EAO Summit an industry success, well into day two as delegates provide positive feedback

The inaugural East Africa Outsourcing Summit is well into its second day, 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 first day featured a cutting-edge schedule including expert-led panel discussions presented by; Tejpal Bedi, Chairman, Kenya IT and Outsourcing Society (KITOS); John Waibochi, CEO, Virtual City; Mugo Kibati, Executive Director, Kenya Vision 2030; Carol Karugu, Manager Investor Relations, Nairobi Securities Exchange; and Julie Mandu, Customer Relations Manager, Kenya Airways.

Day one of the summit featured informative workshops, presented by summit partners including Spanco BPO, Zensar Technologies, Cisco and Dimension Data. The industry success that was day one, was closed by the esteemed Tejpal Bedi, Chairman of KITOS.

Day two of the summit was opened with an exclusive panel discussion, presented by Edward Kinyanjui – Chief Financial Officer, Plexus Group; Sam Kariuki – Business growth strategist, trainer and consultant, Growth Partners; John Kariuki, Assistant Director, Economic Pillars, Kenya Vision 2030; Meshack Miyogo – Business Development Manager, CIC Insurance; and Eva Kiplagat – Managing Director, Customer Service Consulting Company. The discussion successfully addressed obtaining maximum added value from outsourcing budgets in a recessive economic climate.

In the first keynote session of the day; David Njoga, Business Continuity Analyst, Kenya Airways LTD presented a topical and informative discussion on business continuity management, with a focus on new integrated risk management approaches to providing business resilience.

Kenya Revenue Authority’s Contact Centre Head, Fiona Mshai provided invaluable insight into the knowledge services industry, with a strategic focus on opportunities for captive centres in the public sector. Shortly after this session, Dr. Gilbert Saggia, the Regional Manager from Cisco East Africa added his industry insight highlighting the influence of taking the internet to the world while evolving the human network.

During the course of the early morning, Dr. Gilbert Saggia, Regional Manager from Cisco East Africa will deliver a must-attend keynote session, focusing on taking the internet to the world, while evolving the human network.

Summit exclusive lead sponsor, Spanco BPO will present an informative workshop, addressing quality as a culture within the service industry and integrating technology as a tool for the enterprise.

Internationally renowned and respected summit guest, Abubaker Luwaga, Chief Executive Officer, Cayman Consults in Uganda, will explore the importance of transparency in the success of the customer-provider relationship within East African outsourcing industry.

In the early afternoon, summit organisers will welcome Dr Kai Uwe Wulff, Chief Evangelist for the Plexus Group USA to present a topical keynote addressing internet trade balances, elaborating on why data centres and services within Africa are the only way to develop the industry.

Jerry Durant, the esteemed Chairman Emeritus, International Institute for Outsource Management (IIOM) will deliver an informative keynote session on the successes of East Africa entitled; “Is it fear, or is it East Africa?”

The late afternoon will see the commencement of the much anticipated expert-led panel discussion on staffing analysis; exploring the alignment of brand promise with employee behaviour. The panel includes; Dan Mugera, Founder and Co-Director, East African Centre for Public Speaking; Romana Rajput, Managing Director, Paynet Kenya; Javas Bigambo, Chief Executive, Interthoughts Consulting; and Anne Muchiri, Managing Partner, Muchiri & Associates, Commercial Law. The panel will explore employees at the frontline of the company brand promise.

The successes of the summit will be concluded with a topical and current keynote session, presented by James Saaka, Chairman, NITA in Uganda. James will provide invaluable insight into the development of ICT parks, exploring business process outsourcing and information technology enabled services (ITES) within Uganda.

Day one has proved to be an industry success with positive feedback satisfaction from all attendees, summit partners and sponsors. Summit producers, Kinetic Events; in proud association with the Kenya ICT Board and KITOS have achieved a global industry initiative success at the summit this year; proving that next year’s event will be even more impactful.

Day one of the strategic summit has explored the alignment of people, process and technology; and offered great insight into the many solutions available to contact centres today, assisting attendees in the negotiation processes and in selecting the tools best suited to their needs. Attendees were able to 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.