The Mara Group’s IT company, Raps, announced it has formed a joint venture with Spanco, a leading provider of global business process outsourcing. The aim of the deal is to set up two world-class call centres in East Africa, one in Kampala, the other in Nairobi. Over 1,000 jobs will be created in the first phase and will lead to further employment. The call centre is aimed at providing vital support services to the telecommunications, financial services and government sector. The new company will operate under the name Raps Spanco.

“After seeing the success of call centers in India that employ millions, educate the youth and provide a base for them to kick-start their careers, we wanted to replicate this model within the ICT sector in East Africa,” says Mara’s managing director, Ashish Thakkar. Raps Uganda has been providing superior IT services for 15 years. The unparalleled knowledge and expertise of a highly skilled and trained workforce is the bedrock for delivering superior service quality to their clients.

Spanco employs over 10,000 people in call centres in India and has a turnover in excess of USD250m and Mara has in-depth knowledge of the local market conditions and how to train staff in Africa. The combination of these capacities will drive the growth of the business in the region. Spanco Chairman Kapil Puri firmly believes that the strength and know-how of Spanco in the sector will send a signal that East Africa is ready to do business. ‘Building a world-class call centre business here will allow us and our partners at Mara to lay the groundwork for opportunities in the private and public sectors’, he says.

The Mara Group sees the partnership attracting international clients to the region and by so doing create more and more local jobs and lead to investment in the ICT sector throughout Africa. Raps Spanco have been shortlisted for a BPO bid in countries like the DRC, Nairobi and Tanzania.

Source: http://www.ratio-magazine.com/201009303679/Corporate-Press-Releases/Uganda-Press-Releases-Raps-and-Spanco-Partnership-for-Outsourcing-Capacity-in-East-Africa.html