Discover why global brands choose Fiji over other destinations.
The right mix of talent, infrastructure, location excellence and government incentives, makes Fiji the outsourcing destination of choice for many New Zealand and Australian companies.
With only a three-to-four-hour flight away and a similar time zone, Fiji is the excellent location for nearshoring opportunities. "Fiji has become a "nearshoring mecca" because of our close proximity to the New Zealand and Australian market. With the unfolding Covid-19 crisis, the BPO companies in Fiji showed resilience and adaptability that was not possible for traditional BPO destinations," says Faiyaz Koya, Fijian Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport.
"Initially, clients chose Fiji as risk diversification for their outsourcing operations. But, after experiencing high levels of efficiency with Fiji's service providers, a number of these companies have now moved their operations to Fiji permanently; we are now the primary destination for outsourcing," says Sagufta Janif, Executive Director for Outsource Fiji.
ANZ, one of the pioneers who moved their Pacific operations to Suva set up its call centre in Fiji in 2002 to service customers in eight core Pacific countries (Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Solomon Island and Timor-Leste).
"We started out with just a call centre and built it up from there," says Raven Achari, Chief Financial officer for ANZ Pacific. ANZ Pacific now has 300 staff in its Pacific hub and processing centres that cover credit card processing, lending operations, payments and account reconciliation, among other functions. Achari says Fiji has an excellent chance to build on its already fast-growing outsourcing credentials.
"Fiji is no longer the 'new kid on the block' when it comes to the BPO sector," says Hon. Faiyaz Koya. "We have BPO-ready infrastructure, where operators can come and set up business. We have the right environment for BPO operations in Fiji. As the Government, we have contributed to making it even more attractive, through incentives, for you to invest in Fiji."
Cost savings of up to 70 per cent can benefit companies who move operations to Fiji from Australia and New Zealand. Achari says various government tax incentives add up to big savings, as does the ability to repatriate profits. In addition, businesses incurring setting up costs have the ability to carry losses forward for four years.
To further promote Fiji as an outsourcing destination, the BPO council earlier this year launched the Outsource Fiji brand.
"The new brand portrays our excellent service culture, modern infrastructure and a highly-skilled, diverse workforce. The Outsource Fiji brand will not only promote the outsourcing services we offer but also aims to market Fiji as a destination for BPO investment as well," says Carol Watkins, President of Fiji's BPO council.
Camila Eiras, Business Advisor at the Fiji Trade Commission to New Zealand, says: "Since the launch of Outsource Fiji, we have experienced an increase in BPO-related inquiries from New Zealand-based companies. Fiji's premium infrastructure – in particular, telecommunications, high-speed internet (enabled by the Southern Cross data link), an excellent transportation network and stable power supply – remains one of the strongest reasons why businesses consider to invest in Fiji's BPO sector".
Expectations of Australian and Kiwi customers are changing fast; they want to interact with companies that enact their values – exactly what Fiji offers.
"The other reasons [for outsourcing to Fiji] are the skill set of the local workforce," says Achari. Fiji's universities are well-known and internationally recognised, says Achari, with curricula developed to dovetail with the needs of the outsourcing industry.
With access to a large talent pool and low attrition rates, Fiji is able to offer a highly qualified workforce to companies looking to overcome the skill shortage issues prevalent in New Zealand and Australia.
The population is English-speaking and literacy rate is in the high 90 per cent. Fiji's experience in the tourism and service industries means the workforce is also imbued with natural customer service skills, very good at meeting customer needs.
In addition to ANZ, DHL also moved their Pacific operations to Fiji. The global leader in logistics has over 160 staff in Fiji, of which 120 are employed to provide back-end support in the Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand.
DHL Express Fiji Country Manager, Mr Mark Komene, says: "It was really interesting, we did some analysis and we looked at the quality of work from Fiji, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India and it was inevitably Fiji that was ranked on the top in terms of quality and reliability."
Fiji is well positioned to become the first choice for New Zealand businesses looking to outsource their operations.