List of Call Centers in Kenya (2026): Top BPO and Contact Centre Companies

Kenya is one of East Africa's leading business process outsourcing (BPO) hubs, home to large outsourced call centres like CCI Global, KenCall, iSON Xperiences and Techno Brain, alongside smaller specialist firms. Below is a 2026 list of the main call centre and BPO companies in Kenya, what they do, who they serve, and how to run your own contact centre instead of outsourcing.

Kenya's call centre industry has grown quickly on the back of a young, highly educated, English- and Swahili-speaking workforce, improved fibre connectivity, and government backing for tech-enabled services and BPO. Global brands now route customer service through Nairobi, and local firms have built world-class facilities to serve them. This guide lists the established players and explains the two paths open to a business that needs a call centre: outsource to one of these firms, or run your own with cloud contact-centre software.

What counts as a call center in Kenya?

Two different things get called a call center, and it helps to separate them:

• Outsourced BPO call centres (the companies below) are firms you hire to handle calls, chats and back-office work for you, using their staff and premises.
• In-house contact centres are teams you run yourself using software. Modern versions are cloud platforms that put voice, SMS, WhatsApp and USSD on one screen, with no room full of hardware required.

This list covers the outsourced firms first, then the in-house option, so you can decide which fits your budget and control needs.

Top call center and BPO companies in Kenya (2026)

CompanyFocusNotable forCCI Global (CCI Kenya)Large-scale outsourced BPOKenya's largest call centre, a US$50m facility at Tatu City; 3,000+ agents serving telecoms, energy, e-commerce and leisure brandsKenCallInbound, outbound, back-officeDescribed as Kenya's first international contact centre, serving US, UK and Kenyan clients from NairobiiSON XperiencesInbound/outbound, digital careIn Kenya's contact-centre business since 2011; customer service, dealer help desk, retention and social media careTechno Brain BPO/ITESBPO and IT-enabled servicesISO 9001:2015 certified; call-centre management within a wider BPO and software groupDirect Channel (Kenya)Outsourced telesales and supportLong-running outsourced contact-centre and telemarketing providerDaproim AfricaImpact-sourcing BPOData and back-office BPO with an impact-sourcing model employing youth and students

Large in-house operations also run their own contact centres rather than outsourcing, including Safaricom, Kenya Airways, the major banks and government service lines. These are not for hire but show how central the contact centre is to Kenyan customer service.

This list focuses on established, well-documented firms. New entrants appear regularly; directories such as ensun, GoodFirms and local business listings track a longer tail. Verify a firm's current status, size and services directly before engaging.

What do call centres in Kenya actually do?

Kenyan call centres handle a broad mix of work, both for local brands and as offshore/nearshore delivery for the UK, US and wider Africa:

• Inbound customer service - questions, complaints, order and account support.
• Outbound sales and telemarketing - lead generation, campaigns, renewals and retention.
• Technical help desks - tier-1 support and dealer/partner help lines.
• Collections and verification - reminders, KYC checks and follow-ups.
• Digital and social care - WhatsApp, email, chat and social-media response alongside voice.
• Back-office BPO - data entry, document processing and moderation.

Why is Kenya a popular BPO and call center destination?

• Workforce: a large, young, literate population with strong English and Swahili, plus growing other-language capacity.
• Cost: competitive labour costs versus the UK, US and South Africa, while quality stays high.
• Time zone: EAT (UTC+3) overlaps the European working day and reaches US evening shifts.
• Infrastructure and policy: undersea fibre, data centres, special economic zones like Tatu City, and government support for digital jobs.

The trade-off for a brand is control: outsourcing hands your customer conversations to a third party. That is why many Kenyan businesses now run their own contact centres instead.

How much does it cost to outsource a call center in Kenya?

Outsourced pricing is usually quoted per agent per month, and varies widely with volume, language, hours and complexity. As a rough guide, outsourced seats in Kenya are commonly quoted in the low hundreds of US dollars per agent per month, before setup and technology fees. Running the same team in-house shifts the cost to salaries (see our call centre agent salary guide) plus software. For many SMEs, in-house on cloud software is cheaper and keeps the customer relationship in-house.

Should you outsource or run your own call center?

FactorOutsource to a BPORun your own (cloud software)Setup speedFast (they have staff and kit)Fast with cloud software; you hire agentsControl of quality and brandLower (third-party agents)Higher (your team, your scripts)Cost modelPer seat, all-inSalaries + software subscriptionBest forLarge volume, surge, offshore deliverySMEs and brands wanting control and dataChannelsDepends on the vendorVoice, SMS, WhatsApp, USSD in one place

If you decide to run your own, you no longer need a physical call-centre room or a PBX. Cloud contact-centre platforms give you local numbers, IVR menus, call routing, recording, an auto-dialer for outbound, AI agents and a single screen for voice, SMS, WhatsApp and USSD, billed monthly in KES.

How do I set up my own call center in Kenya?

1. Define channels and hours. Decide whether you need voice only or voice plus WhatsApp/SMS/USSD, and whether you run business hours or 24/7.
2. Get numbers. Provision local virtual or toll numbers through your software provider rather than buying hardware lines.
3. Choose cloud software. Pick a platform with IVR, routing, recording, reporting and the channels you need. HelloDuty is built for African teams with voice, SMS, WhatsApp and USSD on one screen.
4. Hire and train agents. Budget salaries plus statutory costs (NSSF, SHA, PAYE); see the agent salary guide.
5. Route and measure. Set up IVR menus and queues, then track answer rate, average handle time and resolution from day one.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the largest call center in Kenya?
CCI Global's facility at Tatu City is described as Kenya's largest call centre, a US$50 million site with capacity for thousands of agents, serving international brands across telecoms, energy, e-commerce and leisure.

How many call centers are there in Kenya?
There is no official count, and it changes as firms open and close. There are dozens of established outsourced BPO call centres plus a long tail of smaller firms and in-house contact centres run by banks, telcos and airlines.

What is the difference between a call center and a BPO?
A call centre handles voice and, increasingly, chat and messaging. BPO (business process outsourcing) is broader: it includes call centres plus back-office work like data entry, document processing, finance and moderation.

Is Kenya good for call center outsourcing?
Yes. Kenya offers a young, educated, English- and Swahili-speaking workforce, competitive costs, a European-overlapping time zone and strong connectivity, which is why global brands route customer service through Nairobi.

How much does it cost to run a call center in Kenya?
Outsourced seats are commonly quoted in the low hundreds of US dollars per agent per month. Running your own is salaries plus cloud software: a Kenyan platform like HelloDuty starts from KES 25,000 per month, with per-agent seats typically KES 3,500 to 7,500.

Can I run a call center without a physical office?
Yes. Cloud contact-centre software lets agents log in from anywhere with a browser and headset. You provision numbers, IVR and routing in software, so remote and hybrid call centres are now common in Kenya.

What software do Kenyan call centres use?
A mix of global suites and locally built platforms. Local, Africa-focused options includes HelloDuty which handles voice, SMS, WhatsApp and USSD and integrate with M-PESA and local telcos.

Run your own contact centre instead of outsourcing

Would rather keep customer conversations in-house? HelloDuty gives you a full cloud call centre - local numbers, IVR, routing, recording, an auto-dialer and AI agents, with voice, SMS, WhatsApp and USSD on one screen, priced in KES.