USAID promotes the outsourcing industry at Outsource World 2008 exhibition in New York USA

Seizing the opportunities of flourishing outsourcing customer care services worldwide, USAID moved towards supporting this new and small industry in Jordan that was facing a number of barriers.

The need is to create an investor friendly environment and to put a strategic development plan in place to move ahead with turning Jordan into the primary outsourcing location in the Middle East.

In line with the overall objectives of USAID Jordan Economic Development Program (SABEQ)of Enhanced Productivity, a needs and requirements analysis of existing outsourcing activities and opportunities was conducted to investigate the support that could be provided by the government, and ultimately facilitate discussions between the public and private sectors.

As a result, USAID Jordan Economic Development Program (SABEQ) identified specific areas as services that Jordan's workforce can serve effectively.

The USAID Jordan Economic Development Program (SABEQ) then supported a Jordanian initiative that attracts outsourcing clients through a Jordanian participation in the Outsource World 2008 exhibition held in New York USA, which exposed Jordanian outsourcing providers to a broad set of global outsourcing potential clients.

In a bid to identify appropriate service and incentive offerings, to gather insight on the positioning of other countries, networking, and to enhance Jordan's strategic positioning in the industry the Jordanian participation reaped all around successful results.

Support to the outsourcing industry also came in the form of a strategic profile that develops Jordan's differentiated competitive positioning based on labor, infrastructure, and service supply.

USAID Jordan Economic Development Program (SABEQ) prepared a portfolio for the purposes of Exhibition visitors which promoted existing companies and told of key success stories in the country, spoke of the incentives and support offered in Jordan, and gave details on the outsourcing industries in Jordan.

A set of post event follow up procedures are implemented upon the successful conclusion of the Outsource World exhibition, to optimize benefits gained.

A contacts e-data base has been compiled to establish ties between the local and global industries. Intaj, Jordan's IT Association, will be sending a mass e-mail shot for all exhibition attendees, private sector entities, NGO's, Government and other associations, to enhance awareness of outsourcing activities and improve industry dynamics in Jordan. And on a further level, a revision of leads will take place as follow up letters to booth guests will be dispatched.

The Jordanian delegation to the Exhibition included representatives of service providers Crystal Call, Extensya, Aspire, and Optimiza, along with Jordan's ICT association INT@J and the King Hussein Development Zone who launched Jordan's first Exhibition Outsource World 2008 in New York.

Boosting a highly literate, multilingual workforce with competitive labor rates, alongside a new sophisticated high bandwidth, redundant telecom infrastructure connected to state of the art facilities, all operating in one of the most politically and economically stable environments in the region, placed Jordan in the limelight of the Exhibition.

The Kingdom's significant large technical graduate work force trained to serve in the global knowledge economy with capabilities in ICT, pharmaceuticals, banking services, medical diagnostics, R&D, and technical support, added to the attraction of foreign investors, enhanced by trade agreements with the US, participations in the WTO, and the EU Free Trade Association.