New brand launched to elevate Fiji’s profile as a preferred destination for outsourcing services

The new ‘Outsource Fiji’ brand which is aimed to elevate Fiji’s profile as a preferred destination for outsourcing services and investment has been launched by the Business Process Outsourcing Council of Fiji.

The new brand was launched by Fiji’s Acting Prime Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum who says that economic diversification is fundamental for building back better post-COVID-19 and outsourcing services have the potential to be a future economic driver for Fiji, creating 100,000 new jobs over the next decade with the right policies, development and incentives in place.

Sayed-Khaiyum says people that have access to the technology live in the urban centres but to be able to ensure that the 100,000 jobs also goes to the people who live in the rural areas, it is critically important that they are provided with accessible and affordable technology.

He says even with BPOs coming into Fiji, certain skill sets are still not available in terms of managerial skill sets so they need to work for example with the Fiji National University to ensure that those skill sets and the training are made available.

Sayed-Khaiyum says government has provided a number of incentives to try and create an ecosystem for not just trying to address only calls, answering phone calls, but bit more sophisticated businesses that can come to Fiji which pay higher rates.

He says they are also encouraging research and development, animation, content creation and market research.

BPO Council President Carol Watkins says one of the mandates of the Council is to promote Fiji as an outsourcing destination and this new brand will help them raise Fiji's profile in this sector globally and give them an opportunity to promote as well as create awareness about Fiji as a BPO investment destination.

Watkins says the BPO market in Australia is valued at US$38 billion and if Fiji can have 5% of that market over the next 10 years, that will be US$1.9 billion or FJ$4.2 billion which was about 39% of Fiji's GDP in 2020.

She says it is clear that Fiji’s outsourcing industry is now a viable sector for Fiji's economic diversification.

The Australian High Commissioner, John Feakes says the re-brand and launch of Outsource Fiji signify how far the industry has come in a short period of time with key players coming together to launch Fiji onto the international stage as a premier outsourcing destination globally.

The Business Process Outsourcing Council of Fiji has stated that since 2019, the Australian Government’s Market Development Facility has supported the BPO Council to realise the sector’s growth and employment potential.

They say the Market Development Facility most recently supported the development of the BPO Council’s new interactive website, including Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing.

The new website was also launched at the Outsource Fiji brand event.