Absa has become the first investor to open a BPO facility in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), in the Eastern Cape, with a number of other similar deals now also in the pipeline.

The retail bank has been operating an outbound call centre in Coega since January, and is currently employing around 105 people from nearby townships. The bank plans to recruit a further 94 employees from the area.

"The project came at the right time when we were making a concerted effort to attract companies in the BPO sector," said Coega Development Corporation’s (CDC) business development executive Khwezi Tiya, in an interview with Engineering News.

Following the announcement Tiya also noted that the CDC is in talks with a number of international companies regarding the cluster.

Last week the Coega Development Corporation announced it was close to finalising six investment deals worth more than R1bn, which would take the total number of investors in the automotive supplier park to nine by March next year.