can happen in small piece meal projects and it may take time but it will pick up the pace. India is now demanding $10 bucks / hr but Kenya can do just fine with $4 bucks/hr.
We need a kenya IT professionals meetings or Forums here in the US to plan on how to engage big companies to give us a try. Then we can engage our IT kenyans to open shops on Nai or mombasa and we can share profits, etc.
Getting business is hard but you must write a good business plan to woe companies who are spending millions in computer programmers. We need to see how a company spending 10 million a year can spin off 200k of business to kenya on trial. Once they try it they won’t want to quit. Entice them guys. It is a win-win situation.
Good luck.
Seroney
Here is a link to an article in Information Week, it is a survey of Fortune 500 companies, and lists reasons the projects were withdrawn from India,
http://www.informationweek.com.....tid=395938
Another link to an author on the software outsourcing business,
http://www.stevemezak.com/?p=88
He talks of software development pitfalls, particularly, ” a key mistake people make is treating software development only as a financial transaction rather than recognizing it as a collaborative and creative process”.
Many Kenyans bad-mouth the Indians without realizing the irony that its India not Kenya on top of the IT dogpile.
Equity Bank – a ‘local’ bank like none other – uses Finacle from Infosys. Equity has some of the smartest managers & if they chose Financle, there must be a good reason.
We need to learn from the successes & failures of the Indians. The wealth of Mukesh Ambani (1 of 2 brothers) = Kenya’s GDP. These guys were NOTHING in 1963. I am discounting what the 2nd brother (Anil Ambani) has or the other members of the family.
So they go from 0 to ‘way too much money’. Kenya goes from decent economy to pathetic economy!
http://www.forbes.com
In IT, we need to learn from the mistakes WIPRO & Infosys made. They are among the top 1000 firms globally. http://www.fortune.com
curious:
The ICT industry is more than just call centers…kenya is to yet enjoy the benefits of the internet. So the potential is enormous.
e-gov services, e-markets etc etc
There are terrestrial fiber networks due to be completed this year which will link about 40 towns in kenya. Thats revolutionary!
Kenya ICT board will be training entrepreneurs ,and if you are based in kenya try to attend one of the ICT dev Expo in KICC, april 23-26 which will focus on ICT-driven wealth creation opportunities. There will be a diaspora tour also , a road show in UK and US in summer.
So if you want to start an ICT business, the potential is enormous, for example just running a website that links kenyan grads,resumes& employers could make you a fortune if you understand what text messaging did for kenyans. I know people who are doing very basic things making BIG money, its not just call centers!
Kei O:
Just because you mentioned UUNET-
A friend left UUNET and is now the ceo of flashcom..heard about them, in just 2 yrs they are growing in double digits..All they did was just bet on CDMA products…So part of this is also bringing some products that have worked in India or europe and plug them in. These providers are really expensive in kenya.
Razor:
Very interesting. What basic things (as you put them) are these Kenyans doing that are bringing them big money?
Please keep us updated on the roadshow in the UK and US (those will be very well attended by kenyans in the diaspora).
Right now, no kenyan website I know of is making any money. They’re just not enough kenyans on the web for that. I think Mashada might be the “highest” income earner, but that’s because he has quite a few ad’s on his site.
KE
Misterseed.com in the UK is making some money from Ads. It is just flashing with “neon”.
He has successfully targeted the UK market and the EU market to a small extent (90% of which appears to be small scale businesses owned by you know who)
I think you got it completely wrong. Its the other way round. Kenya ,the technology is the one which is fucked up. You cannot rely on kenyas internet connection or the phones for that matter. This is of core importance for the call center business. Getting customers is the easiest part. But kenyas tecknology sucks. Just search call center business kenya in youtube and you will see how that kenyan is sufering with kenyas tecknology. The market is huge and i dont see how kenyans cant get a cut. We even speak better english than indians. Apart from a few kiuks and luos here and there lol, Just a koke.
curious:
Nicholas Nesbitt has an informative presentation here for you about call centers. http://c4idea.com/presentation....._Kenya.ppt
KE:
I didn’t mean blogsites… Google-Kenya sees opportunity http://bankelele.blogspot.com/.....rch-4.html
There are Websites like marketafrica.com that are doing good. Look at the way they abuse ministry of trade website : cellphones , computers ads etc . A craiglist kenya can do it!
