More foreign projects coming in:

IT/BPO highest growth sector of Sri Lanka’s economy

Indunil Hewage

Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT/BPO) industries are expected to be among the highest growth sector of the country’s economy with the 20 percent annual growth rate, in terms of revenue. Even though Sri Lanka is the new toddler on the block in the IT and BPO area, it has the ability to compete with high profile counterparts.

With the dawn of peace, IT/BPO sector shows signs of being one of the potential industries with the entry of more foreign projects. To enjoy further economic benefits, having more foreign projects would be a crucial element to generate more foreign income in the country.

Speaking to Daily News Business, Lanka BPO Academy Chief Executive Officer Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama said, there is a potential in the financial accounting and engineering designs in those areas are rapidly growing as equivalent to global market demands. It is heartening to note that many overseas projects are coming to Sri Lanka in the related fields.

Commenting on the stumbling blocks that mitigate the growth in the BPO industry. Abeywickrama said it is vital to impel the capacity building to take the industry to the next level. Skills development of the employees has to be enhanced in a much larger scale to suit the changing global business requirements. In addition, the cost of doing business in Sri Lanka is little expensive compared to other countries. The physical infrastructure in key economic areas particularly in telecommunication industry has also to be upgraded aggressively to boost the IT/BPO industry furthermore.

English is the business language which is widely used in Sri Lanka. The government and private sectors reiterate the importance of having English fluent individuals in the IT/BPO and other corporate sectors to become globally competitive. It is high time to teach English in a practical way at the school level to generate more high productive human resources for the IT/BPO industry and other commercial areas.

Abeywickrama said the ICT infrastructure in rural areas has to be utilized in a better manner while increasing the awareness of people on the BPO industry. Employees in the BPO industry are blessed with many opportunities and are exposed to foreign expertise with more foreign projects that are coming to Sri Lanka.