DOST eyes $18B from BPO sector

MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is banking on its “Next Wave Cities” program to raise $18 billion in revenues by the end of the year.

DOST Secretary Mario Montejo said that Information Technology-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) hubs to be set up in areas outside Metro Manila and Cebu, under the “Next Wave Cities” program, is expected to make the industry boom further and create 1.3 million jobs by 2016.

At the 2014 International IT-BPM Summit in Makati City on Monday, Montejo assured that the DOST is undertaking projects aimed at increasing the productivity of companies belonging to the sector.

He cited the “Next Wave Cities,” a program under the DOST’s Information and Communication Technology Office (ICTO) which aims to establish more IT-BPM hubs in areas such as Baguio City, Iloilo, Sta. Rosa in Laguna and Bacolod, and develop them to be among the top 100 IT-BPM centers in the world.

The program, the DOST secretary pointed out, helps achieve ideal ecosystems suitable for IT-BPM operations and conducts information campaigns on the other segments of the industry, apart from call centers, where Filipinos can be highly competitive. These are animation, game development, healthcare outsourcing, and software development.

Montejo said the number of IT-BPM industry employees already breached the 1-million mark in August, closer to the 2016 target of 1.3 million jobs in the sector.

“We expect to raise $18 billion of revenue by the end of the year, and that makes the $25-billion target by 2016 more realistic,” he stressed.

In creating ideal ecosystems for IT-BPM operations, DOST-ICTO deputy executive director Monchito Ibrahim said that the Rural Impact Sourcing program will capacitate residents in the areas to build start-up companies and develop the required information and communication technology skills for the industry.

Ibrahim said that residents in rural areas will be able to work for clients who are in major urban hubs, pointing out that there are about 300,000 persons living in the countryside employed in the industry.

According to Montejo, his agency’s disaster-preparedness programs also help the IT-BPM industry by providing hazard maps as well as accurate and timely information on weather disturbances.