But what I meant was selling services and goods online not just a forum. Solutions like yellowpageskenya. Also for call centers, the business is there, as faisal says…In Feb the PS had announced that two major airlines were moving their services to Kenya ( 2000 jobs) ..why are they betting on Kenya?…Just as Mr. Nesbitt asked , will Kenya be ready when fortune 500s move in?
Let me ask all of you a question. Would you just cold call companies like the indian guy at WIPRO did?
Faisal:
How much better is the technology in India? I hear the country also has terrible infrastructure problems just like kenya (electricity blackouts, etc, etc,)
KE
I think the Indian guy cold called because he had no choice. I am sure there are other Indian companies that did not have to cold call. But to answer your question, if it came to cold calling then that is what I would do. Infact, there is a buzz when you are in unknown territory. However, people can just use their contacts, knowledge and skills to pitch for business.
Dont forget that Kenya is already the destination of choice for many multinationals in East Africa. The brand Kenya is what needs to be further developed. I wonder if the violence will scupper these efforts.
It is true that India has severe infrastructural problems but the difference with Kenya is that the Indians are actually doing something about it. India is seriously constructing power stations to alleviate the energy problem. They are also engaged in a serious upgrade of the road networks and railways.
They even opened an underground metro system in Delhi about two years ago!
I understand they are now building new highways linking all major Indian cities.But India is vast and the job is not easy. The point is that they are doing it as Kenyans bicker ver cabinet positions.
On a different note, have you heard that India and Vietnam have temporarily banned the export of rice? Thailand is to follow soon. Like we mentioned here a few weeks ago, agricultural commodities are on the rise.
Ke
india is much more adanced on phone lines and broadband. Hell its even much cheaper to call india from us or europe than to call kenya.
KE:
You dont have to cold call when the business is staring at you!
…they have a need, and we could provide the solution.
There are tons of agents (even online) who have jobs looking for businesses to outsource to. Also list your business with the agents. The gov is also bringing business and looking for investors to set up the centers, and they are also subsidising in order to keep the business coming.
You can’t compare India to Kenya in these regard..when just the bandwidth alone cost us 10x what they pay, not to mention some of the people in this industry returned from silicon valley after the tech bust in 2000. So they have some technology to offer to the call center operators.
KE – Stop acting ignorant… you know better than most that India’s infrastructure is far better than Kenya’s especially in IT.
They have:
- Excellent broadband in Bangalore (IT & BPO hub) for businesses.
- Delhi has a new metro/underground while Kenya the main railway line passing through kibera!
- India is building a ‘golden quadrilateral’ for easier transport across the country. Check it on wikipedia.
- Cell phone coverage is better & much cheaper vs Kenya. SafCon is ripping Kenyans.
- Booming banking, financial & insurance sector. The Idian stockmarket is way more than 30x the NSE.
- They perform far more complex medical procedures than Kenyan hospitals. Apparently, there is market in medical tourism from the Western world while Kenyans choose India, S.Africa & Western countries for their complex medical problems.
India has mega-problems but they have done so much in 10 years & seem poised to go nowhere but up. Kenya with its incessant political squabbling is heading towards Zimbabwe!
We need to build capacity like the Indians. Asap.
Razor:
If you think customers will just flock to you without any effort on your part, then you are simply dreaming. Where on earth does that ever happen?
Coldtusker:
so, 7 million people are shitting everywhere in that city and because the infrastructure is so poor, the shit gets into the water, into the food, everywhere….the first year he was there, his kids ended up with amerbic dysentery, he ended up with gastro intestinal problems…phew!
I am currently reading a book that was written in 2005 by an Indian who lived in New York and returned to India to live. Based on everything I’ve read so far, you are overestimating India to some extent. I mean, the book pretty much describes Bombay as a city of “shit” and I mean that in a very literal sense! 14 million people living there and half of them don’t have toilets.
