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Call center operator MindPearl is expected to kick off in Fiji by September, with an initial 30 jobs and up to 3000 more job opportunities over a course of two years, creating an expected foreign earnings of some $48 million yearly.
MindPearl officials were at the Kalabo Tax Free zone in Valelevu today to see the warehouse that will accommodate the company’s operations.
MindPearl was established in 1999, with the specific objective of providing full contact centre facilities and services to a consortium of 11 airlines, flying globally to over 400 destinations across all time zones.
In Fiji, it has signed on national airline Air Pacific as a first local partner and will handle all of Air Pacific’s reservations, ticket purchases, travel queries and booking functions.
MindPearl chief executive officer William Pattison told FijiLive the company had scoured over 15 countries worldwide for a new contact centre and settled on Fiji.
“We’ve been looking over the last three or four years for a location that fitted the following criteria: one, it had to have a first world telecommunications infrastructure; two, English language skills that are easily understood by customers in USA, Canada, United Kingdom, and; 3, readily available staff. We went through a total of 15 countries and Fiji was able to provide all three of those, that’s why we’re here,” Pattison said.
MindPearl officials were accompanied to the Kalabo Tax Free zone by senior officers at the Fiji Islands Trade and Investment Bureau (FTIB).
FTIB chief executive officer Annie Rogers said MindPearl’s presence in Fiji would send out a strong signal to potential foreign investors on what Fiji has to offer.
“Once they know that such a big operation as MindPearl has looked at Fiji and not only looked but actually come on board, that will make them a lot more aware of what Fiji has to offer,” Rogers told FijiLive.
“We have a huge workforce that’s able to be absorbed into such an industry, our accent is considered neutral, which means it’s easily understood by people on the other end of the phone, and it also makes them look at what the economy has to offer. We have a beautiful set up here at Kalabo as well as a lovely country to invest in. Our people are very accommodating, very good workers, also the expertise, literacy rate is high, the expertise of our people are adequate to this type of operation.”
Attractive tax incentives, she added, were also on offer and include a 13 year tax holiday period and duty free importation of computer, computer parts and accessories, plant, equipment and fittings and specialised furniture for initial establishment to approved ICT business operators.
