More than 100 delegates from within the NGO sector and from development partner organizations are scheduled to attend the second Outsourcing and Shared Services Conference to be held in Nairobi at the end of this week.

NetHope, a new generation information and communications technology (ICT) organization of 29 leading international NGOs, is hosting the conference during which representatives from NGOs, foundations, corporations and local government entities will gather to discuss the viability of Nairobi as an emerging outsourcing destination that could stimulate local economic development and create jobs.

NGOs, which make up a significant portion of Kenya’s economic sector, are looking to outsource various business processing needs within the region. With the new fibre optic cables recently laid in East Africa, there’s a sense that Nairobi has never before been better positioned to take off as a major outsourcing hub for East Africa, if not for the entire continent, according to NetHope CEO William Brindley.

“There’s a perfect storm of elements coming together right now that make Nairobi a compelling prospect for outsourcing needs,” says Brindley. “Not only do the new fibre optic cables bring the region’s underlying technology infrastructure to new heights, but NGOs and businesses find Nairobi’s highly educated, largely English-speaking workforce very attractive.”At the summit participants will also talk about how NGOs operating in East Africa can take advantage of shared services offered by outsourcing groups, something NetHope piloted in India last fall.“In our India pilot program, we found that NGOs were able to access a whole new spectrum of shared technologies and services to increase the reach of their humanitarian aid programs,” says Brindley. “The idea of embracing technology and the efficiencies it yields is core to NetHope’s mission. By leveraging technology to work smarter, NGOs make their dollars go further, thereby increasing their reach as they deliver aid to some of the poorest people in the world, including folks here in rural Kenya.”Key speakers at the event include Brindley as well as Dr. Bitange Ndemo, PS Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Paul Kukubo, CEO of the ICT Board and Wiebe Boer, Associate Director for The Rockefeller Foundation; all with extensive experience and knowledge in matters ICT and outsourcing. Summit sponsors include Rockefeller Foundation, Accenture Development Partnerships, ICT Board of Kenya and AITEC Africa.