Now, I haven’t finished reading the book, but already 60% of it has been describing India’s incessant infrastructure problems (including it’s hospitals, where he discourages this so-called medical tourism you are talking about). I also don’t think you’ve ever had to deal with those indian call center workers. I’m beginning to think that India just has the “Numbers”. i.e. one billion people and with that many people you are bound to find some “stars”, but that doesn’t mean Kenya is much farther away from India.
The book is called “Maximum City” – check it out for yourself.
Kenya will not go the way of zimbabwe because kibaki is not interfering with the entrepreneurial class.
Ive been thinking about how to make money in Kenya in the next 10 years,and i just offered to donate my research to enterprising kenyans for free. I dont gain anything, but consider it yourself.
Nairobi and its environs are fast growing. Already land values in Thika rd, Jogoo Rd, Mombasa Rd, Kiambu rd and Waiyaki way all the way to Kijabe are overpriced. The probability of them more than qadrupling in value in value in the next 10 years is remote. So where is the best place to prospect for land around Nairobi? I think the next big hit will be Kamulu. It will be adequately opened up by the bypass system, and the sewerage system and the rest need not scare. Kitengela has none and the land plot values at present are 500kplus. The reson why i feel its good is that its near town, land values are very low, selling between 40k to 120k depending on location for a 50 by 100 plot. If one could say buy even 5 in different locations, in the next 5-10 years, it will be 500 plus. Im a risk taker and i think if one is thinking of diversification or a little investing, it could be feasible. Land prospecting is one of the greatest money spinners in Kenya. If one buys 10@say 100k, and they appreciate to say 500 to 600, then one can have enough money to buy a good house in a decent surrounding. Its hard for the land vallues in high class areas to have even doubled in 5 years.I think the opportunities are endless, in the kenyan economy. Anyone who has better ideas? Lets forget about those who want to fight and educate each other on how we can be better financially in the future.
Having worked in the Kenyan BPO industry for 3 years i have to agree that the potential for Kenya is astoundingly enormous!!!
South Africa is one of the leading outsourcing providers in Africa and their industry is the most advanced on the continent. Technologically Kenya’s challenge has been the reliability and high cost of bandwidth.
For those looking to start up, i’d advise you to do your research thoroughly, draft a sound business plan and take the time to talk to Kenyan industry leaders (Kencall, Call Center Africa, Skyweb-Evans, Continental BPO, Business Process Outsource Kenya, Twenty-Four Seven Ltd…etc).
Clients are readily available in a host of different ways;
- on-line forums that seek to connect companies looking to outsource to call centers
- call center expos
- active marketing (cold calling is an option also consider fax, e-mails, tele-conferences, phone…etc.)
- agents (be very careful and make a thorough background check, get referrals before signing them on).
From a HR perspective
-You need an experienced marketing team that can follow up and market the services your company seeks to provide.
- Staffing is going to be a headache (anticipate it! and be ready to deal with the challenges)
- Clients are extremely sensitive and the success or failure of your venture will depend largely on the wording of the contract written up between you and the client company. ***Kindly note that failure to understand the concept has led to the closure of many a firm in Kenya.
Those who go into it well informed, strategically armed, and ready to work hard are millionaires in the making.
I wish you well.
Cheers!
@Cold Tusker
Let me come to your aid..You r dead correct on INDIA
Indian economy is light years ‘literaly ‘ compared to Kenya…Its forecast in 20~30yrs its economy will either 1 or 2 or 3
I constantly travel to india…its differennt in Kenya in the following
experst…experts..experts and expert
In any field India have at least 1 million world class experts
say…
Physicist….1 million
chemist……1 miilion
Bio chemist …1 miilion
Mathematicains …1 million
It experts………..10 million
Engineers …10 million
everything else 1 million
Doctors 2 million
and above are really experts~Bright kenyans would look like std 8 chaps
(Most of above are natural sciences….No nation develops without basic sciences)
Security…
There are no security guards in India,,,even in Banks (Its True)
One can walk the whole night in a big city and end up alive
(Indian work during the day (offices and shop at night) hence long working hours overally
Beacuse of all above (experts) cost of goods is dirt cheap..
