FREEPORT, St James – In 2016 C4 Global Solutions started as a Jamaican-born business process outsourcing (BPO) company in Montego Bay with a workforce of 28.

Since then, the company has experienced rapid growth and expansion, accounting for over 300 workers in the sector, and has set its sights on further expansion, both locally and internationally.

The company that provides a variety of services including customer service and debt collections, now has seven clients with another two said to be in the pipeline.

Shane Reid, C4’s director of operations, told the Jamaica Observer West, following a ceremony to mark the company’s fifth year of operations in Freeport last week, that by the end of 2022 the company is projected to have a client base of over 13 and a workforce of between 450 and 500.

“The majority of our client base is United States clients. We currently have a local client that we have been facilitating for the last year and a half but we are looking to have more local clients too,” stated Reid.

He stressed that C4 will be targeting local clients in a bid to satisfy their marketing, sales or collection services needs.

“I foresee that happening pretty soon because C4 was one of those companies that were not out there. We were always here in our little shell doing our thing but now we are spreading our wings. We are putting ourselves out there now so [that] every person knows that we are here to employ Jamaicans. We are here to make sure that people can put food on their table and by doing things like those I think that’s where we are giving back to the country,” the director of operations argued.

In respect to overseas expansion, Reid said, “the market is big enough for us to start thinking about branching off into other areas and I am not talking about just Jamaica.”

“Other countries in the Caribbean and maybe the United States, just the same,” said an optimistic Reid, who has been with the company from inception.

The company currently operates from three separate spaces within two buildings in Freeport and is in the process of acquiring additional space.

In 2018, C4 was recognised by the Business Processing Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) for its significant growth in the industry during that year.

“That in itself tells us that we are doing something right. So, we were able to maintain or have significant growth when it comes to percentage-wise than anyone that is in the BPO sector for that particular year and that was a good thing,” stated Reid, referring to the award the company received from the BPIAJ.

And noting that the company has facilitated people without passes in subjects in external examinations and allowed them to further educate themselves, Reid is sending an invitation to people who may have an interest in the BPO industry that the company is willing to facilitate their personal development.

“We are going to be extending that to everyone out there as well. Once you are able to pass a few interviews, show us the end interest that you want to work, we will be able to work with you,” he stressed.

“We are saying to every single person out there, it doesn’t matter what your challenges are. If you are able to sit and have a conversation with somebody, chances are this is the job for you. And, if you have the zeal to do it, we are going to reach out to you, we are going to give you all the tools that you need to succeed and I can guarantee you that you will be a success.”

Reid, who has been working in the BPO sector for two decades, said the company provides an encouraging and nurturing environment for its staff. “Sometimes they (employees) can’t facilitate themselves when it comes to getting breakfast or lunch…but if they are here on time, we buy them lunch and this is something that we are doing every single day. Not only that, we give weekly incentives with the pay and at the end of the month, if you are hitting your target, you get a monthly commission. So, these things put together are going to put any single individual out there in a position that they will be able to save some cash and will be able to attain the things that they want to,” he argued.

Two of the company’s employees, Ann-Marie Samuels, a senior collections agent, who has been with the company from inception, and Collinette Trott, collections supervisor, spoke glowingly of the entity that has facilitated their development and growth.

Samuels said when she started with the company five years ago, she was referred to as ‘slowly’.

“I was the slowest and least established person on the team. Now, I am a caterpillar that has turned into a butterfly. I have outgrown the nickname and [is] now a top collector for C4 Global. C4 has allowed me to reach personal growth such as improving my technical and interpersonal skills and not to mention exercising time management and patience,” said Samuels.

Greg Cappa, the company’s CEO and founder, noted that while “responsible growth” has been a part of the company’s agenda over the past five years, quality assurance is the main focus.

Cappa, who once lived in Jamaica, presently resides in Florida due to “family obligations”. He said he currently works 10 hours a day from home on the phone and the computer, “rather than sitting in this office (Freeport) which I miss, because I like being around my team.”

Besides, Cappa, who is the largest shareholder of three in C4, also ensures the smooth running of the entity by travelling regularly to Jamaica.

Cappa was a part of another company started in 2003, which was later sold, and after being out of the industry for a while “due to a clause in the sales agreement,” an agreement was reached with an investor and himself to start C4.

“So, we started the ball rolling and we got the first client which is the hardest client to get when you start a business because no one wants to be the first. Once we got that and established, the rest of the clients started coming,” said Cappa, adding that “we grew pretty quickly that first year.”

He said the company remained stable before taking on additional clients in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. He disclosed that over the past years, the company has had steady growth and financial earnings. While not giving data, Cappa disclosed that the company’s revenue for 2020 grew 40 per cent over the previous year.

He added that this year, revenue is expected to grow by 20 per cent over last year and a further 20 per cent is expected for 2022.

And arguing that the company has spent 40 per cent of its life operations during a pandemic, president of the Global Services Association of Jamaica, formerly the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), Gloria Henry, said C4 has not only sustained its business, but has grown.

“Five years is a great achievement. It is a good milestone and I’m sure that you are going to be around for many, many more years to come. So, I want to congratulate you, salute you and salute your customers and staff for continuing to drive success and for being a part of this great industry,” said Henry at last week’s celebratory function.