Vice President of Business Process Outsourcing Council of Fiji, Ms Josie Prasad,

Outsource Fiji Executive Director, Ms Sagufta Janif,

CEO of Auckland Business Chamber, Mr Simon Bridges,

CEO of Investment Fiji, Mr Kamal Chetty,

Fiji’s Trade Commissioner to New Zealand and Australia, Mr Daniel Stow,

Outsource Operators in Fiji,

Distinguished Guests and Panelists,

Kia ora! and a very good morning to you all.

It is a great pleasure to join you virtually for “Fiji Outsourcing Symposium and Exhibition” – Outsource Fiji’s lead in event of the many to be held in New Zealand.

At the outset, I would like to acknowledge Outsource Fiji, Business Process Outsourcing Council of Fiji and the Auckland Business Chamber for organising this event.
Tēnā koutou, to our esteemed panelists from the Victoria University of Wellington, Investment Fiji, Fiji Consulate General & Trade Commission, Tower Insurance, ANZ Fiji, Pepper Advantage Hub, and Mindpearl.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As one of the founding members of the Business Process Outsourcing Council of Fiji, I can recall the very first discussion, organised by Investment Fiji in April 2017 to establish the Business Process Outsourcing Council of Fiji. Thereon, I have seen the industry members band together, a reassurance that the industry boasts the support of its key stakeholders – and of course a step in the right direction.

As an industry with great potential – Fiji is at the halfway point of sharing the comfort level of outsourcing, especially with employees working remotely, both during the pandemic and post-pandemic. As an outsourcing destination Fiji is favoured by cost efficiency, infrastructure, expertise and quality assurance, compliance and above all “culture”.

Whilst Fiji is admired worldwide for its picturesque hospitality industry – our foundation for being a successful outsourcing destination is evident in the areas of understanding brand goals and objectives, sharing strategic vision, and maintaining good working relations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One solution which gained popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic, is outsourcing, and evidently Fiji’s outsourcing industry has made headway since the first international call centre opened its doors in 2009.

I am pleased to mention that three New Zealand companies have already outsourced their services to outsourcing operators in Fiji, and put to good use Fiji’s service offering in the area of outbound sales generation, customer care support and I.T management support to name a few. This indeed is an impressive way of “building a remote-first work culture”.

To fully realise the potential of the industry, the Fiji Government will implement strategies in partnership with the private sector in the areas of education and training.

To date, the team at Outsource Fiji and the Business Process Outsourcing Council of Fiji have taken great strides with the Fiji National University, University of the South Pacific and the Australia Pacific Training Coalition to develop these opportunities.

Invigorating these opportunities means we train and develop our workforce with “industry specific skills” and formal education, to hit the ground running, increasing talent availability in Fiji.

I am pleased to mention that the team at Outsource Fiji will also be launching a fully accredited Level 3 Program for “Operations in a Contact Centre” – a program being developed with extensive industry consultation alongside leadership development studies and have done a pilot program with Skill New Zealand.

To maintain its position as a versatile outsourcing destination, the Business Process Outsourcing Council of Fiji plans to work with local universities to develop talents in “Knowledge Process Outsourcing” and the “Information Technology” space.

As a young nation, we pride in Fiji’s 46 percent population which is under the age of 25, boasting a literacy rate above 90 percent. The Fiji Government will continue to invest in the development of the education system to ensure our people are equipped to handle your business and customers – because we are serious about maintaining our quality, credibility and operational excellence.

In any circumstance, it is vital for a business environment to be facilitative – this is where the Fiji Government will ensure unnecessary bottlenecks are removed, and with the establishment of the Reforms Unit within the Ministry I am at the helm of, we will coordinate, analyse, and work with approval agencies to streamline these procedures through various reforms. The Fiji Government also offers incentives such as tax breaks, subsidies and other financial incentives to encourage investment in the outsourcing industry.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Fiji Government will continue to implement strategies to improve telecommunication infrastructure – and as the Minister responsible for Communication, I have met with key telecommunication businesses in Fiji and am delighted to share that the establishment of a second submarine cable landing station in Fiji is underway and will engrain our resiliency and will place Fiji as an attractive outsourcing destination.

I am often reminded of our beloved nation as a “dot on the World map”, but I must say, during the pandemic when many industries were at a standstill – our outsourcing operators manned by its talented workforce were busier than ever. It took a pandemic to earn our added stripes as a risk diversification destination – and that we are today!

Since then, many new operators have emerged in the areas of knowledge process outsourcing, digital marketing, finance marketing and legal outsourcing to name a few.

I am sure you want to hear more from Fiji’s outsourcing operators and our esteemed panelist present about the opportunities Fiji offers in the outsourcing space. I wish you all well in your deliberations and look forward to hearing the fruitful outcomes. Vinaka Vakalevu and Thank you.