Positioned at the pinnacle of the African business process outsourcing sector, iSON Xperiences is defying industry expectations to become an end-to-end solutions provider for hundreds of companies across the world. Pravin Kumar, Global CEO, delves into the organisation’s ambitious plans.
POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS BEYOND OUTSOURCING
As a relatively modern phenomenon, business process outsourcing (BPO) has been an integral pillar of the successful operation of many global companies since the 1990s.
In its simplest form, BPO refers to the process of subcontracting business operations to third-party specialist organisations. As a subsect of the industry, customer experience (CX) BPO is the handling of customer support and communication operations.
CX BPO has a vast abundance of functions, ensuring that organisations can effectively handle emails, telephone calls, social media, and more.
Therefore, as the global business landscape is well on its way to complete digitalisation, the need for efficiency has become increasingly vital in the industry.
From an African standpoint, CX BPO is on the rise as the continent embraces a growing international market.
At the forefront of Africa’s upward business solutions trajectory, iSon Xperiences has become a leading CX BPO provider on the continent.
“The African BPO space is diverse, vibrant, and bursting with potential. The internet reaches more corners of the world every day, and there’s a massive appetite for digital solutions and skilled people,” introduces Pravin Kumar, Global CEO of the company.
ALL-ENCOMPASSING SOLUTIONS
iSON Xperiences has an extensive service offering, including end-to-end customer lifecycle management, data-driven solutions, and digital CX transformation.
The company’s main client base spans a variety of sectors, including telecommunications (telecoms), finance (banks, non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), and FinTechs), entertainment, retail, energy and utilities, high tech, and much more.
“We’re not your average BPO provider. We do it all, managing CX from start to finish, using data to inform smart decisions, and wielding digital tools to transform business processes.
“We become extensions of a brand, building genuine customer connections for our clients,” expresses Kumar.
In order to secure success, iSON Xperiences has a young, passionate, and tech-savvy workforce at its disposal, eager to connect businesses internationally. Therefore, the company’s main mission is to encourage other areas of the world, including Europe, the UK, and the US, to turn their attention to the opportunities that Africa can provide.
“We offer a unique blend of talent, skill, affordability, and an active, growing market. It’s a win-win – you get quality services at competitive rates, and we get to create even more opportunities for our communities,” he adds.
Kumar feels passionately about BPO, having joined the industry in its infancy over 20 years ago. After graduating with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1974, Kumar began his career at an engineering and capital goods business before joining another leading Indian company, where he oversaw global operations across diverse sectors such as textiles, paper, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), heavy chemicals, and telecoms.
It was during his time in this role that Kumar identified the opportunity to initiate BPO in India in 2000. Whilst creating the foundations for the industry in the country, Kumar realised many international companies already had an outsourcing presence, particularly in the telecoms sector.
“Whilst India was making waves in the IT sector by sending talent overseas, I felt we could have an even greater impact by bringing jobs and intellectual property back home. That’s how I found myself entering the BPO space, driven by the philosophy of empowering people through glocal employment,” Kumar recalls fondly.
A DILIGENT SOLUTIONS PROVIDER
From its humble inception, iSON Xperiences has been on an ambitious journey, elevating itself from a regional service provider to a pan-African and Indian platform, catering for credible onshore and offshore clients across key global markets, including the UK and the US.
As the company embarks on the next phase of its journey, it is focused on transforming from a service platform to a data-driven solutions partner, with digital transformation at the top of its agenda. This will be achieved by prioritising central key performance indicators (KPIs), including cost-to-serve and customer growth and retention.
Accordingly, iSON Xperiences has introduced certain initiatives that enable its clients to reach these KPI targets, most notably seen in its proprietary offerings, including iView – a global command centre; iLearn – a proprietary learning and development tool; and iQumex – a quality management tool for the company’s service transformation agenda. iSON Xperiences also extends an end-to-end collections lifecycle management and customer relations management (CRM) tool to clients, known as Three60CRM.
An additional focus area is the development of analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) through the introduction of generative AI and prediction tools. Furthermore, the company has also launched its consulting and innovation business division, which will house iSON Xperiences’ Innovation Centre, focused on developing solutions using cutting-edge technology.
Evidently, the company remains at the forefront of the industry thanks to its exceptional abilities in flexibility, customisation, and deep communication knowledge.
“We don’t believe in cookie-cutter solutions; we partner with clients to craft something unique that is tailored to their specific needs by going beyond the baseline of efficiency to understand the nuances of cultures and languages to create truly remarkable experiences.
“Imagine you have a customer in Germany that is being helped by a skilled and passionate agent in Egypt, speaking perfect German – that’s the magic of iSON Xperiences. It’s not just outsourcing; it’s a powerful partnership,” Kumar exclaims.
Further differentiating factors include the company’s expansive group of over 60 professionals in its digital transformation and innovation unit, who extend solutions in automation, AI, chat and voice bot deployment, and analytics, amongst more.
The specialised unit has been consistently working on the development of new solutions for iSON Xperiences’ vast range of clients, resulting in significant automation, cost savings, and improved quality.
“It is important to note that out of our total workforce of over 15,000 employees in Africa, there are only 25 expats”
Pravin Kumar, Global CEO, iSON Xperiences
RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS
iSON Xperiences strongly believes in the power of job creation and career development, both within the company and the local community.
With the ethos that its people are the heart and soul of the organisation, iSON Xperiences regularly invests in training and development.
“When our employees shine, we all shine. We acknowledge their contributions through rewards and recognition programmes,” highlights Kumar.
One of its most unique initiatives is the iSON Young Leaders (IYL) programme, in which the company identifies young talent internally and prepares them for future leadership roles.
Additionally, iSON has also participated in programmes such as Girl Connect, which empowers professional working women on a global scale. In accordance with this initiative, iSON Xperiences has achieved a gender balance of over 53 percent female employees, with a clear focus on inclusion.
From a community perspective, job creation and development can have transformative power and are, therefore, fundamental business values.
To date, iSON Xperiences has created over 200,000 jobs across Africa, as it is committed to not only providing exceptional customer experiences but also creating meaningful career opportunities for the communities in which it operates.
“The beauty of the BPO industry is that it can bring jobs to people, rather than expecting them to move or relocate to find work, thereby enriching communities and fostering economic growth,” insights Kumar.
GOING GLOBAL
Operating as the strongest BPO voice in Africa, iSON Xperiences plans to leverage its expertise and understanding of emerging markets to offer customised solutions to European businesses.
“Think of it as bringing the African flavour of innovation, agility, and human connection to a whole new audience,” expresses Kumar.
“As a significant step towards our targets, we have acquired a UK company through which we aim to establish our presence in the country and showcase iSON Xperiences as a leading African BPO champion.”
This venture will enable potential clients to collaborate directly with an African entity with presence in 17 African countries that possesses a deep understanding of the continent’s delivery landscape, facilitating seamless BPO services.
Alongside the company’s ambitious business expansion, it also has a continuous focus on technology adoption and creating a robust digital infrastructure, with the aim of futureproofing the business and empowering the team to do their best work.
With a clear, long-term strategy, iSON Xperiences strives to double in size by the end of the financial year in 2026, leaving a positive mark on Africa and beyond.
“Our vision is clear. We’ve got our sights set on expanding our digital offerings, exploring new markets, and staying ahead of the curve with innovation,” concludes Kumar.
ISON XPERIENCES PARTNER
