Business Process Outsourcing investors: Georgia “on radar” of “many prospective investors”

Investment consultants and managers from the world’s leading business process outsourcing companies joining the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum have said the country has established itself “on the radar” of “many prospective investors” in the sector. 

Agenda.ge asked the investors about their first impressions of the domestic investment environment, with the respondents praising “positive dynamics” in the industry, as well as the country’s investment potential.

Video published by the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum Facebook page shows the history of Silk Road and its role in trade.

Peter Ryan, one of the world's leading experts in customer experience and business process outsourcing from Ryan Strategic Advisory, told the website investors and influencers he had brought to the event “appreciated transparency” of the Georgian Government and Enterprise Georgia, the state agency promoting entrepreneurship, investment and exports.

They gave a fully transparent table set out for them in terms of what they could expect in the near and medium term, as well as what George's working on to try and make sure that it becomes an optimal destination”, Ryan said.

The Government is doing a lot already. The recommendations that I would make for the Government right now would be to continue promoting Georgia in target markets with a positive spin, to talk about Georgia as a destination where you can find high quality labour, great technology skills, excellent infrastructure as well as accessibility”, he added.

Speaking about challenges the country faced on the path, Ryan noted lack of awareness and airline connections.

The reality is there's a lot of well-known destinations that are doing BPO work around the world. Georgia really got on the radar of many prospective investors now. The good news for Georgia is the Government, the investment promotion agency as well as the elected officials are making outsourcing a priority and this is why we're seeing more and more investors coming into Georgia and taking advantage of the amazing talent, infrastructure and technology that's available on the ground”, he said.

Mauricio Velasquez, the Managing Director of Velasquez & Co and a BPO expert. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

Mauricio Velasquez, the Managing Director of Velasquez & Co and a BPO expert who helps companies build Go To Market plans, said he had discovered Georgia as a “very spectacular country, full of vibe, good energy and interesting people”. 

I think it's a great opportunity for your country to do business on a worldwide basis. We have seen that it's a bunch of characteristics and important things that can be melted into something that is going to be very important for your country and for the companies that are coming with me. The characteristics of your country make me think that this is a good choice for IT and BPO companies to come and establish in Georgia”, he said. 

Velasquez added the country needed to “keep building on” the existing processes. 

You are probably on some initial stages into the industry. What you need is to continue convincing more investors to come and work from here, convince them they can be developed and grow here”, he said.

Photo: Tbilisi Silk Road

Sherif Kamel, Country Manager from RAYA Customer Experience, which provides “next-generation” BPO and customer experience management, said he had already made a decision to invest in the country. 

He said the “hospitable nature” of Georgian people had encouraged him to invest in Georgia as the BPO industry “is based on people, on the skills, hospitality, and the courtesy of people”. 

Having this part of the culture makes it very easy to invest over here and build up a very good team with amazing skills. If you guys believe that guests are gifts from God, you guys are a gift from God to the nations of the world”, he said, adding that another reason why he decided to invest in Georgia was the “enormous” economic outlook of the country.

The potential over here is enormous, so we look forward to expanding and recruiting developers. Besides, help from the Government, support from Enterprise Georgia and the process of the business registration itself was very, very smooth.  This was the most helpful and smooth registration I have ever done in my life”, Kamel said.

Sean Dunacombe, co-founder of an AI-driven podcast creation platform. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge

Sean Dunacombe, co-founder of an AI-driven podcast creation platform, said he looked at Georgia as a potential place to diversify his company’s developer pool. 

I've seen a tremendous opportunity here in Georgia, especially with the infrastructure of the data that has been built here. I think we can all benefit from coming to Georgia. People here are very creative. You can see all around in art”, he said.

Investors from other sectors also participated in B2B meetings hosted as part of the Forum on Friday, with the networking opportunities used to establish ties with possible partners in Georgia. 

Overall, about 2,300 delegates from 63 countries attended the Silk Road Forum in the Georgian capital to discuss global economic challenges, ways to solve them, and aspects and perspectives of cooperation for connectivity. 

Founded by Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the first edition of the Forum was hosted in Tbilisi in 2015.