4 Emerging Offshore CX Locations to Watch

There is ample reason to assume that 2025 will hold a great deal of change for both CX players and their respective clients.  And while the impact of AI-driven tools on shifting the delivery dynamic cannot be underestimated, the idea that overseas support will disappear in the near to medium term remains unrealistic and unlikely.

With that in mind, as this shift toward intelligent robotic-enabled service accelerates, buyers will be asking their BPO partners to ensure that their talent pools are increasingly skilled in the arts of customer service and technology.  This will mean new destinations  that have culturally-sensitized and  tech-savvy talent will be in demand. Thus, in alphabetical order, Ryan Strategic Advisory highlights 4 emerging offshore destinations that both the provider and enterprise community should have on their respective radars as they head into their 2025 strategy planning sessions.

• Ecuador – sitting on the longer side of the American nearshore, Ecuador is quickly being seen as a new option for US businesses looking for bilingual talent, as well as by prospective clients in Spain seeking alternatives for Spanish-only delivery. A population of nearly 20 million means decent levels of talent scalability, as well as a growing list of direct air links into North America and Europe.  While awareness of Ecuador as a BPO delivery point is still relatively nascent compared to established nearshore options like Colombia and Mexico, the need for new points of diversification within LATAM provide Ecuadorian BPOs with fuel to bring their outsourcing offering to the world.
• Fiji – traditionally seen as a vacation destination renowned for its sunsets and beaches, the efforts on the part of Fiji’s government and BPO ecosystem to position this island nation as the next big thing in outsourcing are gaining traction. A population that is fluent in English, competitive incentives and an established track record servicing the Australia / New Zealand nearshore markets all position Fiji nicely moving into next year. And, while long travel times may hinder its appeal from Europe or North America, the recent visit by global BPO executives and influencers organized by Outsource Fiji only highlight the emerging opportunity that this country provides from a business services angle.
• Nigeria – a burgeoning BPO space that is being led by strong cooperation between both the highest echelons of government and private sector players is helping drive interest in Nigeria as an emerging outsourcing destination in commercial capitals the world over. What makes Nigeria stand-out is not only its scalable  talent force, but  the range of skill sets that are a hallmark of that country’s value proposition; front-line capabilities go hand-in-hand with technology know-how and back-office excellence.  Couple in multiple cities in which business services can be delivered, there is little reason to doubt increasing levels of favorability for Nigeria among enterprise buyers.
• North Macedonia – as recently chronicled in this Industry Commentary, North Macedonia is arguably the Cinderella Story of offshore CX delivery locations over the past 12 months. In fact, this country was identified among Western European respondents to the 2024 Front Office CX Omnibus Survey as their second-most popular offshore / nearshore destination for customer service delivery. Relatively stable costs, a westernized youthful population, ongoing economic / political stability and improving air connections all contribute to North Macedonia’s BPO attractiveness.  And, while a tight population of around 2 million could be problematic for transactional front-line work, should enterprises and their outsourcing partners target North Macedonia for niche, high margin service delivery, this destination likely has decent capacity levels for the foreseeable future.

The reality is that the 4 locations above are part of a broader community of emerging BPO delivery destinations, many of which are applying vigorous approaches to gain visibility.  Aligning the specific end-user needs alongside the capabilities of the offshore / nearshore delivery point is but a first step in exploring these or any other new location.