Consider a newspaper cost KES 4 and its 20 times biger in content than say daily nation..thats why they can export stuff
phamaceuticals.cars………..software…Manpower…religion……
Kenya only exports RAW MATERIALS….no knowledge based stuff is exported in Kenya except may be ‘Kisii Soap stone’ …and the world class sports “athletes”….No talk of Tourism here Indai is light years…its exports culure… while Kenya is KWS tourism
Its fundamentals are so good that Bank Interest are less than 2 % pa
Then where INDIA really excells more than KENYA is HONESTY…..
90 % of Indians transact bussiness by TRUST (no paper work…No lawyers etc)
I have not talked of WORK ETHIC
and DEMOCRASY ….
Our vital signs are BAD
Thanks again @coldtusker
Marie:
Thanks for your insights. Very, very informative.
However, what you have outlined sounds like it would cost quite a bit of money. Does it have to be that “formal”? A friend of mine told me about her cousin who tried to start a call centre in Kenya about 4 years ago. He lived in England at the time and had one client lined up who was willing to give him a shot.
So, he moved to kenya and set up his “company” in his mothers guest house in Karen. He managed to set up a very simple internet connection with very simple technology and the client he had lined up did in fact give him business, but guess what happened next? Telekom Kenya cut of his line and accused him of running an illegal business and boom! he was done and was forced to return to England.
According to my friend, Telekom Kenya did the same thing to Kencall, but since Nesbitt wen to school with Kibaki’s kids, he was able to use that connection to get his lines back up again. So, this brings me to my next question: Can you really talk to your competitors in Kenya? You know how kenyans are and the honesty problems they seem to have.
Lord:
The book I’m reading (Maximum City) does say what you just mentioned: that India is pretty safe, even in the worst slums and even at night. Where in India have you travelled to and what would you say about the physical infrastructure, hygiene standards, etc, etc,….as compared to Kenya. I’m just curious about that.
Leodd:
Real estate? yawn, yawn. That’s so “old Europe”. Besides, why would you risk owning land in light of what has just occurred in the rift valley. That’s about the last thing I’d want to invest in!
KE
Traveled in Bombay ,Madrass ..Banglore,
For example i left RichMond circle after visiting Tata Infotech in Banglore..My indian friends took us to MG road (Matma Ghandi~Most India have an MG road that is the reference point).. There is no city centre hence no Conjestion,,No Estates Either ..Its just a city spread out malls then shop then offices then a temple then houses in all directions…No sckyscrapers (this tend to conjest )
We watched a film at place called LUDO then we left our Indain Friends i. It was now Ten at night… (For a about KES 30/= ) you can catch a TukTuk alone to take you like from CBD to UMOJA (do not ask me how they make money)
But my friend (african kenyan) insisted we walk as we window shoped ~So many peeple shopping….Could not belive .look at Indian and he will bow a litle hands on face and say ‘Namaste’….No racism…You can almost enjoy being black…
We walked past a place called Ulsoor …Pure safety…There are no ‘poor people in India amzingly”…
Look i visited their Kibera slums…but was shocked ..Its made of thatched houses in a mathematical grid (each house to a square with a small compound)….precise physical address….a house with a small mail box outside ….at the back of this house runing parallel is a dug out trench with constant runing water (slums are built on a gentle slope…)…This is the OPEN sewer . People do their stuff here …It does NOT SMELL ..water caries it imidiately…Its just open… BEFORE a kenyan told me Indians are so poor they deficate anywhere and you cannot see a Mercedes Benz…I found this Banglore system Ingeneous
These should give you the feel
NB: You will never see assorted motor veicles in INDIA..These people care about their country..They drive their simple veicles but its ‘theirs’..Most use Public Means …They never export their jobs lik we gleefuly do in Nairobi by being other peoples consumers and apes
@KE
Addenda;
Another area taht shocked me is the materail culture in an Indain house…They do not have things like furniture…They use mattings..No wooden beds,chairs etc…
Think of the National Savings on these useless things in a house…Remove furniture in your house and see how big and natural it iS..you can feel your mind expanding……
KE,
I agree with you on the risks in Rvalley, But kenya is bigger than that. The rate of inflation in Kenya is so high that prices of commodities are rising by the day. Thts why diversification of portfolio is wise. Real estate is one way to do it, but youve got to select wisely, where you dont expect the arrow boys to haunt you. Again you dont prospect to develiop. You prospect to sell later. They cant loot the soil, or burn it. Fear has stopped many people from ventures that wopuld have changed their lives
Lord:
No racism? that’s shocking and differs greatly with what I’ve heard from Kenyan students who went to school in India.
