Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition John Steenhuisen used the official opening of Atain’s new Cape Town centre to signal sustained government backing for South Africa’s global business services sector, framing the industry as a primary vehicle for economic growth and youth employment.
Steenhuisen’s address placed the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and its investment promotion arm, InvestSA, at the centre of the Atain story. He credited InvestSA, alongside the South African High Commission in India, with actively securing the investment, and described government’s broader mandate as removing barriers and coordinating across departments to facilitate business growth. The message was direct: the state intends to remain an active partner, not a passive bystander.
The investment itself is substantial. Atain, which specialises in customer experience and business process management with artificial intelligence-driven services, operated with 50 employees in 2022. Its Cape Town workforce now stands at approximately 1,500 people. The current expansion, backed by R70 million in investment, will push that figure to 2,100 positions. Steenhuisen characterised the growth trajectory as evidence of investor confidence and a validation of South Africa’s competitive standing in the global services market.
The Deputy Minister outlined the structural advantages he believes underpin that confidence: time-zone alignment with key markets, multilingual capabilities, an established ecosystem for global business services operations, and access to a skilled workforce. Cape Town has emerged as the sector’s primary hub, though Steenhuisen pointed to significant expansion opportunities across other provinces where pools of untapped talent remain underutilised.
Meanwhile, workforce development formed a central plank of his remarks. Atain provides employees with incentive schemes, medical coverage, funeral benefits, and door-to-door transport. The company also operates the Atain Academy, which focuses on impact sourcing and deliberately recruits young people from disadvantaged and high-risk communities. More than 350 learners have passed through the academy to date, creating a pipeline of skilled workers and offering sustainable employment pathways for young South Africans.
Steenhuisen positioned Atain’s model as a template for how South African enterprises can compete globally, combining artificial intelligence technology with human expertise to deliver internationally competitive services. As the global economy undergoes rapid technological transformation, he argued, South Africa’s capacity to harness those changes represents a significant national opportunity.
The Deputy Minister closed with a commitment to continued engagement, stating that government stands ready to listen to investors, coordinate across departments, and address obstacles to growth. He characterised the work of companies like Atain as extending beyond commercial operations to encompass skills development and opportunity creation, particularly for younger South Africans.
Amir Bharwani, Atain’s Chief Human Resources Officer, reinforced the company’s strategic commitment to the country. The strength of Cape Town’s local talent base underpins the company’s presence, he said, and further scaling of investment remains a priority. Bharwani described the company’s focus as building future-ready skills and delivering exceptional client outcomes on a global scale.
Whether the government’s coordination role translates into measurable policy reform across other provinces, where Steenhuisen identified untapped talent, remains the open question for the sector’s next phase.