How Nigeria’s Bottomline Assist Helps Global Companies Access World-Class Talent at Lower Costs
Bottomline Assist, a Nigerian business process outsourcing (BPO) startup, is giving businesses in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia access to top talent while reducing labor expenses by up to 75%.
Bottomline Assist, which was established earlier this year, has created a digital DPO platform that manages entire corporate operations or specific positions in customer service, software development, sales, administration, and virtual assistance.
Francis Adelore, the company’s founder and CEO, told Disrupt Africa, “What sets us apart is that we’re not just about cost savings, we’re about quality and innovation.”
“We’ve raised the benchmark for outsourcing talent in Africa, with stricter requirements for education, experience, and communication skills than most traditional firms. At the same time, our clients enjoy prices that are 55 per cent more affordable than major global players, creating a rare win–win – clients save enormously while employees earn wages far above what local employers typically offer.”
Additionally, the startup focuses on assisting customers in “working smarter.”
“We don’t just execute; we improve the way work is done through automation, customer experience procedures, reduced SOPs, and contemporary technologies. By doing this, we’re addressing inefficiencies that have afflicted the US$340 billion outsourcing sector for many years,” Adelore stated.
Africa currently contributes less than US$8 billion to this global industry, which Adelore claims presents an opportunity.
“Bottomline Assist is positioning Africa as the next major outsourcing hub by combining affordability, quality, and innovation, and we’re determined to lead that shift,” he stated.
Adelore’s own experience working for a foreign corporation served as the inspiration for the business. While still in his third year of law school, he started as a summer intern. Within six months, he was promoted to assistant team lead and received a full-time offer, making him “indispensable to the firm.” However, he found that, because he was based in Nigeria, he was paid almost half as much as colleagues in comparable or even lower positions, despite his achievements.
“This experience demonstrated two things: first, African experts frequently produce work that is on par with or better than that of their international counterparts; and second, hiring from Africa saves businesses a significant amount of money. He claimed, “It was a win-win strategy that was concealed in plain sight.”
Adelore started Bottomline Assist after realizing that many more businesses could unlock this.
“Hubs like the Philippines, India, and Latin America have long dominated global outsourcing. However, the truth is that Africa provides a larger pool of highly educated, English-speaking, and adaptable talent, frequently at a cheaper cost—not due to a lack of abilities, but rather due to disparities in living expenses,” he stated. African professionals frequently earn less than their international counterparts despite having greater qualifications. The majority of businesses are unaware that they can obtain “better for less” in Africa, and we are setting up Bottomline Assist to spearhead this change.
Traditional outsourcing centers are becoming saturated in the meantime. They are becoming more costly and unstable because to government regulations, taxation, rising wages, and even worker strikes.
“Africa is uniquely positioned to step in, and many businesses are currently searching for reliable alternatives,” Adelore stated.
Other areas, such as IT for India, customer service for the Philippines, and sales for Latin America, have also somewhat turned into “one-trick ponies.”
Strong talent in both technical and non-technical roles can only be found in one location in Africa. Instead of dispersing activities across several countries, this allows multinational corporations to centralize outsourcing in a single, reliable place, he said.
The firm, which is proudly bootstrapped and purposefully lean, has already acquired 11 clients in a variety of industries and grown to employ more than 50 people. Additionally, it has reached significant partnership milestones. It is a source partner of Outsource Accelerator, the largest BPO directory and information hub in the globe, and collaborates with the US-based Cloud Tech Gurus to provide BPO tech solutions spanning more than 15 services.
Additionally, we have teamed with AnswerNet, a US-based firm that employs 2,000 people and generates US$65 million in revenue annually, as one of their providers. Beyond this, we’re actively negotiating to increase our global presence with other foreign companies,” Adelore stated.
Every single customer we’ve met has signed on, and we have a 100% close rate once we enter the room. What distinguishes us is our method. Rather than merely competing on “cheap labor,” we customize each engagement, provide special services to make things easier for clients, employ data-driven targeting, and use our partnership with Outsource Accelerator to connect with small and mid-sized businesses that are frequently ignored by larger outsourcing firms.
In order to maximize flexibility and scale, Bottomline Assist operates three physical locations in Lagos, Abuja, and Ibadan in addition to other remote positions.
The majority of our workforce is headquartered in Nigeria, where we have established hubs in Lagos, Abuja, and Ibadan. We next plan to grow into Ghana, which we believe is a robust market for African outsourced skills,” Adelore stated.
We currently provide client services to companies in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Gibraltar. Our goal is to increase our market share, especially among small and mid-sized companies who are either too costly to deal with larger outsourcing companies or just want additional support during their outsourcing process.
He stated that in order to have more operational control, the company intends to replace its current co-working spaces with fully-owned physical offices.
Adelore added, “We’re also investing in building proprietary CRM and support systems that will allow us to scale efficiently and deliver an even smoother client experience.”
The revenue model used by Bottomline Assist is “simple and transparent.”
We don’t charge clients setup or upfront costs; instead, the majority of our revenue comes from a portion of the cost per agent. This makes it simpler for companies of all sizes, particularly SMEs, to collaborate with us right away,” he stated.
Additionally, we make extra money by entering into profit-sharing agreements with our IT partners, such Cloud IT Gurus. Our profit margins are substantial. Our typical expense-to-profit ratio is roughly 65:35. For instance, if a client pays US$1,000 for an agent, about US$650 goes toward paying the agent’s salary, utilities, technology, and quality control, leaving US$350 as pure profit.
The majority of the startup’s earnings are currently being put back into growing the team, bolstering its technology stack, and scaling operations.
Adelore stated, “This guarantees we can maintain growth while building a long-term foundation for leadership in the outsourcing space.”
