Paper short abstract:

Outsourcing was set to be Kenya's next big export earner. Since the global recession, firms have struggled to get international work and have focused on domestic outsourcing. We explore how an idea aimed at boosting exports to the outside world became a discourse about modernizing the home economy.

Paper long abstract:

Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) was intended to be Kenya's next big export earner and a source of employment for its graduates. After observing the successes of India and the Philippines, Kenya made substantial investments into infrastructure, hoping to woo global business onshore. Consultants pronounced Kenya's niche to be contact centres due to the country's educated workforce and its neutral English accents. Over the past few years, things have changed dramatically. Finding it difficult to establish direct contact with clients overseas, many Kenyan BPO managers were forced to take on exploitative contracts with intermediaries. The global recession also negatively impacted the sector, drying up work opportunities and putting pressure on Western governments to bring back jobs. Kenyan BPO companies have undergone painful re-orientations. Many have closed. Others have turned to 'impact sourcing', positioning Kenya as a site for corporate social responsibility work. The BPOs that remain increasingly cater to local and regional clients. The government has responded by encouraging a new culture of outsourcing within East Africa. It is said that this local experience will inspire confidence in international clients and better protect Kenyan BPO firms from external shocks. Efforts have also been stepped up to attract Indian BPO and Western ICT companies to Kenya. After being hailed as a booster of exports, BPO has in effect, become an import, modernising and globalising Kenya's own organisations. This paper explores how an idea aimed at boosting exports to the outside world ultimately became a discourse about modernizing the home economy.