Meet the Nedbank Business Ignite Finalists: askOsca - more than a call centre
Lester Kiewit speaks to askOsca’s Clint Crowster, our first finalist of Nedbank Business Ignite 2024
With a grand prize of R200 000 cash injection and professional business video up for grabs, CapeTalk and Nedbank are calling on all local entrepreneurs to enter the 12th edition of Nedbank Business Ignite. We’ve begun narrowing down our list of finalists and moving closer to crowning the SME that will win it all and scale up their business.
askOsca is a call centre (BPO) business based in Grassy Park, Cape Town that specializes in providing reliable and high-quality lead generation services to multiple clients, including international companies in the B2B marketing industry.
What started as a group of only four employees in 2013, now boasts 125 staff members and counting. What’s more impressive is the emphasis on upskilling their agents and providing contact centre training to matriculants, non-matriculants and the unemployed alike. This makes askOsca a hub for young people to thrive.
Lester Kiewit learns more about askOsca from business owner Clint Crowster, and chats to Thuli Magubane, the business mentor for Nedbank Business Ignite on why this candidate was chosen.
Listen to the full conversation below:
“When it comes to scaling up, askOsca has definitely done that,” says Magubane. “They decided to convert their home and start their call centre in Grassy Park. And they’ve managed to get the community on their side.”
After dropping out of the University of Cape Town, Crowster ventured into the BPO industry in 2003, where he dug deep and educated himself on what made a BPO company tick. Using his networking skills and LinkedIn to establish himself, he now wishes to allow his employees to do the same.
“I used the people around me as my new institution, my new university – I wanted to know everything about the BPO industry. That’s what I did. So, I forged myself a career in the BPO industry for 20+ years.”
If askOsca should win this year’s Nedbank Business Ignite, Crowster aims to expand his business’ clientele into real estate, while empowering his staff with the necessary skills and qualifications, making them even more marketable in the industry.