David Rickard is a partner at Everest Group. He is based in the UK.

David recently visited Ethiopia for the Elevate Africa event. In this conversation with Peter Ryan David gives his take on Ethiopia and Africa more generally for CX and BPO.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwrickard/

https://www.everestgrp.com/

https://www.weelevateafrica.org/

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Africa has been talked about as "the next big thing" in outsourcing for at least two decades. South Africa became a serious global CX delivery location. Egypt built a powerful multilingual BPO proposition. Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, and several other markets are now attracting attention as buyers look beyond the traditional offshore giants.

But Ethiopia is starting to enter the conversation in a more serious way.

In Episode 419 of CX Files, Peter Ryan interviewed David Rickard, a partner at Everest Group, shortly after David returned from the Elevate Africa conference in Ethiopia. The conversation was valuable because David was not offering a promotional pitch. As an analyst, his job is to look at both sides of the equation: the opportunity and the obstacles.

The annual CXOutsourcers Mindshare event took place in Ottawa, Canada, earlier in May 2026 (May 18-20).

Peter Ryan took a microphone onto the conference floor to capture ideas and comments from the delegates in Canada for this CX-focused event.

https://cxoutsourcers.com/

In this episode of CX Files you will hear comments from:

Sean Duncombe - COO, Neuroframe (USA)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanduncombe/

Nathalie Siphengphet - CMO and VP Strategy, NQX (Canada)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathaliesiphengphet/

Yanique Grant - Chief CX Specialist, ElevateCX (USA)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaniquewagrantcx/

Seandette Wiltshire - Founder, The Contact Hub (Barbados)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/seandette/

Dave Rumble - various roles including Director and Chair Maistro Group and board advisor to NDH Group (UK)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-rumble-4a4a09b/

Krzysztof Herdzik - Co-founder and Chief Expert, Nalu Experts (Poland)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/krzysztofherdzik/

Fauad Nasir - CEO and Founder, EmpireOne BPO (Canada)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fauad-nasir/

Anna Yotova - Head of Innovation and co-founder, CALLBOXS (Bulgaria)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-yotova-2471aa17b/

Veronica Richards - VP at WW Calls Canada (Canada)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-richards-9b26969/

Faye Joubert - CRO, iTalk International (South Africa)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fayevaldajoubert/

Terez Rijkenberg - Executive Coach (UK)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/terezrijkenberg/

Vinay Parmar - MD, Customer Whisperers (UK)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinayparmar/

Note: the order listed here is the order the voices feature in the podcast - there is no secret formula about the order. It's the order in which Peter sent the audio files to Mark Hillary to be included in this episode.

What makes a customer love a brand?

It is a simple question, but it quickly becomes complicated. People often reach for the obvious examples. Apple customers lining up overnight for the latest iPhone. Harry Potter fans queuing in costume outside bookshops. Lego fans who pass their love of the brand from one generation to the next.

Jonas Berggren, Chief Client Officer EMEA at Transcom, explores this question. What connects the best brands with customers and building a relationship that can last for many years?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonasberggren2/

https://www.transcom.com/