16 July TLF meeting : Business Processes Outsourcing In Kenya

On 16 July 2009, Tamarind Linguists Forum (TLF) hosted Kencall, 'the pioneer Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) facility in Sub-Saharan Africa' according to The Standard On Sunday (19 July 2009, p.28) The fact that translation & interpretation is the number one outsourced business function in most organizations inspired the topic of discussion: TRANSLATION & INTERPRETATION: CONVERGENCES WITH BPO IN KENYA Participants at the forum last Thursday would agree that the presentation was timely and insightful to any linguist keen on tapping into the emerging language facilitation opportunities in the rapidly growing business sector, in Kenya and across the globe. The guest from Kencall, Pauline Kamande and Anne Onsarigo, did the topic justice, demonstrating the convegences between translation/interpretation and BPO, as wel as the inherent opportunities According to them,the growth in BPO sector lays a demand for a professional,visible and well structured group linguists specializing in both local and foreign languages to support the varied enquiries coming from the region and abroad. Equally, in an interview published by the The Standard 2 days after the TLF meeting(19 July 2009, p.28), Kencall Chairman Nick Nesbitt emphasizes that the BPO sector is an opportunity to transform the country in terms of employment creation. The fact that he chairs the initiative in the private sector and the Prime Minister's Office to bring the World Economic Forum to Kenya in May next year, is perhaps a pointer to the government recognition of BPO sector that has been cited as a key pillar towards economic growth and the delivery of the Vision 2030. TLF members at the meeting pledged to continue working towards forging an increased visibility as a dynamic of professionals ready to provide quality services into any required language. Of immediate interest is the upcoming creating of a Farmers Helpline that would require facilitation in various local languages! Some linguists present, notably Linda and Ricardo, had worked in Call Centers in Europe and had interesting experiences to share. Thank you all as we welcome your views on this topic of interest to linguists.