NAIROBI, Kenya, July 19 – Sama, a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company, has welcomed the government’s commitment to support the sector.
State Department for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Digital Economy Principal Secretary John Tanui yesterday said that the state will clear operating barriers currently facing BPO players.
Sama Global CEO Wendy Gonzalez agreed that recent legal events have created a chilling effect on the growth of the BPO sector in Kenya.
She added that the country could lose more than 2,500 jobs that the firm is looking to offer Kenyans as part of its growth plan for this year.
“Sama is a global organization that currently employs more than 3,500 Kenyans and projects to increase this number by 2,500 by next year,” Tanui said after touring Sama operating hub in Nairobi.
“I have heard their concerns, and I can confirm that the Government will relentlessly work to address operating challenges affecting Kenya’s competitiveness in the global market,” he added.
“The Government is committed to securing these 2,500 jobs by Sama as we race to formulate the necessary policies and regulations to accelerate the growth of players in the BPO sector.”
Gonzalez and Sama Vice President of Global Delivery, Annepeace Alwala, welcomed the Government’s assurance to address BPO’s operating challenges as it seeks to grow and continue its long track record of growth in Kenya.
Gonzalez said the global BPO market is estimated to be valued at more than $262 billion, with African countries continuing to emerge as the next BPO growth frontiers.
She shared that the BPO sector is crucial in developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems that power the automotive, retail, agricultural, and food technology sectors.
“Economic players are investing heavily in AI, with such investments now estimated to top US$ 2 trillion by 2030. Notably, the AI sector is a growth line for players in the BPO sector as it requires substantial human support to build and validate input data,” Gonzalez said.
“Sama has been in Kenya for the last 15 years and continues to provide quality formal jobs for Kenyans, providing value chain AI solutions for self-driving cars, virtual reality gaming consoles, fashion segmentation and Agricultural solutions for crop disease protection.”
Recently, Sama announced the unveiling of Platform 2.0, a re-engineered computer vision platform to reduce the risk of machine learning (ML) algorithm failures.
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