The push for stronger standards in Nigeria’s outsourcing industry has gained fresh momentum. This follows renewed calls by industry stakeholders for sustainable outsourcing practices and tighter regulatory coordination to strengthen the sector’s global competitiveness.
The Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN), which made the call, identified policy reform as central to strengthening the industry, noting that a key priority is the passage of an outsourcing bill. The proposed legislation, it said, would help give a clearer structure to the practice, remove lip service within the sector, and recognise the present and future importance of outsourcing while offering greater protection and confidence to service providers.
AOPN President, Mope Abudu, said this at the association’s interface and eleventh induction conference, noting that strengthening the industry would also require improved competitiveness, clearer governance standards, ethical work practices, and deeper professionalism.
She said these were necessary to enhance credibility and position Nigeria’s outsourcing sector for sustainable growth, stressing the need to emphasise sustainability and incorporate the new wave of ESG.
“We really need to emphasise sustainability and incorporate the new wave of ESG, because it is not just about returning capital or revenue; it is about adopting world-class expectations so that we become much more competitive locally as well as internationally,” she said.
Echoing the concerns, the immediate past president of AOPN, Dr Obiora Madu, stressed that to improve job creation, worker protection, and overall sustainability in Nigeria’s outsourcing industry, a law is needed to guide outsourcing practices.
He added that the interface remains crucial for bringing buyers, sellers, and regulators of services together, stressing that the outsourcing industry “holds so much future” for Nigeria if policymakers pay closer attention.
Madu identified persistent labour-related challenges, including the poor quality of graduates that forces firms to undertake additional training, making them less competitive, and the country’s inability to attract major global outsourcing firms.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Sustainable Outsourcing Practices’, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, said information technology now serves as the central engine powering sustainable outsourcing, noting that no sector can thrive without robust digital infrastructure, skilled talent, and trusted governance frameworks.
He said NITDA is strengthening the ecosystem through expanded digital innovation hubs, broadband-enabled infrastructure, talent acceleration programmes such as 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT), and improved data protection and cybersecurity frameworks to build industry-wide trust.
In addition to this, National Coordinator of the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), Teju Abisoye, said recent government reforms were helping to secure the operating environment for service providers, citing approvals on intellectual property rights and the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol as major steps forward.
“We got approval on intellectual property rights. This is to ensure that intellectual assets and data handled by Nigerian firms are legally secure and protected to global standards,” she said.
The association also inducted new members and recognised contributors to the sector.
