World
Why Global Business Outsourcing Market Needs Smart Matchmaking Platform
By Mark Angus
Global business buyers face many pain points and challenges when finding suitable service providers. Research conducted by GBS.World noted that they can take anything from three months (48%) to six months (7%) before they find a right-fit supplier.
When asked what pain points they experience when finding suitable service providers, over 360 global business buyers from Australia, Canada, the UK and the US said they often lack suitable service provider research/market intelligence (60%). Notably, a further 58% stated that they did not have one central place to go to source services, while 56% indicated that they battled to shortlist best-fit service providers.
Despite this, the global business process outsourcing industry was valued at over $232 billion in 2020 by Grand View Research and is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% from 2021 to 2028. This growth matters because it is hugely important in making the world a more equitable place.
In fact, low-income countries typically find it very difficult to compete on a global stage where high-income countries have all the advantages of size, technology, education and, above all, money. The one field where low-income countries can compete and excel in the provision of business services on a global scale.
A bit like sport, the industry is a great leveller and one that is much needed. By outsourcing, high-income markets can (indirectly) support economic and youth impact sourcing job growth in low-income markets, but make no mistake; they wouldn’t be doing so if their cost performance and service delivery were not up to par.
Why do companies outsource?
Companies that outsource business services do so for many reasons. The most common are reducing their costs, accessing value-add services and mitigating business continuity risks. But there are other good reasons too.
For example, many large multinationals don’t want to find and retain, what is often considered support staff, in an increasingly competitive world yet they want to improve their customer experience lifecycle management and service delivery.
As the outsourcing industry has developed and become more effective and productive, it has proven that it can meet all these needs effectively and productively, all while offering a speedy way for clients to reach their target consumer groups and markets.
The range of outsource-able services is another area where the industry has developed. Customer support, contact centres and HR processes are typical services the sector provides, but these now include vertical-specific, value-added functions such as digital channel fulfilment, analytics, training, consulting and optimisation. Technology is also becoming an increasingly significant service offering as it grows and changes at ever-increasing speeds.
Why does the industry need a global online marketplace?
The challenge, of course, is how to unite buyers and service providers of business services for both of their benefit.
While various companies and consultants offer to help buyers decide on outsourced service providers, there are not many comprehensive interactive platforms that let buyers go beyond a search-and-match service. Or, in fact, anything that intelligently sources and matches across the wide-ranging offering of global business services.
I’ve always thought that such a big and significant industry would benefit from having a formal way to introduce buyers and service providers who often operate in very different parts of the world. And now they can through a platform called The World Source Marketplace for Global Business Services – or GBS.World for short. It’s a global online marketplace that enables buyers to find and engage service providers across 12 categories in 70 countries on six continents – and growing.
It’s a bit like a (business) dating app for the Global Business Services sector. Crucial to its success is the tender management and sourcing technology that match buyer requirements to service providers. Service providers are validated, and a host of decision-making tools support the matching process, including consumer and industry research, location analyses, benchmarking, sourcing and advisory services. Both sides of the market can also engage on requests for information and proposals too; it’s a genuine matchmaking service.
GBS.World enables intelligent buying decisions through intelligent matching. But what it’s also doing is further professionalizing the industry to facilitate growth even beyond current predictions, particularly in countries whose economies and people need it most.
Mark Angus is a CEO, a researcher and strategist of Genesis Global Business Services
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Africa stands at the cusp of a transformative digital revolution. With the expansion of mobile connectivity, internet penetration, digital platforms, and financial technology, the continent’s digital economy is poised to become a significant driver of sustainable development, intra-Africa trade, job creation, and economic inclusion.
The African Union’s Agenda 2063, particularly Aspiration 1 (a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development), highlights the importance of leveraging technology and innovation. The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has opened a new chapter in market integration, creating opportunities to unlock the full potential of the digital economy across all sectors.
Despite remarkable progress, challenges persist. These include limited digital infrastructure, disparities in digital literacy, fragmented regulatory frameworks, inadequate access to financing for tech-based enterprises, and gender gaps in digital participation. Moreover, Africa must assert its digital sovereignty, build local data ecosystems, and secure cyber-infrastructure to thrive in a rapidly changing global digital landscape.
Against this backdrop, the 16th African Union Private Sector Forum provides a timely platform to explore and shape actionable strategies for harnessing Africa’s digital economy to accelerate intra-Africa trade and sustainable development.
The 16th High-Level AU Private Sector forum is set to take place in Djibouti, from the 14 to 16 December 2025, under the theme “Harnessing Africa’s Digital Economy and Innovation for Accelerating Intra-Africa Trade and Sustainable Development”
The three-day Forum will feature high-level plenaries, expert panels, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities. Each day will spotlight a core pillar of Africa’s digital transformation journey.
