BPO Operations to be Expanded

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operations are to be expanded in Montego Bay, St. James, and Portmore, St. Catherine, this fiscal year, with an allocation of $1.91 billion.

The money has been allocated to the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure, to support expanded investment in the sector.

BPO, which involves subcontracting various business-related operations to a third party provider, is considered one of the most promising areas for spurring job creation and development in the Jamaican economy.

According to information provided by Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), the Information and Communications Technology (ICT)/BPO sector, which had an estimated value of US$250 million in 2013, is a high-performing segment of Jamaica’s services industries.

JAMPRO also shares that the sector has enjoyed the highest employment growth rate of any sector in the last decade, and presently accounts for more than 14,000 jobs across the island.

Approximately 32 companies offer call centre and BPO services in Jamaica. The companies are a combination of captives and providers, and are both local and foreign-owned. The majority of operations are located in Montego Bay, Kingston and Portmore, while Mandeville is at the forefront of emerging locations.

In addition, a variety of industries, including telecoms, banking, insurance and healthcare are being serviced from Jamaica. Other services include tech support, gaming, finance and accounting.

Meanwhile, $400 million has been set aside in the Estimates to support the Export/Import Bank of Jamaica (EXIM Bank) in carrying out its mandate of providing credit to the productive sector.