Outsourcing business in Jordan seen booming

Outsourcing business in Jordan seen booming

Outsourcing business in Jordan seen booming

The outsourcing business in Jordan is expected to reach about $200 million by the end of 2011 up from about JD10 million at present under a new programme launched Monday.

The new programme, "Turn to Jordan… your Smart Shore Destination", is a joint public-private sector venture that seeks to attract investments to the sector in the Kingdom and promote privileges and factors that encourage opening business in the outsourcing sector in the Kingdom.

The programme, which ends by November 2011, envisages creating 3,000 to 10,000 jobs and increasing business in the sector from $100 million to $200 million. Currently, the business stands at JD10 million and there are 1,500 direct jobs created by the sector.

"Outsourcing is the best sector that can be used to recruit the skilled Jordanians. It is a golden opportunity for securing jobs for Jordanians," USAID-SABEQ Chief of Party Laith Qasem said at a press conference Monday.

Qasem indicated that there are 82,000 engineers in Jordan of whom 8,000 only work in their specialty, noting that outsourcing can secure jobs for the rest.

int@j Chief Executive Officer Abed Shamlawi, said Jordan has not yet fully utilised the outsourcing sector, and stressed that it holds huge potential for growth.

According to Shamlawi, the outsourcing business is expected to reach $168 billion by the end of 2012, especially as outsourcing in the Middle East grows by about 20-50 per cent.

Shamlawi said Jordan faces strong competition from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates in this field.

Qasem said Jordan enjoys the required infrastructure as well as qualified human resources and this encourages investing in the sector.

Partners in the project include the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, Development Zones Commission, Jordan Investment Board, Mafraq Development Corporation, USAID Jordan Economic Development Programme (SABEQ) and int@j.

A statement by SABEQ indicated that Jordan's strength in outsourcing lies in sectors such as financial services, engineering services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, information and communications technology and energy and renewable energy.

loading...