Africa-Press – Kenya. Kenya’s four largest business process outsourcing (BPO) and digital services operators have formed a lobby to accelerate job creation and positioning the country as a leading outsourced business services hub.
CCI Kenya, CloudFactory Kenya, Teleperformance Kenya and Sama Kenya — have launched the Outsourcing Alliance of Kenya (OAK), a private-sector coalition to advocate for policy reforms, attract global investment and align skills development with international demand.
Economic advisory firm Genesis Analytics will serve as the alliance’s executive secretariat.
“The alliance aims to stimulate job creation and global investment. We are aligning global demand with Kenya’s digital skills programmes to create sustainable careers for young people,” said, Genesis Analytics Head of Digital Livelihoods Jonathan Beardsley.
The formation of OAK comes as Kenya’s BPO and IT-enabled services sector continues to gain prominence as a source of formal employment for young people, particularly graduates with digital and language skills.
According to data from the ICT Authority of Kenya, the country’s BPO and IT-enabled services industry currently employs more than 60,000 people directly, with thousands more engaged through the gig economy and platform-based work.
Government estimates show the sector has been growing steadily alongside increased internet penetration, improved digital infrastructure and rising global demand for outsourced customer experience, data processing and AI-enabled services.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reports that the information and communication sector expanded by over 6 per cent in 2024, outpacing overall economic growth and reinforcing its role as a key driver of employment.
OAK says it is targeting more than 20 paid member companies by the second quarter of 2026, with a long-term goal of supporting the creation of 100,000 additional jobs across the outsourcing and global business services (GBS) value chain.
The alliance will also push for specific policy changes to improve Kenya’s competitiveness against rival outsourcing destinations such as India, the Philippines and South Africa.
Among its key proposals is the extension of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) incentives to any qualifying BPO firm that creates more than 300 jobs, regardless of where it is physically located. Currently, SEZ tax and regulatory benefits are tied to designated zones, a structure that industry players say limits expansion in urban centres where talent is concentrated.
The alliance is also advocating for a standardised transfer pricing framework for the sector to reduce tax uncertainty, an issue that has previously raised compliance risks for multinational outsourcing firms operating in Kenya.
Ministry of ICT and the Digital Economy estimates that more than 1 million young Kenyans enter the labour market annually, many of them digitally literate but under-employed.
At the same time, Kenya’s international connectivity, anchored by multiple undersea fibre-optic cables has reduced latency and costs, making the country increasingly attractive to global outsourcing clients.
As part of its agenda, OAK plans to organise an East Africa Global Business Services Summit to attract international operators, launch an AI Skills Observatory to track emerging workforce needs, and actively participate in shaping the country’s forthcoming National BPO Policy, which is being developed by the government.
