South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya emerge as Africa’s top work outsourcing markets

Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya have been ranked as Africa’s leading business process outsourcing (BPO) destinations as global firms shift customer service, AI training, and back-office work to lower-cost English-speaking markets.

A global ranking by US consultancy Ataraxis places South Africa first in Africa, followed by Nigeria and Kenya, highlighting the continent’s growing role in the global outsourcing market.

The rankings point to a shift in the global outsourcing market, with African economies emerging as credible alternatives for roles traditionally concentrated in Asia. It also reflects a trend in which African markets are competing on both cost and skills rather than just the youth population bulge. 

“South Africa ranks #5 globally, emerging as the highest-ranked outsourcing destination in Africa,” Ataraxis said. “Nigeria ranks #6 globally, benefiting from strong English proficiency, competitive labour costs, and high talent availability.”

Ataraxis said South Africa’s lead reflects stronger infrastructure and a more mature services sector, while Nigeria’s position is supported by a large, youthful labour force.

Kenya ranked 11th out of 193 countries, driven by low labour costs and strong English proficiency. The BPO sector covers outsourced functions including customer support, telemarketing, data entry, content moderation, and AI training.

Globally, the Philippines remained the top outsourcing destination, supported by scale, English fluency, and established infrastructure. India, Malaysia, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Argentina and Romania ranked above Kenya. The UK ranked 29th and the US 86th, weighed down by high labour costs.

Ataraxis said the US remains strong on infrastructure and business stability but uncompetitive on cost.

“Without the labour cost variable, the United States would rank among the strongest global talent markets,” Ataraxis said in the report. “US companies can often hire several offshore staff for the cost of one domestic employee.”

In Kenya, most outsourcing activity is concentrated in AI training, content moderation, customer support, telemarketing, data annotation, and digital marketing.

Companies such as Teleperformance and Sama already operate large outsourcing centres in Nairobi.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering new rules that would require foreign-based customer care workers serving American consumers to demonstrate proficiency in American-standard English. 

FCC chair Brendan Carr said on March 4 that Americans often struggle with offshore customer service due to language and cultural barriers. The move could open more BPO opportunities for English-speaking African countries like Nigeria and Kenya. 

Labour groups, however, have raised concerns over pay and working conditions in the sector, particularly in AI data work and content moderation.