Fourteen years after the national outsourcing policy and institutional framework was constituted, the scheme is yet to take off. Stakeholders have pointed out how the economy can be diversified through outsourcing. TOBA AGBOOLA writes.
Nigeria has no national laws or regulations on outsourcing. Mostly, contracts are interpreted and governed by common law.
To a large extent, English Law has influenced some aspects of outsourcing transactions such as data privacy, confidentiality and labour law.
Stakeholders believe that Nigeria, being the second-largest economy in Africa, should not be left behind in the outsourcing initiative train.
They argued that a viable outsourcing sector would assist in the diversification of Nigeria’s economic base.
They said for Nigeria to become more attractive in the outsourcing business and a hub, it must review, without delay, the Nigerian National Outsourcing Policy and Institutional Framework 2007 document.
The policy document, which was unveiled by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as the regulator, they said, would propel the industry to play its proper role in the economy.
The need to properly place outsourcing was the fulcrum of this year’s stakeholders conference organised by members of the Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN), with ‘Mainstreaming outsourcing through strong policies and legal structures’ as the theme.
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Principal Partner, Samuel J.O. and Associates/Managing Partner, Lewis Partners Consulting, Jacqueline Odiadi, in her presentation, said a viable outsourcing sector would enable the nation to enjoy the benefits of free trade through lower cost, higher labour productivity and more efficiency.
She said the Federal Government must embark on an accelerated phase-by-phase implementation strategy, in which the outsourcing economy would first be developed to focus on onshore markets, and then proceed to near-shore markets and finally the global offshore market.
To successfully implement the National Initiative on outsourcing, she maintained that there was a need for a strong collaborative effort between the government and the industry leaders in the private sector.
The role of the government in this initiative, according to her, is to provide the necessary incentive that would motivate both local and foreign entrepreneurs to invest in the sector of the economy.
The role of the private sector, she stated is to take advantage of the incentive programme and utilise its benefit in creating a new and vibrant sector of the economy.
She said in developing the local market and for Nigeria to move up from Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) to Knowledge Processing Outsourcing (KPO), it must first develop its local market to attract international investors who are looking to move up the value chain.
He said the insecurity situation in the North would also affect the agricultural sector growth rate.
He said the interest rate is expected to continue its upward trajectory in the credit market, adding that it would be driven by continuous liquidity mop-up by the Central Bank Nigeria.
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