Infrastructural gaps, policy implementation, business climate, talent readiness, and standards have been identified as barriers to the nation’s potential to achieve global competitiveness.

With a global BPO market expected to double to $696 billion by 2033, outsourcing professionals advised that Nigeria’s best play is to aim where growth and its strength intersect.

Speaking on ‘Strengthening Nigeria’s Outsourcing Ecosystem for Global Competitiveness’, Chairman, Phillips Group, Foluso Phillips, said that with $10 billion in yearly services exports and being among the top five global outsourcing destinations, a decade of disciplined execution can make Nigeria the natural home of global services delivery in Africa.

Phillips spoke at this year’s outsourcing expo, organised by the Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN) in Lagos.

Represented by the Chief Operating Officer at Phillips Consulting Limited, Dr Olawanle Moronkeji, he urged that Nigeria must enact a practical national framework strengthened on six pillars of policy and regulation, digital infrastructure, talent at scale, export promotion and investment as well as standards, security and trust.

According to him, a national outsourcing policy with stable incentives and data protection enforcement must be aligned to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Putting a call to action, Phillips also called for collaboration among the universities and professional bodies to co-design curricula with industry-embedded certifications; private sector and providers, as well as the government’s participation to enact a national outsourcing policy with stable incentives that guarantee power and fibre in delivery zones, enforce data protection and make FX and export payments frictionless.

To further position Nigeria as a global outsourcing destination, panellists urged that organisations must be future-ready and embrace artificial intelligence (AI).

In her remarks, AOPN President, Mope Abudu said Nigeria’s outsourcing industry has the potential to become a major contributor to the country’s economy if it embraces global standards and technology.

Abudu said one of the key takeaways from the discussions was the need for the association to build stronger standardisation structures, stressing that competitiveness depends on trust, while trust is built on standards.

She noted that AOPN would champion the adoption of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles and leverage AI to position Nigeria’s outsourcing industry for global competitiveness.

According to her, the association is committed to shaping the future of outsourcing in Nigeria by harnessing the country’s strengths and ensuring that members collectively define the profession’s direction and standards.