Vansheeta Kewal-Veerapen: “We are still at the dawn of BPO’s potential”

Vansheeta Kewal-Veerapen, Business Development Executive at Apollo Blake, talks about the BPO sector and the challenges she faces in her field. Based in Ebène, Apollo Blake is a BPO company that has been operating in Mauritius for more than 10 years. 

Is the outsourcing sector currently doing well in Mauritius?

The outsourcing sector has great potential in Mauritius. The sector is blooming. We have the advantage of being bilingual and Mauritius is also characterised by a very good economic stability. However, we are still at the dawn of its potential, as we can develop the sector to an extent where we can create more employment. We can still be more competitive than our competitors such as India and Morocco. The cost of labour in other countries such as India has increased over the years and this can benefit Mauritius. Our competitive advantage lies in the quality of our outsourcing solutions. Apollo Blake, for example, plays much more in the “quality” arena than in the “pricing” arena. We need to have the help of the various stakeholders to make further progress in this emerging sector.

What obstacles do you face in your activity?  

In terms of obstacles, we have some constraints that can be addressed by different stakeholders. An example is that we need to create better graduates in terms of meeting the job market demand. For me, it is unacceptable that we have to hire people from abroad when we have people here who are unemployed. However, there is a clear mismatch of what the markets demand and the skills available on the local market. We need to ensure that we produce quality graduates and that our training curriculum is of highest quality in the region so as to meet the needs of both the industry and that of our clients. Recently, we have seen that Mauritius has suffered in the World Bank ranking of business-friendly countries. We need to act fast to have remedial measures in place to ensure that we get back on the podium. It is with the assistance of all stakeholders that we can help the sector move forward and project Mauritius as an outsourcing destination leader.

What type of services does Apollo Blake offer?

We offer a wide array of services from customer service, technical support and various types of back office operations. Our clients are from different industries – just to name a few: Energy, Healthcare, Automotive, Retail. Apollo Blake provides its service via a multi-channel platform that comprises of voice, social media, SMS and email. We also provide our service in multiple languages such as French, English, German, Russian, Polish, and Spanish. We service clients over five continents and we operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

Any future expansion plan?

 As stated by William Sherman, “the need of the organisation to grow must be tempered by the need to understand that meaningful, long-term, profitable growth is a by-product of effective management and planning”. We definitely have plans to expand and our aim is to have a global presence. We are currently present in Mauritius and United States of America and we will surely need to expand and have an office in Europe.

What new measures should the government introduce for the BPO sector?

The government can act as a great facilitator for us by simplifying procedures to recruit staff from other countries, as we often face challenges to recruit staff with specific languages due to unavailability of same in the local market. We can also suggest that the government help the sector by partly sponsoring participation in international outsourcing conferences.

About Apollo Blake

Apollo Blake is a leader in Business Process Outsourcing and Contact Centre operations. Located in Ebène, it services reputed clients across the five continents, including clients listed in the Fortune 500 companies and CAC 40. Its services comprise of cost effective outsourcing solutions and those include general customer services, technical support and back office operations such as accounting and legal process activities. Apollo Blake services clients over a cross channel platform that includes inbound/outbound voice, email, chat and sms. The industries it services are diverse and include Energy, Telecommunications, Legal, Automotive, Healthcare, Financial, Entertainment and Retail. Apollo Blake over the years has generated unprecedented retention rates and its clients have consistently seen a raise in revenue. The company says it focuses more on the “quality” aspect of outsourcing.