- January 2, 2023
- Posted by: Editor
- Category: News
Dominica has a ready workforce with the skills and aptitude essential to business success, particularly beneficial for the knowledge services and tourism sectors. Engaging a remote workforce is a sustainable solution for managing business operations. Dominica has the talent companies need to go virtual with their HR, finance, technical, legal support, and customer service departments.
The Government of Dominica has worked with providers to improve infrastructure in recent years, and the island now offers an advanced telecommunication network with fibre optic coverage. In addition, a high proportion of renewables in the energy mix and a readily available database of pre-screened potential employees with skill sets create favourable conditions for BPOs and other knowledge services.
Why Dominica is an ideal Knowledge Services destination
1. Ideal Conditions: Dominica is experiencing growing interest as a delivery destination for global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services.
- The Time Zone for the island makes it ideal for catering to essential markets in the United States and Canada. With its proximity to the North American market, the region represents the largest source of near-shore English-speaking talent pool in this hemisphere.
- English is the national language and Dominicans possess a neutral accent. Moreover, there are also advantages with the Spanish, French and Dutch-speaking populations that can be found in the region.
- The growing number of high school and college graduates contributes to the workforce. Moreover, the island has witnessed a 94.3% enrollment ratio in secondary education.
2. Factors that favour Knowledge Service Investments: Setting up a business in Dominica is a quick and efficient process. According to World Bank 2019 rankings, it takes an average of only 12 days to register a business in Dominica. The Government of Dominica is determined to make the island the first climate-resilient country in the world, with efficient telecommunication networks and digital technologies to deliver public services by 2030. The Government supports investors who advance that vision.
Citizenship by Investment Program: Lauded as the best CBI program for the 6th consecutive year by the CBI Index from the Financial Times, the Dominica Entrepreneurship Visa programme is for foreign investors who start a business in an approved sector, or who invest in an existing approved local business, or pursue the option of a joint venture with a local business owner. Doing so will accord them resident status with a path to citizenship.
3. Market Drivers that spur Knowledge Services investments: A BPO contact centre with more than 1000 employees is currently operating in Dominica. Its operations were established in Dominica in 2006 and it is involved in outbound sales, payments processing, and tier-one technical support.
- Robust and Resilient Telecommunication Infrastructure: 3 Cable Operators provide island-wide coverage with fibre rings and fibre connectivity to the region and the rest of the world.
- Geothermal Power Plant: The construction of a geothermal power plant in 2023 will give rise to several upcoming opportunities for downstream industries.
- A robust geographical location: The isolated area creates a strong demand for professional e-commerce services to connect businesses with international sales markets.
4. Investment opportunities in existing sectors: Dominica’s readiness for offering BPO services makes it a lucrative destination for investments in other sectors :
Value-added BPO services: The BPO sector caters to a gamut of industries, which include finance and accounting, human resources, procurement and logistics, banking, credit and securities transactions, technical documentation, education and training (e-learning).
E-commerce services: BPO services in Dominica help businesses to thrive by offering E-commerce services in food processing, personal care product manufacturing & tourism.
E-governance services: Government services for citizens, businesses, employees and other government agencies are offered as a way to ensure improved public sector efficiency, accountability and responsiveness.
Installation and repair services: Services for existing off-grid renewable energy systems (small wind turbines and solar panels) & PV rooftop systems are also offered by Dominica’s BPO centre.
Competitive Strengths of Dominica:
With a low cost of operations and a competitive telecommunications market, Dominica offers an attractive value proposition to organisations looking for destinations for near-shoring knowledge services.
Cost-effective labour: Dominica has 20% lower annual labour costs for Software Programming roles compared to average labour costs for similar roles in the region.
Favourable economic conditions: Dominica has a corporate tax rate of 25%, lower than most Caribbean countries while also having the highest annual percentage GDP growth rate in the region of 5.66%.
We are happy to assist you!
Invest Dominica Authority (IDA) is the Commonwealth of Dominica’s government agency to promote Dominica as the location of choice for international investment and to assist them in establishing operations on the island. Contact us here for more information on Knowledge Services and investment opportunities in Dominica.