Taking Kenya’s Global Business Services Industry Beyond Nairobi: Inaugural BPO Stakeholder Roundtable Held in Eldoret

The State Department for ICT and the Digital Economy has convened the 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗣𝗢 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗹𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘁, bringing together national and county governments, industry players, investors and training institutions to identify practical measures for expanding Kenya’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Global Business Services (GBS) sector beyond Nairobi.

The session was led by the 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆, 𝗘𝗻𝗴. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻  𝗧𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗶, 𝗖𝗕𝗦, together with the 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗗𝗿. 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗞𝗶𝗽𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗴, 𝗖𝗕𝗦.

𝗔 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆

The global BPO market is valued at approximately 𝗨𝗦$𝟯𝟱𝟯–𝟯𝟱𝟴𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻, with annual growth of about 𝟵.𝟳%, driven by AI-enabled automation and the diversification of global service delivery locations. Kenya's broader GBS sector is valued at 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗨𝗦 $𝟳𝟬𝟬𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻, with estimated annual growth of 𝟭𝟱–𝟭𝟴.𝟴%.

PS Tanui framed the day around a single proposition: that global business services is the fastest available route to large-scale youth employment, and that the regions must not wait for Nairobi to lead. On a national potential of 2.5 million jobs, he noted, a ten per cent share for Eldoret alone would mean 𝟮𝟱𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. “𝗜𝗳 𝗘𝗹𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀, 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁.”

𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹: 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗯-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁

A key highlight was a panel discussion moderated by 𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗮, Director of the BPO Department at KenInvest, featuring 𝗦𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿, COO of Teleperformance for Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda and Chair of the Outsourcing Association of Kenya (OAK); 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲, CEO of Adept Technologies and Chair of the BPO Association of Kenya (BPOAK); 𝗗𝗮𝗻 𝗡𝗷𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗿𝗶, CEO of Lish AI; 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗯 𝗡𝘆𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗼, Co-Director of Zone01 Kisumu; 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗽𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗶, Founder and CEO of EldoHub; and 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗮 𝗠𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗶, CEO of OAK.

𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 — 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗱𝘁𝗵

Industry players were clear that BPO is a people-led business, and that the requirements extend well past connectivity:

𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 — the baseline for any operation

𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 within reach of where people work, priced for young people starting their careers

𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀, 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 to attract senior managers and expatriate staff

𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 — access ramps and accessible washrooms. Global clients audit for this, and facilities that fall short do not win the business.

The 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 set out the scale of the Affordable Housing Programme now running across the counties, alongside modern markets and student hostels at universities and colleges, and invited BPO investors to plan their workforce housing against it. PS Tanui directed that this engagement continue directly between the housing team and investors planning facilities in Eldoret, so that site planning accounts from the outset for where workers will live.

𝗣𝗦 𝗞𝗶𝗽𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗴: 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲

PS Dr. Belio Kipsang committed the Government to clearing the path for the sector, stressing how little public investment it requires relative to its return. “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻” — ensuring the legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks are properly laid out so the private sector can create the opportunities. He put the sector’s potential at 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝟮.𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀, with a comparable number created indirectly through facilities, equipment supply and support services.

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The engagement brought together county leadership, including 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗞𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗶, County Executive Committee Member for ICT, Uasin Gishu County, as well as representatives of Baringo County — underlining that extending digital employment and investment beyond major urban centres depends on collaboration between the two levels of government.

PS Tanui challenged counties to place their own contact centre, digitization and software development work with providers resident in their counties rather than exporting it to Nairobi. International clients look for talent with demonstrable experience, and that experience has to be created locally. He urged officials and academia to visit operators already delivering this work — among them 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗔𝗜 and 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲𝟬𝟭 𝗞𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗺𝘂 — some of whom already serve clients in the European Union and the United Kingdom. “They just need somebody to hold their hand to expand, to scale it.”

𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁

The Rift Valley’s university ecosystem — including 𝗠𝗼𝗶 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 and the 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗹𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘁, with further campuses across the region — provides an important foundation for the skilled workforce this industry requires. PS Tanui observed that on talent pipeline, no other city in Kenya besides Nairobi comes close. The priority now is to connect that talent to real work, build experience and create pathways into global markets.

Operators described hiring models that do not require a degree, built on pre-training partnerships in soft skills, with classes running in underserved communities and arrangements allowing young mothers to work from home. One firm reported 90 per cent impact hiring, with a target to grow impact sourcing by a further 25 per cent.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

Certification remains the gatekeeper to international contracts. COPC, SOC 2 and the ISO standards are client expectations rather than optional extras, with COPC alone cited at USD 70,000 annually. The challenge put to the room was how local and domestic providers can meet those standards faster, and at shared cost.

Participants also argued that Kenya need not chase work away from established markets. Clients are already diversifying where they place operations as other destinations face repeated weather disruption, and one operator cited a single client running 30,000 seats offshore, where even a small share would be transformative. The call to Invest Kenya was direct: market the country as a global business-continuity location.

𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗨 𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗰𝘆

The State Department is advancing the policy and regulatory frameworks the sector needs, including a 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗣𝗢 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 developed with the Ministry of Labour, trade unions, the ILO and industry; appropriate work permit arrangements; and a fully operational 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿 anchored on the Data Protection Act, 2019, its regulations and sector-specific guidelines.

Kenya’s pursuit of 𝗘𝗨 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗰𝘆 has advanced substantially, with the technical assessment phase completed and the next stages of engagement underway. Adequacy would allow personal data to move between Kenya and the European Union without additional process — lowering the cost of entry for every European SME considering Kenya, and laying the foundation for similar engagement with other jurisdictions.

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱

The roundtable identified four priorities: 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗣𝗢 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀, 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁, and 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 with emerging investment opportunities.

Delegates closed the session with a tour of the university housing project and the EldoHub campus.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿: 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘆𝗮’𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀.

#CatalyseKenya #BPO #GlobalBusinessServices #Eldoret #RiftValley #DigitalKenya #DigitalSuperhighway