Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said the IT-BPM sector is expected to grow at the rate of 10-15 percent annually, the highest growth potential of any local undustry.
At the post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) Economic briefing, Pascual highlighted that “the potential is even greater now with the heightened use of digitalization and online services as a result of the pandemic so that’s one of the sectors we’re focusing on in [Department of Trade and Industry] DTI so that we encourage more locators here to set up their IT-BPM backroom operation.”
Last month, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said The IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector’s revenues rose 10.6 percent from 2020 levels to $29.49 billion in 2021, which even eclipsed its recalibrated target for 2022.
Employment figures in the industry also increased, recording a 9.1-percent growth compared to 2020, said IBPAP last month.
The IBPAP also noted last month that increased digital adoption by traditional players will be potential drivers of growth in 2022.
Interestingly, according to an article by Outsource Accelerator, the global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market is projected to reach $513 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5 percent.
“The rise and growth of the BPO industry will also be fueled by innovation, global rivalry, and new technologies as outsourcing give companies the ability to enhance earnings while reducing costs,” read the article which was published on July 15.
Meanwhile, region-wise, the article stated, “Asia Pacific will remain the fastest-growing with an estimated value of $148 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 10.3 percent. Leading vendors such as HCL Technologies Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Accenture, and Wipro are driving market expansion by increasing demand for talented workers, lowering labor costs, and making significant digital investments.”
Pascual has always pushed for digitalization across all sectors and industries. He also wants to inject digitalization into the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“Now on MSMEs, the three things we’re making sure that we’ll have are market access, technology, and finance. And through digitalization, we hope to provide these three things,” he said at the post-SONA economic briefing.
“We are developing e-commerce platforms in addition to the very popular e-commerce platform that we know about. This will be dedicated to MSMEs and this will surely provide them access to a wider market locally and hopefully in the global arena as well,” added Pascual.
As for finance intersecting with digitalization, Pascual noted that “with digitalization, the accumulation of transaction data will be available and can be the basis for credit scoring, and with the credit score, financing can be handled by financial institutions.”
Image credits: PITON-Global