US-Based Firm Samasource To Employ 600 Kenyans As Part Of Government’s BPO Job Creation Efforts

Investments, Trade, and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has unveiled plans to provide job opportunities for 600 Kenyans through a collaboration with the US-based firm Samasource.

This announcement came following a meeting between Kuria and Samasource’s Chief Executive Officer, Wendy Gonzelez, who expressed the company’s intent to employ even more Kenyan workers.

Samasource is a California-based training-data company specializing in data interpretation for artificial intelligence algorithms.

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Kuria shared the news, saying, “Wendy Gonzelez, CEO at the world-leading BPO giant Samasource, has just informed me that following the recent government efforts to create 1 million BPO jobs in Kenya, they will this week hire 600 Kenyans.”

He added, “They will also hire another 1,500 in the next two weeks to work on Computer Vision AI. I have assured Wendy that they have made the right decision.”

Roselyn Maundu, Chairperson of the Business Process Outsourcing Association of Kenya, emphasized the positive impact of BPOs (Business Process Outsourcing) on job creation.

Speaking during the Executive Roundtable for BPO leaders in May, she stated that the BPO sector is poised to generate over a million jobs in the next five years, offering Kenyan workers meaningful employment opportunities.

She stressed the importance of promoting freelancing in Kenya and highlighted the role of BPOs in this endeavor.

Maundu emphasized that with effective governance and a supportive environment for BPOs, the industry’s growth could lead to an improved quality of life for Kenyans.

Kenya faces an annual influx of nearly one million graduates into the job market, exacerbating the issue of unemployment.

In response, the government has initiated various programs to encourage self-employment. Among these initiatives is the establishment of an outsourcing hub to facilitate foreign companies in recruiting employees from Kenya.