Day 1: Digital Economy and Trade Integration in Africa
Focus: Leveraging digital platforms and technologies to enhance trade integration and competitiveness under AfCFTA.
Day 2: Innovation, Fintech, and the Future of African Economies
Focus: Driving economic inclusion through fintech, innovation ecosystems, and youth entrepreneurship.
Day 3: Building Policy, Regulatory Frameworks, and Partnerships for Digital Growth
Focus: Creating an enabling environment for digital innovation and infrastructure through effective policy, governance, and partnerships.
To foster strategic dialogue and action-oriented collaboration among key stakeholders in Africa’s digital ecosystem, with the goal of leveraging digital economy and innovation to boost intra-Africa trade, accelerate economic transformation, and support inclusive, sustainable development.
* Promote Digital Trade: Identify mechanisms and policy actions to enable seamless cross-border digital commerce and integration under AfCFTA.
* Foster Innovation and Fintech: Advance inclusive fintech ecosystems and support innovation-driven entrepreneurship, especially among youth and women.
* Policy and Regulatory Harmonization: Build consensus on regional and continental digital regulatory frameworks to foster trust, security, and interoperability.
* Encourage Investment and Public-Private Partnerships: Strengthen collaboration between governments, private sector, and development partners to invest in digital infrastructure, R&D, and skills development.
* Advance Digital Inclusion and Sustainability: Ensure that digital transformation contributes to environmental sustainability and the empowerment of marginalized communities.
The AU Private Sector Forum has held several forums, with key recommendations. These recommendations provide valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the African private sector and offer guidance for policymakers on how to support its growth and development.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Lukoil, Russia’s energy giant, has seriously lost its grounds across Africa, due to United States sanctions. Sanctions have complicated the company’s potential continuity in operating its largest oil field projects, grappling its investment particularly in Republic of Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Reports indicated the sanctions are further dismantling most of Lukoil’s operations, causing significant staff layoffs in its offices worldwide. For instance, Lukoil’s significant upstream operations in the Middle East include a 75% stake in Iraq’s West Qurna 2 oilfield and a 60% stake in Iraq’s Block 10 development. In Egypt, the company holds stakes in various oilfields alongside local partners.
Lukoil has until December 13, 2025, to negotiate the sale of most of its international assets, including those in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It has already terminated several important agreements that were signed with international partners due to difficulties in circumventing the sanctions.
Reports said calculated efforts to diversify exploration business relations is turning extremely complex, and current at the cross-roads, Lukoil will have to ultimately give up existing contracts and agreements it had signed with external countries.
Lukoil’s website reports also pointed to reasons for abandoning oil and gas exploration and drilling project that it began in Sierra Leone. According to those reports, Lukoil could withdraw from almost all of the projects in West Africa.
In addition to geopolitical sanctions, technical and geographical hitches, Lukoil noted on its website, an additional obstacles that “the African leadership and government policies always pose serious problems to operations in the region.” Similarly, the Kremlin-controlled Rosneft abandoned its interest in the southern Africa oil pipeline construction, negatively impacted on Angola, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
United States sanctions has hit Lukoil, one of the Russia’s biggest oil companies, like many other Russian companies, that has had a long history shuttling forth and back with declaration of business intentions or mere interests in tapping into oil and gas resources in Africa.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In New Delhi, President Vladimir Putin, alongside Editor-in-Chief of Russia Today, Margarita Simonyan, took part in the launch ceremony of the RT India TV channel. The TV channel will operate from a new studio complex in New Delhi, marking a new dimension in the bilateral media sphere.
Editor-in-Chief of Russia Today, Margarita Simonyan, indicated that the collaboration, naturally, points to India’s hospitality, affirming that this endeavour was not only worthwhile but long overdue.
Vladimir Putin, officially, launching the TV studio, also emphasized that the Russia Today channel in India, RT India, grants millions of Indian citizens clearer, more direct access into insights about contemporary Russia – the realities, aspirations, and perspectives. He reiterated the existing traditional friendship, and the ties between the Indian and Russian peoples go much deeper into the past; which rests on a solid historical foundation. And at the core of relationship lies mutual interest.
Russia Today is a source of truthful and reliable information, focused on serving the interests of its viewers and listeners. Its main mission is merely to promote Russia, its culture, and its positions on domestic and international issues. Above all, Russia Today strives to convey truthful information about the country and about what is happening in the world. This is the absolute value of Russia Today.
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