Business Process Outsourcing

Business Process Outsourcing

5/10/2019

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The early adopters initially earmarked Bosnia & Herzegovina for its ITO, with a healthy number of solely exported-oriented companies and daughter operations of North American and European counterparts establishing themselves. Soon after, customer management and other horizontal BPO positions became part of a continuing second-wave of growth buoyed by widespread conversational German and English skills, strong socio-cultural affinities, and the significant proportion of unemployed college and university graduates. The strong multilingual capabilities and transferable skills of the population have already been leveraged by several larger players (CCC, DDC, Teleperformance, Trizma) and a healthy number of small and medium-sized providers. 

BPO AT-A-GLANCE

  • 65+ specialist BPO/KPO providers (est. 2018) 
  • 2,750+ employed (est. 2018) 

HIRING SPEED 

  • 3 MONTHS to fill 50+ customer management or IT helpdesk positions

INDUSTRY POTENTIAL

  • Now: horizontal functions (e.g. CM, F&A, HR) and a small number of BPO sub-sets (e.g. ITO, LPO) 
  • Within 2 years: ‘Work-at-home’ CM and limited industry-specific knowledge service verticals (e.g. architecture and engineering services, design and digital marketing, etc) 
  • Vast potential to develop strategic “supplier partnerships” with established local service sector companies, using leased associate or sub-contracting.

HUMAN CAPITAL AT-A-GLANCE 

The most valuable resource Bosnia & Herzegovina has is its people. With high tertiary enrolment rates, the country is fortunate to possess great depth in its human capital, providing an optimal environment for BPO vendors looking to hire, retain, and replace career-oriented professionals. 

Very high youth unemployment rate (45.8%), including among university graduates with technical and business degrees; an average gap between education and first employment of around 8 months; 125,000+ seeking first-time employment High social proximity where youth share strong European values and emotional closeness to customer markets; significant minority of diaspora returnees Deep pools of un- and under-employed talent educated in business, finance and accountancy, law, marketing and technical professions such as architecture, design, and engineering. 

Testimonials & Success Stories
 

Global Investment Promotion Best Practices 2012 of the World Bank has cited one example of support that FIPA provides to foreign investors who are running business in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to contribute to increase the flow of foreign capital in the country.

The article said:  

„The Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) of Bosnia and Herzegovina was an early convert to the idea of providing facilitation services to agribusiness investors as a way to maximize the positive impact of agriculture on the economy.

In 2007, for example, FIPA assisted a Dutch food processing company establish a US$1.6 million production facility to process unused milk ingredients into value-added products in Sarajevo to sell to markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

As part of its aftercare program, FIPA assisted the company with its expansion plans. Among other things, the agency helped facilitate veterinary permissions, navigate various bureaucratic hurdles and played an important role in securing funding for the company’s expansion. It also helped develop a network of local suppliers and customers. As a result of these efforts, the Dutch investor developed stronger links with the Bosnian economy, thus increasing the positive spillover effects on the local economy.

Currently a new investment to establish a drying facility for milk powder is under way. This will further expand the processing facilities of unused milk ingredients. This additional planned investment is worth approximately US$2.8 million, thus nearly trebling the company’s original investment in the country“.

 

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