Anusha Ramraj has served as CCI South Africa’s Chief Financial Officer since 2020. The privately held business process outsourcing (BPO) firm serves more than 80 clients worldwide and is headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. The company’s largest operations, employing more than 15,000 people, are located in South Africa, with additional operations located in Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Egypt and Ethiopia. Ramraj, who started her career as a call center agent and rose to the position of CFO, recently shared her thoughts with Global Finance.
Global Finance: What are the most important aspects of being a CFO in the BPO industry?
Anusha Ramraj: The strategic role of the CFO has increased across all industries. The CFO must own the numbers while guiding and communicating with stakeholders. Particularly in BPO, strategic planning is vital and involves aligning financial goals with supplier selection, contract negotiations and pricing structure. Cash flow management is critical, as is risk management given the diversity of geographies, data and CCI compliance requirements. Reducing risks such as fines, penalties and currency fluctuations is essential, especially for global operations.
GF: The quality of the workforce is critical in various industries, especially in business process outsourcing where services rely heavily on workers. What makes your talent pool different and how does it benefit your clients?
Ramraj: We focus on finding impactful results and partner with a non-profit organization, CareerBox Africa. Here, we identify and provide unique training and employment opportunities to young candidates from underserved communities in Africa, placing them in digital contact center jobs with a special focus on empowering blacks and women. In South Africa, for example, almost 80% of our employees are black, with 76% to 78% of them women. With a focus on diversity and inclusion, we strive to not only empower women who may face barriers to employment, but also enrich the communities in which they live.
GF: What keeps you up at night?
Ramraj: Agreement. It’s not that I’m not complying; I guarantee full compliance. Maintaining business continuity is critical. As a CFO overseeing the financial health of a business, enhancing governance, regulation and compliance in an ever-changing global environment is paramount. Ensuring ongoing compliance is imperative as any lapse can have a significant impact on the business. CCI is a multinational company in sub-Saharan Africa: we currently have 17 contact centers across the continent, and this comes with its own compliance challenges.
GF: How important are environmental, social and governance aspects? [ESG] your company’s goals?
Ramraj: Our ESG framework is focused on our CCI Cares initiatives with multiple focus areas. These include our commitment to the environment through sustainable development projects covering reforestation in Africa, such as our One Job, One Tree project; emissions measurement; promoting carpooling for employees due to its environmental impact; sale of higher quality water; recycling; working on green contact center buildings and other solar initiatives. But most importantly, we are committed to African society – for example, supporting various community projects and improving schools, providing better water, sanitation, equipment, education and nutrition programs.
GF: What is your economic forecast for Africa?
Ramraj: Africa faces many challenges, but it also offers numerous opportunities in sectors such as infrastructure, mining, natural resources, education and finance. Africa is one of the largest continents with the youngest population, and its young population is an incredible resource. Before investing, companies must conduct thorough research to understand the business environment and potential opportunities. CFOs play a critical role in shaping this reality through investment considerations and decisions.