Dubai-based Gulf Capital, a private equity firm investing from the GCC to Asia, announced the completion of its exit from iSON Xperiences, a tech-enabled emerging markets customer experience and delivery partner that offers Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services across India and Africa, the company said in a statement.

Gulf Capital and AfricInvest had invested around US$50 million in iSON to accelerate the company’s growth. 

BPO is the process of outsourcing operations of many business functions to external service providers.

During the partnership with Gulf Capital, iSON completed three bolt-on acquisitions that allowed the company to expand across Africa including Egypt and South Africa, in addition to expanding its product offering and capabilities. 

iSON also strategically diversified its customer base and industry exposure; it grew its revenues by circa 60%, and now generates around 50% of its revenues from new countries of operations since Gulf Capital’s initial investment and backing. 

Christopher Foll, Senior Managing Director at Gulf Capital, said: “Our investment in iSON was driven by its market leading position in Africa, representing 75% of the customer service market share in the telecoms industry across Sub-Saharan Africa. This is in addition to the solid and sustainable cashflow profile of the business and the exceptional management team. 

“We are pleased with the impressive growth iSON has reported over the years and are optimistic about its future growth prospects. Our investment in iSON allowed us to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns for our investors over our five-year holding period,” Foll added.

Pravin Kumar, Global CEO of iSON Xperiences, said: “We extend our deepest appreciation to Gulf Capital for its proactive support to us and trust in our mission. Its investment has been the catalyst for our remarkable journey, empowering us to expand our horizons, diversify our offerings, and solidify our presence in the industry. 

Majd Khodr, Executive Director at Gulf Capital, added: “Over the past five years, with Gulf Capital’s backing, iSON organically and inorganically expanded its operations to 19 countries in Africa and India and entered into new service offerings that not only grew the company’s operations but also reduced its risk profile, creating value for current and future shareholders. 

“The advanced data-driven solutions and customer-centric approach ensure the company’s resilience and supports its growth in an ever-changing industry,“ Khodr added.

Founded in 2010 as a single-country, single-sector BPO provider, iSON currently operates across 19 countries, driven by a workforce of over 18,000 employees, conducting over 50 million customer transactions per month, for more than 500 million customers globally. 

According to grandviewresearch website, BPO services witness demand across end-use industries such as healthcare, BFSI, and IT & telecommunications. The market size of global business process outsourcing was valued at US$261.9 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4% from 2023 to 2030.