Merchants launch iSelect campaign

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Pretoria - Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has congratulated Merchants on the launch of a new Australian offshore business process services (BPS) campaign.

The campaign, named iSelect, was launched on Tuesday and it will be serviced from Cape Town. iSelect is Australia’s market leader for online insurance, utilities and personal finance comparison.

Minster Davies said he is pleased to see the continued growth of the company, since his meeting with its Managing Director George Todd in October 2014, during the launch of the revised BPS incentive scheme in London.

Merchants has been one of the pioneers in developing and supporting South Africa’s business process offshoring value proposition over the last 14 years.

In partnership with the dti, Merchants has demonstrated South Africa’s value proposition, which is underpinned by high quality standards, relevant skills, and the potential to deliver complex and noncomplex processes, as well as cost savings.

“The investment and commitment of iSelect and Merchants is further example of the working partnership with government whereby the strategic objectives of the sector are met in terms of foreign direct investment, youth job creation, export revenue generation and the implementation of career pathing in the sector,” said Minister Davies.

The Minister further added that the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) remains committed to growing the sector, which was recently recognised as the Global Outsourcing Associations offshore destination of the year for 2016.

Minister Davies added that government’s primary objective is to support economic growth, job creation and empowerment and have recognised the potential of this sector in realising these objectives.

Through the dti incentive scheme, BPS Policy Framework, Monyetla Work Readiness Programme and the creation of a dedicated division in the dti, InvestSA focusing on investment promotion, facilitation and aftercare, the dti has reaffirmed its intentions to act as an enabler for foreign investment, by creating a favourable environment for potential investors to do business with South Africa.

Since 2012, the local offshore BPS market has experienced compounded average growth of 25% year-on-year and now boasts around 30 000 offshore jobs, with the United Kingdom being the leading buyer of South African BPS services, followed by Australia and the United States, which is rapidly growing.

This work has been spread across South Africa’s offshore delivery centres of Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. - SAnews.gov.za