EAO Summit already an industry success

The East Africa Outsourcing Summit is well underway. The inaugural summit is taking place at the Crowne Plaza Nairobi Hotel in the heart of Kenya’s capital. The must-attend outsourcing industry event of the year is produced by international business-to-business conferencing company, Kinetic Events in proud association with the Kenya ICT Board and KITOS.

Day one of the global initiative kicked off with an opening address by the esteemed Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communication. The exclusive welcome touched on the many topical issues that will be addressed at the summit over the next two days, including the influence and growth of BPO and IT enabled services, and the state of maturity within East Africa. Ndemo briefly introduced the influence of the Kenya Vision 2030 and how the Kenyan government is committed to actively promote Kenya as an outsourcing destination of choice.

The summit has generated much excitement among attendee arrivals, as they enter into the first keynote session of the day, presented by Anil Wadhwa, Global Business Development Director from exclusive lead sponsor, Spanco BPO. Anil has provided insight into the domestic growth of outsourcing to attract the global industry to East Africa. Anil stated, “As the best practices of the BPO industry are established locally, and local professionals evolve in this industry, sub-Saharan countries will be ready to handle outsourced work of established Western markets and compete with leading global outsourcing destinations.”

Paul Kukubo, Chief Executive, Kenya ICT Board; will deliver a must-attend keynote session, providing an innovative outlook into building IT businesses within Kenya. Attendees are eagerly anticipating the internationally renowned and respected summit guest.

In a few hours, attendees will be gearing up for an informative keynote session presented by Gurdeep Grewal, Senior Vice President from summit gold sponsor, Zensar Technologies. The session will address leveraging smart sourcing to build a next generation enterprise, prompting interesting debate among delegates including building the next generation organisation focusing IT budgets on maintaining operations, leveraging new outsourcing opportunities and technologies to add business value.

The first panel discussion will focus on BPO and IT enabled services within East Africa. Presented by an expert-led panel team including; Tejpal Bedi, Chairman, Kenya IT and Outsourcing Society (KITOS); Gilda Odera, Head, Prime Minister’s Working Group – BPO/ITES; Julius Opio, Head of East and North Africa Region, SEACOM; and Badru Ntege, Chairman, Uganda BPO Association.

Exclusive lead sponsor, Spanco BPO will deliver a well-presented workshop on the paradigm shift in customer service, focusing efforts on assisting delegates in discovering the positive influence of customer service on the enterprise. The second workshop presented by Spanco BPO will address topical industry concern on the nurturing and growth of human capital.

Zensar Technologies will present an informative and educational workshop on understanding the evolving role of the CIO in the next generation enterprise.

Contact centre technology partners; Cisco and Dimension Data, will deliver an informative workshop session highlighting the best practices for setting up and delivering efficient and cost effective contact centres.

Munjal Shah, Director for Business Development from Techno Brain BPO ITES, will address emerging trends in the local BPO within East Africa, elaborating in a much anticipated discussion focusing on how Africa is on the fast track to economic growth.

The second panel discussion will begin in the late afternoon, presented by; Carol Karugu, Manager Investor Relations, Nairobi Securities Exchange; Julie Mandu, Customer Relations Manager, Kenya Airways; Jim McFie, Academic and Research Director for the School of Management and Commerce at Strathmore University; Rita Apell, the Head of IT, East African Development Bank in Uganda and Paul Kukubo, Chief Executive, Kenya ICT Board. The discussion will focus on building the East African brand and how East African companies can develop a distinctive brand for themselves in a highly competitive international market.

Tejpal Bedi, Chairman of KITOS will close the first day with a topical keynote session addressing East Africa’s readiness for business and further developing the local market.

Day one has already begun with much excitement and promises to remain a ‘buzzing’ frenzy throughout the next two days. Attendees have already shown much satisfaction, continuing the enthusiasm throughout the morning.

The strategic summit aims to explore the alignment of people, process and technology; and will offer insight into the solutions available to contact centres today, assisting companies in the negotiations and selecting the tools best suited to their needs. Attendees are able engage in interactive conference sessions and educational workshops designed for quality time and interaction with peers.

For more information, comment or photographs, visit www.eaosummit.com or contact Shaunei Meintjes on +27 21 555 0866 or [email protected]. Follow @ITLeadersAfrica and @KineticEventsSA on Twitter for daily updates and news feeds.