Philippine IT-BPM industry expected to outpace global growth

THE GROWTH of the Philippine information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry this year is expected to outpace the global average in terms of job generation and export revenues, an industry group said.

- Justine Irish D. Tabile

“We have grown to 1.82 million in 2024 and will hit 1.9 million by the end of 2025. So, we are closing in on the 2-million mark. What we will also hit in 2025 is $40 billion in export revenue,” IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan R. Madrid said at a press briefing late on Monday.

“That is a growth of 5% over last year and 4% in jobs over the previous year. Growth is always good news but considering that the global growth of our industry only grew 3%, it shows that yet again the Philippines is leading the growth of the industry,” he added.

These numbers, he said, are the recalibrated targets for the year but are below the industry's aggressive targets under the IT-BPM Industry Roadmap 2028.

“We are exceeding our baseline targets, but we are slightly below our aggressive targets,” Mr. Madrid said.

When setting the targets, he said that the industry considers the changing work types, availability of talent, and ease of doing business.

“This industry is no longer about cost optimization. It is about the availability of the talent, ease of doing business, and balancing where you give the work. Because investors cannot put all their work in one place, there has to be diversification,” he said.