David Rickard - Everest Group - Elevate Ethiopia

You know, the, the reality is, Mark, that Africa, emerging Africa, so all the points, say, between Egypt and Morocco and Tunisia all the way through to South Africa, have had varying degrees of hype around them over the course of the past 20, 25 years.

W- we've talked on this podcast to people that have been doing work in different African countries, and in many cases, I think tra- blazing a trail in regards to setting those locations up as viable locations where you can deliver for Western Europe, North America, some of the more established demand markets in Asia Pacific, et cetera.

Dave was, I think, able to give a, a concise view about where he sees opportunity in Ethiopia, as well as what some of the challenges might be for those trying to get the CX and the BPO industry off the ground there.

I, I mean, I think it's great.

We- we've certainly been talking quite a bit about different African destinations, um, in the last few months.

Um, and, and I remember following all the LinkedIn coverage of the Elevate conference from Ethiopia, um, and, and some of it was stunning.

I mean, l- looking at some of-

Yeah

...

the facilities and the, the people that were there, uh, you know, it, I mean, it's...

This is clearly where, uh, it's clearly like the, the next wave of evolution, um, in, in BPO and CX.

Um, you know, not just Ethiopia, but, but I think that, you know, it's really interesting some of the discussions we've had recently about places like Kenya as well, and Rwanda, you know, so there, there's certainly a lot going on.

And y- you know, in the longer term, you will also see this kind of demographic, um, advantage as well in that Africa's really got, um, a, a massive demographic advantage in that it's very young.

Um, y- you know-

Yeah

...

if you look at most European countries, um, it, it, it, they're aging dramatically, and this is happening in Asia as well.

So I think that, you know, if you wanna go somewhere that's dynamic, that's innovative, and, and full of younger, smart people, then, uh, th- these places are definitely gonna be, uh, the, the right places to explore.

Provided that, provided that, that things are managed properly, provided that the right policies are in place to facilitate foreign investment, that the right policies are in place to ensure a high standard, a high level of education that's going to be receptive and responsive to the needs of consumers, I, I would tend to agree.

You know, one of the, the things I think I've noticed about a lot of the hype around emerging Africa is that much of it is promotional based, so it's either-

Mm

... by organizations that have a vested interest in, in seeing these industries grow, and that's great.

We all support the growth of industries in, in Africa, or it's by outsourcers that are looking to try and promote the location because they've got sites there.

Mm.

What Dave was able to bring to the table, I think, was somebody who does not have a vested interest, somebody who's not there with, with skin in the game.

You know, the, the reality is, Mark, that Africa, emerging Africa, so all the points, say, between Egypt and Morocco and Tunisia all the way through to South Africa, have had varying degrees of hype around them over the course of the past 20, 25 years.

W- we've talked on this podcast to people that have been doing work in different African countries, and in many cases, I think tra- blazing a trail in regards to setting those locations up as viable locations where you can deliver for Western Europe, North America, some of the more established demand markets in Asia Pacific, et cetera.

Dave was, I think, able to give a, a concise view about where he sees opportunity in Ethiopia, as well as what some of the challenges might be for those trying to get the CX and the BPO industry off the ground there.

I, I mean, I think it's great.

We- we've certainly been talking quite a bit about different African destinations, um, in the last few months.

Um, and, and I remember following all the LinkedIn coverage of the Elevate conference from Ethiopia, um, and, and some of it was stunning.

I mean, l- looking at some of-

Yeah

...

the facilities and the, the people that were there, uh, you know, it, I mean, it's...

This is clearly where, uh, it's clearly like the, the next wave of evolution, um, in, in BPO and CX.

Um, you know, not just Ethiopia, but, but I think that, you know, it's really interesting some of the discussions we've had recently about places like Kenya as well, and Rwanda, you know, so there, there's certainly a lot going on.

And y- you know, in the longer term, you will also see this kind of demographic, um, advantage as well in that Africa's really got, um, a, a massive demographic advantage in that it's very young.

Um, y- you know-

Yeah

...

if you look at most European countries, um, it, it, it, they're aging dramatically, and this is happening in Asia as well.

So I think that, you know, if you wanna go somewhere that's dynamic, that's innovative, and, and full of younger, smart people, then, uh, th- these places are definitely gonna be, uh, the, the right places to explore.

Provided that, provided that, that things are managed properly, provided that the right policies are in place to facilitate foreign investment, that the right policies are in place to ensure a high standard, a high level of education that's going to be receptive and responsive to the needs of consumers, I, I would tend to agree.

You know, one of the, the things I think I've noticed about a lot of the hype around emerging Africa is that much of it is promotional based, so it's either-

Mm

... by organizations that have a vested interest in, in seeing these industries grow, and that's great.

We all support the growth of industries in, in Africa, or it's by outsourcers that are looking to try and promote the location because they've got sites there.

Mm.

What Dave was able to bring to the table, I think, was somebody who does not have a vested interest, somebody who's not there with, with skin in the game.