Call centre boom gives thousands a first formal paycheck
Thousands land first formal jobs as US clients drive outsourcing growth
For the thousands of South Africans who filled 26,346 new call centre jobs last year, the growth of the business process outsourcing sector is not an abstract trade story. It is a paycheck, a career, and, for many, the first stable foothold in a formal job. The industry fields inquiries, complaints and other calls for client companies around the world, in sectors ranging from financial services to retail and healthcare, and generated an estimated R53bn in revenue in 2024, according to AlphaBPO.
What makes that growth remarkable, insiders say, is where it is coming from. Diplomatic relations between Pretoria and Washington might be strained, but the US market is proving the sector’s biggest win. Crispin Sonn, chair of the Business Process Enabling SA (BPESA) board, told Business Times this week that the breakthrough into the US had been transformative for South African BPO providers.
“Traditionally … the South African market has had a very good and easy relationship with the UK. Specifically, the UK as a source market for business has been our primary market. We’ve had some successes in Australia,” Sonn said. “But I think the big success we’ve had is our breakthrough into the US market, which is a much bigger market.”
The US, he explained, is a complicated market to serve, because each state carries its own set of expectations and regulations. Even so, its relatively high standard of living and population spread across multiple time zones have been a big boost for South African providers, whose working hours line up neatly with American mornings and afternoons.
Meanwhile, the human side of that opportunity was a running theme at a BPO conference in Cape Town this week, where Sonn spoke to Business Times on the sidelines. One of the single biggest things the country could do to strengthen its standing with US clients, he argued, was to improve flight connections and broader travel access. “Somebody mentioned the fact that it took them 22 hours with a layover to get here from the US,” he said. “Going to Mexico, which is also a source market for the UK, is a four-hour direct flight. So you really need to be able to make that air access convenient.”
Better diplomatic ties, he added, would have a knock-on effect for visas, air access and trade generally. “Right now, we are winning, despite none of that being present.”
For workers in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, the shift in client geography has been visible on the ground. Clayton Williams, CEO of CapeBPO, said the Western Cape’s major market had been the UK, accounting for 90% of the region’s volumes, until seven years ago. Since the Covid pandemic, US clients now account for 25%. He credited the pivot to the crisis itself: the Philippines, another major call centre country, could not service US volumes under pandemic constraints, and “weren’t as agile as we were in terms of our delivery under the auspices of essential services.” American companies had to look at alternative offshore locations, and “South Africa came up.”
Visitors from the client side have noticed the difference. Kevin Lasky, COO of the US customer relations consulting firm ApexCX, said the company had helped South African call centres with expansion, brand positioning and sales strategies. “Late 2016 was around the first time Apex came down to South Africa, and we’ve seen it grow and expand. I’ve spent time in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg over the last four years … Just seeing how much it’s expanded and how much it impacts the lives of people … tells a really compelling message to US buyers.”
Tom McCormick, a US specialist in the sector, said he was “very satisfied” with how South African call centres were winning contracts in America. “The promise of a really competent and intelligent workforce has proven to be true. Also, the operators and the ecosystem are maturing,” he said, adding that risk, governance and regulatory perspectives were all satisfactory.
The full account, as published by Business Times, can be read here: https://www.sundaytimes.timeslive.co.za/business/2026-11-14-who-you-gonna-call-someone-in-south-africa/
For now, the sector’s success rests on the people answering the phones, and on a time zone advantage no diplomat can take away.
Q&A
How many new call centre jobs did the South African BPO sector create last year, and what do they mean for workers?
Crispin Sonn, chair of the BPESA board, said the breakthrough into the US market was the sector's big success, though the UK has traditionally been its primary market and Australia has seen some successes.
Why did US clients turn to South Africa during the Covid pandemic?
He noted the Philippines could not service US volumes under pandemic constraints and were not as agile in delivering under essential services, so American companies turned to South Africa as an alternative offshore location.
What does Crispin Sonn say would strengthen the country's standing with US clients?
Improved flight connections and travel access, better diplomatic ties, and easier visas and trade conditions would strengthen South Africa's standing, especially against Mexico's four-hour direct flights.
What did US visitors say about the South African call centre industry?
Kevin Lasky of ApexCX said seeing the sector expand and impact people's lives sends a compelling message to US buyers, and Tom McCormick said the competent workforce and maturing ecosystem satisfied risk, governance and regulatory perspectives.