IT/BPO sector exports post $ 600 mn in 2012

Indunil HEWAGE

Sri Lanka’s total IT/BPO sector exports posted $ 600 million in 2012, a Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service companies (SLASSCOM )official said.

Sri Lanka IT/BPO industry has witnessed a significant growth in the recent past and opportunities to build new businesses were also increasing. Sri Lanka’s IT is currently serving different markets particularly Europe, North America and Asia and these markets are growing at a different pace and foreign and local investments relating to IT sector developments were also on the rise.

Commenting on how Sri Lankan IT and BPO has been affected by the global economic crisis, he mentioned that software exports to developed countries have witnessed a slight drop as a result of this. “However, a slow growth can sometimes be a good opportunity for our local exports,” he said.

Dialog Axiata Group CEO Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said that Sri Lanka is richly endowed with ICT talent,and in terms of quality of innovation is clearly on par with regional and global peers.

The ingredients we need to add, to drive our ICT market to a level which has global impact and competitiveness is the seeding and proliferation of ICT entrepreneurship and the bringing together of innovation and capital towards the creation of a large number of profitable ICT businesses.