iQor, the Florida-based services provider of customer engagement and technology-enabled business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions, has chosen Trinidad and Tobago — the Caribbean island with one of the smallest BPO sector in the region — to open its newest centre. The centre is to be opened in Chaguanas.

iQor, a large corporation with nearly 100 subsidiaries, is on the rebound after a 2020 bankruptcy filing.

Trinidad, meanwhile, is banking on BPO for economic diversification. Recently, Paula Gopee-Scoon, Trinidad and Tobago’s minister of trade and industry, cited the country’s bilingual English-Spanish skills and competitive real estate costs beyond Port-of-Spain, plus low utility costs as attractions for companies looking to set up in the twin island republic.

Electricity costs as low as US$0.03 per kwh in Trinidad and Tobago, which is among the lowest in the hemisphere, she outlined.

The new iQor facility, adding 800 jobs, expands the company’s nearshore footprint in Trinidad, increasing the number of customer support jobs to nearly 2,200 in Trinidad.

In a company release, iQor said the expansion has enabled it to support multiple new clients in financial services, hospitality, medical, utilities, and retail.

“With this expansion, we look forward to joining the local community in Chaguanas and hiring from a large pool of skilled Trinidadians to provide meaningful customer experiences to the world’s top brands,” said iQor president and CEO Gary Praznik.

Chaguanas is located approximately 30 minutes from Port-of-Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. The new centre follows the recent expansion of the Wallerfield, Trinidad and Tobago location in the third quarter of 2021.

iQor added 15,000 square feet and more than 200 employees to Wallerfield to serve increased client needs in the hospitality and home maintenance industries.

Back in 2020, facing a burdensome debt, iQor Holdings filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US. The company had debts in excess of US$1 billion, according to a court filing in the US Bankruptcy Court in Texas.

Despite the filing, the BPO continued to operate normally.

iQor employs more than 35,000 people in 10 countries including Mexico, Panama, Trinidad, India, and the Philippines.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020, the company reported US$940 million in revenue, a decrease of more than US$50 million compared to the 2018.

Data source Dun and Bradstreet indicates that iQor Holdings Inc, located in Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States, now has 45,000 total employees across all of its locations and generates $1.69 billion in sales (USD). There are 98 companies in the iQor Holdings Inc corporate family, the data source indicates.