In South Africa we call it a braai, while it’s a barbie in Australia, a cookout in the USA and a barbecue in the UK and elsewhere, but although the name of the event can differ, the core activities are the same: grilling food, drinking beer and a lot of chat. Talking about sports or our kids’ achievements is always on the menu, but increasingly I am finding that braai banter includes exchanging tales of irritation with unsolicited phone calls.

As a young teenager, I worked as what was then called a tele-canvasser—now termed a call-centre agent—so I understand the need to bring services to potential customers and generate business for client brands. There is a lot of money sloshing around the sector; worldwide, the outsourced contact centre part of the industry alone is worth in excess of $100 billion. But if the call centre sector isn’t careful, it is going to kill its golden-egg-laying goose.

Business is booming

The call centre business thrives in South Africa. It shares a favourable time zone with the UK, Nordics, and parts of Europe, it is largely English speaking, and it has the expertise, technology and the will to service clients wherever they may be. According to industry-wide reports, approximately 78% of these call centres offer support services, which are specific in what they do. However, the remaining call centres generate leads on behalf of their clients or brands; in other words purely outbound calls.

Industry-wide reports from organisations such as BPESA estimate the total workforce in the sector to be approximately 261,000 agents (by late 2024) with 65,000 focusing on international clients. This number is said to have increased in 2025 and is expected to grow further in 2026. Based on industry benchmarks of 50-70+ calls per day per agent, the total outbound volume is likely in the hundreds of millions per month across the entire industry.

Unsolicited calls are increasing rapidly as the industry expands with a projected 11.1% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) from 2025 to 2030. ID and spam-blocking apps offer little help avoiding time being wasted as the apps can be thwarted by the ability to mask numbers. This matters because research suggests that constant interruption makes it difficult to maintain flow, and it can take up to 23 minutes to refocus after a disruption. As far as the public is concerned, the ice being skated on by outbound call centres is becoming increasingly thin.

What do we do?

For the most part, I resist answering a call if I don’t recognise the number calling, but that does carry some risk: perhaps missing a fresh business opportunity, or not knowing about an emergency (when you have children one never knows whose device is being used), or an important order not being delivered because a driver needs extra directions.

When I do answer a call, there is usually a delay on the other side, as the call only gets transferred to an agent when you answer – a design of the VOIP communication platforms/PABX aimed at agent efficiency. I have been in their shoes, so I find a polite phrase for “I am not interested”, but my patience and empathy withers as the frequency of these interruptions increases.

Regulation

Applying any form of control is no easy feat, but the call centre industry would be wise to properly regulate itself before their business model is forever trashed when you and I learn to drop their calls during that one or two second delay when answering. Without doubt, the outbound call centre industry is heading for a disaster if there is no intervention, much like we are seeing with the international SMS pricing model that MNO’s (Mobile Network Operators) implemented a while ago. We warned them and they did not listen. MEF (Mobile Ecosystem Forum) even started a working group/committee to highlight the negative impact it would have. It was ignored. And now their revenue has declined significantly as a result, and they seem puzzled about why.

Looking ahead – before it is too late

While I have illustrated the issue through a South Africa lens, this is fast becoming a global market issue.

Call Centres provide an important service for brands and consumers, but only when they operate in a way that is ethical and respectful. Call centres are reaching the peak of public tolerance.

More of the industry needs to recognise that maintaining public trust is essential to long-term sustainability. Call centres should be shifting towards more targeted, data-driven approaches to outbound communication, focusing on customers who have shown genuine interest in a product or service. The adoption of analytics and artificial intelligence tools could make for more personalised and less intrusive engagement, while also improving compliance by ensuring that only authorised contacts are approached.

Outbound call centres need to think carefully about their behaviour as continuing to ignore the issues will lead to a clamp down by regulators, and more and more consumers refusing any call they don’t recognise. This would have a knock-on effect for the entire industry. A bit like continuing to overfish the oceans; in the short term there is money to be made, but in the long term the entire outbound call centre industry could disappear.

Waheed Adam

Waheed Adam is the Executive Chairman of iTouch, headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa and a Board Member and Vice-Chair of MEF (Mobile Ecosystem Forum) a global trade body established in 2000 and headquartered in the UK with members across the world. As the independent voice of the mobile ecosystem, it focuses on cross-industry best practices, anti-fraud and monetisation. The Forum provides its members with global and cross-sector platforms for networking, collaboration and advancing industry solutions.

Web: https://mobileecosystemforum.com/