The U.S.-based Institute for Robotic Process Automation and AI (IRPA-AI) is planning to open a new chapter in South Africa in 2019, making its first foray into the continent and adding to a growing global presence that already touches Colombia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
Today’s announcement will be formalized later this week during an IRPA-AI event in New York, the Automation Innovation Conference. To help commemorate the launch, Zondwa Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, will be on hand to speak about how technology can help young people in the nation learn digital skills and find opportunity.
The one-day conference of the IRPA-AI — which was founded by Outsourcing Institute head Frank Casale, to bring together more resources from the RPA, AI, and automation fields — will be held on Thursday, November 29, at the Convene. The theme of this year’s flagship event for the institute is “Harmonizing RPA, Intelligent Automation, and Cognitive.”
The South African chapter will be launched next year in partnership with the InterGlobal Management Group (IMG), a capital investment firm from Australia that has a large presence in the African nation and has focused its funding on the tech space, including companies offering solutions in the BPO, enterprise SaaS, and digital media spaces.
“South Africa’s contact center and BPO industries are expanding, and the country is recognized as a great offshore customer-service location for U.S. businesses,” said Duncan Wallace, a partner at IMG.
“It is more important than ever that South Africa embrace transformation and encourage digital opportunities for youth,” he added.
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