Establishment of 'Silah Gulf' to provide integrated solutions in call centers at regional level

The partnership also paves the way towards launching the National Contact Centre, the fourth and final integrated government eService delivery channel, having previously launched the eGovernment National Portal (Bahrain.bh), Mobile Gateway, and Common Service Centres.

The National Contact Centre operations will be outsourced to Silah Gulf, as per the agreement which was signed by His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed bin Ateyatallah Al Khalifa, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, and Merchants Managing Director Adam Foster.

Silah Gulf will provide the services offered by the National Contact Centre through a single, easy-to-recall number to access all government services in a simplified yet high-quality of service methodology exceeds the standards set. The channel further improves the Government of Bahrain's services which it offers to citizens, residents, visitors and businessmen.

Commenting on the occasion, His Excellency Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatallah Al Khalifa, The Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said, "We run potential partners for any project through a very thorough screening process in order to achieve our objective of providing simplified and innovative ways for customers to access government services."

"We are pleased to sign to this agreement with Merchants, considered to be one of the leading international organizations in its field, as a partner in this project. We are confident in the ability of Silah Gulf's staff of local talent and Merchants' experts, to successfully execute this project according to the highest standards of quality possible," he added.

His Excellency further added that this initiative is designed to attract direct foreign investments and will provide job opportunities for citizens. "According to projections conducted before the establishment of the company, the new centre is expected to create more than 200 jobs for Bahraini nationals in the initial phase, a number expected to increase to 1000 job opportunities over the next three years to meet local demand, with further increase as the company expands its operations regionally. which will contribute towards the economic and social prosperity of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030."

The establishment of "Silah Gulf" came in line with Bahrain Vision 2030, which aims to make the Kingdom of Bahrain a unique hub for foreign investments in the Middle East as it has a solid financial situation that attract businesses and investments, in addition to the facilities provided out of its commitment to diversify its national revenue sources.

The eGovernment Authority, according to His Excellency, continuously seeks to offer integrated world-class government services to its stakeholders, with the constant support and guidance of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Information and Communications Technology.

"Today's announcement is an embodiment of Vision 2030's goals and transforming Bahrain into a regional leader in the area of support services such as call centres," he added.

Currently, a combined workforce comprised of eGovernment Authority and Merchants staff is working on setting up the necessary logistical processes in the centre to ensure its readiness to offer comprehensive and integrated suite of services. This process is expected to be completed in four months' time with plans to officially begin operations early 2010.

"This project is truly one of the landmark projects for us in the Middle East as we introduce full service, quality based contact centre solutions through the newly formed company," said Mr. Foster. "We are certain that Silah Gulf will deliver on its promise to provide the required services to the National Contact Centre and expand our reach to potential clients, in the public and private sector, both locally and regionally."

Merchants, the strategic partner in this national initiative, are a wholly owned subsidiary of Dimension Data. Established in 1981, Merchants today has become a leading consultant and provider of quality and performance based contact centre solutions.

Since its inception in 2007, the eGovernment Authority is steadily working towards offering 200 basic government services - of which 99 have been already launched - through a multitude of service delivery channels, as outlined by the national eGovernment strategy.