Jamaican News

Outsource2jamaica to Showcase Island as BPO Destination

Photo: Garwin Davis

President of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), Gloria Henry.

The inaugural Outsource2Jamaica Symposium & Expo, to be held in Montego Bay in April, will provide a platform to raise the profile of Jamaica as a business process outsourcing (BPO) destination.

“Outsource2Jamaica is intended to bring greater visibility to Jamaica and its service offerings,” President of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), Gloria Henry, told JIS News.

“Too often, I travel to international conferences, myself and the JAMPRO team, and we are repeatedly asked whether Jamaica does BPO services or is into outsourcing. We are asked this despite the tremendous targeted marketing and promotion activities taking place here,” she pointed out.

She said it was against this background that the idea was born “to host our own national conference” in keeping with international best practices “to bring potential investors, buyers and industry specialists to showcase Jamaica to bring more visibility to our service offerings”.

“And, it is our hope that our players and investors will benefit from the attractive investment-ready community in Jamaica,” Ms. Henry added.

She noted that the conference programme will offer knowledge-sharing, while connecting local and overseas participants.

“Attendees will learn from some of the most thought-provoking and experienced leaders in the global outsourcing sector from a number of presentations and round-table discussions focused on the latest in technology, leadership and business strategy,” she said.

Ms. Henry, in the meantime, pointed out that Kingston is fast emerging as an outsourcing location for high-value services, citing new developments and expansion of existing operations across the Corporate Area and Portmore.

She informed that Jamaica was recently selected to benefit from grant funding under a region-wide cluster project, and much of the resources have been earmarked to enhance the positioning of Kingston for high-value work.

It will focus on growth in services such as application and software development, market research and data analytics, information-technology-managed services, medical and insurance billing and legal process outsourcing.

“This will enhance the operating environment and strengthen the positioning of Jamaica as the premier destination of choice for outsourced services in the region,” Ms. Henry noted.

A similar grant in 2014 was successfully used to enhance the ecosystem in Montego Bay with the establishment of a 200-seat incubator that provides a ‘plug n play’ facility for new operators seeking to set up business, and for operators who require additional space.

To date, seven firms have graduated from the incubator programme and the initiative has supported expansion into Asian healthcare outsourcing services, and created nearly 2,000 employment opportunities.

Outsource2Jamaica: Symposium & Expo will be held from April 11 to 13 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

The event, which involves partnership with the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and JAMPRO, will bring together global experts, technocrats, local entrepreneurs, government officials, BPO leaders, buyers and service providers.

 

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