In this BPO Corner:
BoI Opens 24-Hour Information Center to Investors Worldwide

Investors may now avail of a 24 x 7 information service with the launch of the latest contact center of the Board of Investments via a toll-free customer care system (1-866-312-9830).

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila said this is to enable investors from around the globe access to information without coming to Manila to inquire on their investment concerns.

"This facility speeds up information dissemination from the usual walk-in to the more efficient phone-in queries. Manned by knowledgeable and trained professionals, the new service facility is intended to attend to investors’ concerns through its 24x7 customer service assistance," Favila said.

The new system, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, is available to investors in the US, Canada and the UK.
Favila said this landmark facility was established to make investing in the Philippines easier. Investors, both foreign and local, can find the answer to their concerns and questions with just one phone call.

"The primary reason for this facility is to attract more investment from among foreign businessmen that are not aware of the many opportunities that the country provides for their business," Favila said.

"We hope to use this new service to impress upon prospective investors that the country is doing its best to ensure hassle-free transactions for businesses," he said.

He urged investors, both local and foreign, to use the call center facility since the facility is still in its dryrun stage and enable the DTI and the BoI to effectively assess the impact of this new service to investments and improve the services of the call center.

Trade and Industry Undersecretary and BoI Managing Head Elmer C. Hernandez said the project is in line with the Department’s thrust to streamline the process of doing business in the Philippines by utilizing e-Commerce solutions in providing assistance to investors.

"Before the project was conceptualized, the BoI One Stop Action Center (OSAC) provides investment counselling on doing business in the country and renders assistance to investors’ issues and concerns via walk-in, email and phone-in inquiries," Hernandez said.

The call center project was made possible through a partnership agreement between BoI and Five9, Inc. for a two-month Proof-of-Concept (POC) implementation of a Customer Care Solution.

Earlier, the BoI has launched the Online Checklist for project registration which provides investors the business requirements they would need in starting their business in the Philippines via the Internet (www.boi.gov.ph).

At present, the BoI is promoting the country’s competitive edge as contact center hub.

Little did it know that it would succumb later to its own initiative of putting one for the benefit of investors.

The Philippines is getting a good share of call center operations, mostly foreign-owned firms servicing the outsourcing needs of foreign clients.

As of the first quarter of this year, the call center industry in the Philippines has established 45,000 seats generating 72,000 new jobs.

Estimated revenue of the industry last year was $800 million.

***

This article was originally published in the Manila Bulletin on August 29, 2005.