South Africa
South Africa’s development of the contact centre outsourcing business is led by initiatives of the Department of Trade and Industry, Services SETA and regional forums such as GEDA (Gauteng), Calling the Cape and KZNONSOURCE. Much of the efforts currently to bring in business to South Africa has been developed through the Team South Africa approach comprising all of the industry players including Government, Telkom, regional forums and the private sector. South Africa is fast becoming the preferred Contact Centre location and this largely due to:
- Government commitment to creating a contact centre workforce through it’s free training and development programmes. South Africa has an abundance of skilled, highly trainable call centre staffing talent.
- The availability and cost of first class call centre and telecommunications technology, as well as availability, cost, skill attainment and reliability of local labour. In South Africa, business can operate efficient Call Centres / Contact Centres for less than 50% of average European and North American costs.
- Being a true cosmopolitan nation with strong historical links to the UK and Europe, South Africa boasts a large pool of European and African language skills.
- The rate of exchange between the South African Rand and most major international currencies make South Africa an even more attractive investment proposition.
- South Africa operates on the same time zone as most of Europe. During the European winter the UK experiences a maximum two hour time difference.
- High level of diction and dialect proficiency in English and many European languages.
- The cost and availability of existing properties or sites;
- The availability of a local business support network;
- Existing contact centre infrastructure - over 400 centres with over 80 000 FTE’s.
Durban
Durban is strategically well located on the South East Coast of Africa and is the major port city of the African continent. Its location puts it in the heart of shipping and trade routes reaching to all major markets on the globe. The name Durban, which strictly speaking relates to the City of Durban, has come to be associated more broadly with the local government area officially known as the Ethekwini Municipality, administered by the Ethekwini Metro Council.
Durban's climate, which is essentially sub-tropical, is temperate with a high percentage of sunshine hours per average day. Humidity, which is influenced by the warm Mozambique current which flows past, tends to be high in mid-summer. Day/night temperatures range from 30/20 ºC in summer to 20/8 ºC in winter.
Durban is a city of 3 million people made up of diverse cultural groupings emanating from a variety of historical backgrounds. Blacks, Indians, Whites and Coloureds form the main ethnic groupings, together with a small but growing percentage of people of other Asian origin. The city was established more than 180 years ago and has grown into a modern and vibrant economic centre.
The City is built around a natural ocean port, which plays a key role in the city's economy as well as that of South Africa. It has established itself as the main coastal gateway into and out of Southern Africa.
Some Key Facts & Figures
| Geographic Area |
2,297 Km² |
| Population (Est. 2002) |
3.03 million |
| Density |
1,319 p/Km² |
| No. of Households |
±700 000 |
| Gross Domestic Product (2001 est.) |
R76,6 billion |
| GDP per Capita (2001 est.) |
R25 690 |
| GDP Growth est. (1991 to 2001) |
1.8% pa |
Durban People
• Acceptable and understandable accent
• Best English speaking education centres
• Many IT & business leaders in South Africa, born & educated in Durban
• Low staff turnover
Durban Infrastructure
• World class communication system
• Very high electricity quality and up time performance
• Best road and public transport system into the city in South Africa
Durban Governance
• Commitment by to develop “Call Centre City”
• Financial stable and debt-free
• Best run municipality in Africa
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