What hotel did you stay in? I’d be afraid of travelling to India on any kind of restrictive budget.
Man, thank you for the ride into India. Your descriptions were like a story, nilitembea na wewe in my imagination. I would add onto what you and CT have made out, that in spite of all the good things about India, there is also a bad India rising as old mores like trust and respect lose their value but they certainly are light years ahead of us. The great reason is that India was built like Tanzania, a foundation of justice and brotherliness first and then a tradition of mercantilism on top of it. For us it was the opposite, we had to endure 15 years of the robber baron setting a great example borrowing and stealing and then a 24 year slide into darkness as population explosion, ESAPs and the consequences of Kenyatta’s profligacy caught up with us.
I am not saying, like bigots do these days, that it is a Gikuyu thing either, the Wamalwas in Western Kenya for example, or the Mudavadis, or the Odingas or Ntimama in the Maasai districts, or the Kosgeys or even the baronial Arabs at the Coast have also benefited greatly by robbing the mwananchi.
The worst thing is that unlike the Ambanis, these people grew rich not through creating wealth, employing people and lifting everyone up, they grew wealthy by stealing from the state (no matter how legal it is, it is theft). There is very little capitalism in Kenya, what we are experts at is wealth transfers, like the thieving we are all participating with in Safaricom. Nothing added to the table, just some 1 million or so people taking over the wealth of some 37 million or so people. Maendeleo Kenyan style.
End result, paralysis, and even now when people think of making money they are hallucinating about speculating on land and stocks.
By the way have you watched Guru, the movie on the Ambani father?
KE:
You told us entrepreneurship is about dreaming….so am dreamin?
My point was: we are not reinventing this wheel or trying to pioneer something which is successful in Ghana , even in Rwanda let alone India. ..Know the business.Understand the business.Do the business.
But of course do your part.
Wow… this is a great thread.
Kenyans need to wake up & smell the coffee. As razor says, we should not re-invent the wheel. Kenyans can add value to their products instead of just exporting the tea, coffee beans, etc.
India has problems. Agreed. I want to go out and get the book but I wonder if Book Point or Books First carry it.
Indian LEADERS recognise the problems & are fixing them. When I read about Delhi’s metro’s success. it is clean & efficient. It runs on time.
Reading what lord has written shows that SAFETY is important. Yes, there are sporadic cases of crime (1bn+ people) and violence but it is very low compared to Kenya.
I don’t go to kibera during the day. There is no way I am going at night unless I have a contingent of GSU with me. Heck, I don’t think raila odinga goes there at night!
Steve:
I haven’t watched Guru. Is it a documentary? that sounds very interesting. Thanks for the rec. I’m going to look for it.
@KE
To answer your first question on formality…:) yes if you’re in it for the long haul, it is important to get the proper licensing, CCK has made the process a lot more easier (less expensive too) given the sheer number of jobs the industry could create.
As for setting up, you can forgoe the formality, many a story is told of call centers in India that started up from rented out garages and ended up being bought out by multinationals like IBM for quite a tidy sum.
Other than the essentials, cost is relative to the individual, one of our local BPO’s started up with 12M. Someone else may be able to do away with the trimmings innitially and begin with less…
When it comes to competitors, again i say there are many ways to go about it if speaking to the owners is a hassle;
-The BPO society is a forum to inform yourself and network.
-Attend BPO Expos and ICT seminars organized by the governement/foreign investors for local stakeholders.
-Consult with supervisory/managersial staff.
I’m passionate about the industry, and acknowledge that the only way grow is if information is shared. The industry is too young to harbour any negative competition and survive at this stage.
Your friend’s cousin is a visionary and if they’re not too badly burnt by the last experience and still interested, encourage them give it another try.
[...] blogger, Kenyan Entrepreneur (KE) has been presiding over an interesting discussion on the ICT Developments especially outsourcing and digital inclusion. The discussion is a pleasure to watch among Kenyans who live both locally and abroad. Check it out [...]