HYDERABAD: Infowavz, a Mumbai-based business process outsourcing firm, is likely to set up its third call center in Hyderabad, with an investment of $ 5 million. Infowavz, in which ICICI Venture Fund has invested $ 7 million, has a 500 seat BPO centre in Mumbai, with the second one coming up in Pune in about three months time. "We have seen an organized growth in this ITeS sector over the past few years, and it is this growth which is driving us to look for more locations. We will be having our third center by the end of 2003 based in Hyderabad," said Zia Sheikh, CEO, Infowavz.
He said Infowavz, which began operations in February 2000, was studying the infrastructure available in Hyderabad and Kolkata. "Our team is evaluating both the cities in terms of real estate, bandwidth etc. Hyderabad has positioned itself very well not only in the domestic but in the international circuit also and that is the reason why I am almost certain of having our third center over here, " he added.
The proposed center will be hiring 1,500 people, he disclosed, adding that Infowavz had recently tied-up with Portal Network Services of UK to set up a BPO centre in Pune exclusively for Portal’s clients. The two companies will be investing $ 2.5 million each in the center.
Sheikh, a former banker with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and IDBI, said ICICI had invested $ 2 million in the first round of funding and $ 5 million in the second round. The company was in the process of finalizing its third round of funding. Infowavz currently handles 15 clients, including seven Fortune 500 companies like AT&T and DirecTV.
"ICICI Ventures holds less than 50 percent stake in our company, following the closure of second round," informed Shiekh.
In the next 12 to 18 months, the company is looking at adding over 3,000 agents to its existing team of 500 agents based in Mumbai. "The second facility will cater to the demands of a telecom and technology Fortune 100 company," he said. The second center is expected to be up and running in the next nine months.
Infowavz was set up with about 300 seats after receiving the initial funds from ICICI Ventures. "Till now we have raised about $ 12 million as part of funding and our plans include going for an IPO by the end of 2004. Ideally we would be looking at the international markets like Nasdaq or the London Stock Exchange for the IPO but still a lot will depend on the market situation," he explained.