Introduction
 
This report describes the North African contact center outsourcing industry. It gives a broad market size and SWOT analysis. Strategic recommendations pertaining to each national market follow.
 

 
Scope
 
Detailed SWOT analyses of North Africa.
 
Detailed discussions of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia
 
Strategic recommendations, including market penetration and positioning, and how best to profit from North African locations over the long term
 
Highlights
 
Key drivers for North Africa include proximity, opportunities of penetrating new markets, and economic/political stability. However, appreciating real estate in growing economies could erode savings over the long-term.
 

 
North Africa's markets are aggressively pursuing outsourced contact center activity. Clients can benefit from multilingual and technically-aware agents, as well as telephony infrastructure investment by public bodies. In addition, many countries in the region offer generous incentives for foreign contact center investors.
 

 
North Africa has generally been the offshore destination of choice for French-language customer care. However, potential also exists for English and Spanish offerings, depending on the particular location.
 

 
Reasons to Purchase
 
Understand the dynamics and growth potential for North African outsourcing
 
Learn about hidden customer care opportunities in North Africa and how to profit from government incentives
 
Identify the best location for specific western markets, and how to penetrate those locations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
 
Introduction 3
 
Market context 4
 
Strategic recommendations 5
 
CHAPTER 2 INTRODUCTION 11
 
What is this report about? 11
 
Who is the target reader? 11
 
How to use this report 11
 
CHAPTER 3 MARKET ANALYSIS – NORTH AFRICA 13
 
Introduction 13
 
Contact center outsourcing in North Africa 13
 
Geographic split 14
 
North Africa – SWOT analysis 16
 
Strengths 16
 
Weaknesses 18
 
Opportunties 19
 
Threats 19
 
CHAPTER 4 EGYPT 21
 
Introduction 21
 
Egyptian outsourced contact center activity 21
 
Egypt – competitive overview 23
 
Labor 23
 
Business climate 23
 
Telco focus 26
 
Call center growth 26
 
Competitive overview 27
 
National market specialization 27
 
CHAPTER 5 MOROCCO 29
 
Introduction 29
 
Moroccan outsourced contact center activity 29
 
Morocco – competitive overview 31
 
Expanding markets 31
 
Labor market 31
 
Urban development 33
 
Government support 34
 
Competitive landscape 35
 
National market specialization 35
 
CHAPTER 6 TUNISIA 36
 
Introduction 36
 
Tunisian outsourced contact center activity 36
 
Tunisia – competitive overview 38
 
Labour 38
 
Government support: 39
 
Competitive landscape 40
 
National market specialization 40
 
CHAPTER 7 STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS 42
 
Introduction 42
 
Step one: determine customer needs 42
 
Step two: determine appropriate North African markets to handle western customer care 43
 
Step three: develop flexible solutions 44
 
Step four: develop long-term strategy 44
 
CHAPTER 8 APPENDIX 46
 
Definitions 46
 
Future readings 46
 
SPP writing team 47
 
How to contact experts in your industry 48
 

 
LIST OF TABLES
 
Table 1: North African outsourced agent positions, 2004 – 2009 14
 
Table 2: Egypt offshore outsourced agent positions, 2004 – 2009 22
 
Table 3: Selected outsourced contact center providers in Egypt 27
 
Table 4: Top offshore destinations serviced by Egyptian contact centers 28
 
Table 5: Moroccan offshore outsourced agent positions, 2004 - 2009 30
 
Table 6: Selected outsourced contact center providers in Morocco 35
 
Table 7: Top offshore destinations serviced by Moroccan contact centers 35
 
Table 8: Tunisian offshore outsourced agent positions, 2004 - 2009 37
 
Table 9: Top offshore destinations serviced by Tunisian contact centers 41
 

 

 
LIST OF FIGURES
 
Figure A: North African outsourced agent positions, 2004 – 2009 4
 
Figure 1: North African outsourced agent positions, 2004 – 2009 14
 
Figure 2: North African offshore outsourced agent positions by geography, 2005 – 2009 15
 
Figure 3: North African vs. selected western unemployment rates, 2004 17
 
Figure 4: Egypt offshore outsourced agent positions, 2004 – 2009 22
 
Figure 5: Key Egyptian economic indicators, 2002 - 2004 25
 
Figure 6: Egyptian stock index, 2000 - 2005 25
 
Figure 7: Moroccan offshore outsourced agent positions, 2004 - 2009 30
 
Figure 8: Tunisian offshore outsourced agent positions, 2004 - 2009 37