Morocco’s Intelcia Expands to Jamaica, Eyes American Market

Rabat – Morocco’s outsourcing expert, Intelcia, launched its operations in Jamaica earlier this month in an effort to build more partnerships with US-based companies.

In an interview with Jamaica Observer, CEO and co-founder of Intelcia, Karim Bernoussi, made it clear that his company’s objective is to not only expand in the Caribbean, but also to recruit cheap, talented, and English-speaking youth with a cultural affinity to the US. Intelcia also has offices in the Dominican Republic and Columbia.

“The objective is not to acquire a center here in Jamaica; it’s to acquire customers in the US and maybe they would have a center in Jamaica,” Bernoussi said.

While the Jamaican site has only one customer, US-based telecommunications firm Altice, Intelcia’s presence in the Caribbean country has created 600-700 job opportunities.

By 2023, the Casablanca-based outsourcing company is expected to increase its local workforce to more than 1,000. The prospect of recruiting more Jamaicans skilled in software development and information technology aims to address the needs of the US market.

“Clearly, if we come here it is not to stay at this level,” the CEO said. “But after, it [will] depend on our success in terms of client acquisition, and it can go to 2,000, 3,000.”

Intelcia’s decision to enter the Jamaican market was coordinated with the state-owned Jamaican Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO). The corporation is responsible for attracting investments and increasing exports to stimulate economic development in the Caribbean island.

On September 22, Intelcia inaugurated its new site in the presence of Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment, and Commerce Aubyn Hill and JAMPRO’s President Diane Edwards.

Describing Intelcia’s investments in the Caribbean island as a “significant event,” Minister Hill said that “It sends a clear message to potential investors that Jamaica is, indeed, an attractive and welcoming investment destination that they all should choose.”

In such a context, the Intelcia-Jamaica partnership represents a win-win situation for a country that struggles with high employment rates, halting its brain drain, by welcoming a company that seeks to benefit from English-speaking talent in Jamaica’s $1 billion service sector and expand its portfolio in the US.

Intelcia currently serves 220 customers in various sectors such as telecommunication, banking, and IT across 17 countries.

Reviewing Intelcia’s expansion strategy in African, South American, and European countries, it appears that the company targets growing markets in countries with long-standing partnerships with Morocco.

Many of these countries have notably expressed their interest in deepening diplomatic and economic relations with Rabat. Many have announced their clear support of Morocco’s stance on the Western Sahara dispute such as Jamaica, Chile, Mauritius, and Senegal.

Thus, Intelcia’s expansion strategy appears to shadow Morocco’s foreign policy, particularly in Africa and South America. In turn, the company benefits from the economic rapprochement between Rabat and other developing countries under the framework of south-south cooperation.