Olufemi Adeyemi
Tech4Dev has launched Taltrix, a business process outsourcing social enterprise, with the goal of becoming Africa’s largest outsourcing company by 2030 and employing 100,000 young Africans over the next seven years.Microsoft has pledged its complete support to Tech4Dev, a
non-profit organization in Nigeria, to help provide gainful employment
opportunities for young people across Africa and to create 100,000 new jobs
over the next seven years through Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
During the launch of the Taltrix initiative held in Lagos,
Mrs. Ola Williams, the Country Director of Microsoft Nigeria and Ghana,
underscored the imperative to generate job opportunities for the millions
currently undergoing training throughout Nigeria and Africa.
According to her, through Taltrix, Tech4Dev is seeking to
bridge the gap by creating employment opportunities for the people being
trained.
“Empowerment is not just about providing tools; it’s about
creating opportunities,” she stated, underlining the untapped potential of
Nigeria’s vibrant, innovative, and English-speaking youth.
“The focal point of this collaboration is Taltrix, a BPO
social enterprise emerging from Tech4Dev. With plans to expand across 100
African cities, Taltrix aims to employ 100,000 individuals, leveraging
Nigeria’s burgeoning technology and creative ecosystem,” Mrs. Williams said.
The Microsoft Country Director noted that Nigeria and other
African countries must move beyond training to start creating job opportunities
for the people being trained.
“Nigerians are innovative. We are hungry to learn, we are an
entrepreneur, we are hard-working, and we want to make a difference. However,
is important that opportunities are created to tap into this potential that
people have. And for us, our mission is to empower every person and
organization on the planet to achieve more. Empowerment is not just about
giving them tools that they need to work, it’s also about creating
opportunities for individuals.” Williams said.
Taltrix CEO Joel Ogunsola expressed optimism about Nigeria’s
potential to become a BPO hub, citing the nation’s youthful population and the
government’s commitment to job creation through outsourcing.
“Over the next seven years, we want to directly employ
100,000 people, starting from Nigeria and across Africa. We believe that the
outsourcing sector has the probability to grow to become a $200 billion sector
on the continent,” Ogunsola said.
Aligning with this vision, Oladiwura Oladepo, Executive
Director of Tech4Dev, emphasized that Taltrix’s launch signifies more than job
creation, highlighting the investment in human capital development to spur
economic growth across the continent.
Oladepo noted that beyond filling job roles, the initiative
aims to bridge the gap between underserved demographics and global
opportunities, aiming to carve a brighter future for Africa through skilled
professional integration.
Motivated by the imperative to equip graduates from Tech4Dev
and other digital and creative skills training programs with meaningful
employment opportunities, Taltrix emerged as a vital solution in anticipation
of a potential surge in unemployment.
With established infrastructure spanning 14 cities in
Nigeria and the capacity to employ 1,000 individuals, Taltrix envisions
evolving into a pan-African entity, with ambitious plans to extend its impact
to 100 cities across the continent in the coming years.