A joint survey conducted by the World Bank and the Export Promotion Council of Kenya has found that business process outsourcing (BPO) was the number one export service of the African nation. The survey report made public recently stated that in comparison to other export oriented services, including legal, insurance and engineering, export earnings from the business process outsourcing services was 90 per cent.

The survey, which evaluated the export prospective and supply competences of Kenya in particular specialized services, noted that the export earnings from BPO was higher than the turnover from other services exports, including information and communications technology (ICT) and accounting, each of which had 20 per cent turnover from exports. In contrast, export of insurance, engineering and legal services had even less revenue proportions.

Quoting the survey report, a website says that although compared to rival nations globally, even now Kenya’s export services was insignificant, it provided the African nation with the benefit of not having to face any competition from its rivals overseas. However, the increase in global requirement of these particular services ensured the Kenyan exporters sustenance. In fact, the survey noted that the Kenyan firms offering services to foreign clients had several forms of global associations that augmented their tendency to obtain business from clients worldwide.

According to the survey report, lowering of non-tariff obstructions owing to deliberations to integrate the East African Community (EAC) markets has been vital for the development of the Kenyan services exporters inside the region. This is evident from the fact that majority of the services exported so far have been confined to the EAC and a portion of it to the United States and the United Kingdom. Although the marketing stratagem has a vital responsibility in promoting the sales of the services, the survey report found that there was very little help from the government, which virtually had little or no role in promoting the country’s services exports.

Unfortunately, the survey notes that the foreign offices as well as the trade attaches in the Kenyan embassies are not down to business. In addition, embargo on commercials and promotional campaigns too are an obstruction in marketing services, such as legal, accounting and architecture sectors. According to the EPC general manager Maurice Abuom, the survey has brought to the fore an exceptional feature that the Kenyan exporters have been exploiting their export business only within the EAC.