Narayan AmmachchiFlorida-based BPO firm Elephant Group is reportedly outfitting a 20,000 square-feet office facility in Jamaica’s Montego Bay Free Zone, signaling a significant expansion of its operation in the Caribbean region.
According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Elephant Group first opened offices in the free zone in February 2013 with 100 employees. The BPO firm provides call center services to US corporate giants, particularly those in the telecom sector such as AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
Elephant Group is reported to have half a dozen call centers in Latin American countries including Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic. But nowhere is the company expanding as rapidly as in Jamaica. Reports say Elephant Group has increased its workforce on the Caribbean island from 88 to 619 agents in the span of just one year.
Factories Corp, one of the real-estate firms in Montego Bay area, is reportedly constructing Elephant Group’s facility. The realtor, which says Jamaica’s outsourcing sector is on the decline due to a lack of office space, is gearing up to build an expansive office tower in Montego Freeport, which the Gleaner says is also a part of the Free Zone.
There are many outsourcing firms in the Free Zone, including global giants such as Xerox and Teleperformance. In the last fiscal year, the Free Zone reported more than 20% growth in employment.
“Companies involved in export in the free zone saw business decline during the last fiscal year, but overall revenue for the Montego Bay Free Zone grew by 30% to J$30 million, while it closed the period with cash of $58 million,” reported the Gleaner.
According to the Caribbean press, BPO firms operating in the Free Zone have generated more than 5,000 jobs in recent years.
Add comment