Info tech seen to boost Davao’s economy

INFORMATION and Communications Technology (ICT) will be one of the driving engines of the economy of Southern Mindanao for 2010, an assessment of National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) stated.

"Along with agriculture, tourism, and mining, the ICT industry will boost the growth of the region," said Lourdes Lim, Neda-Southern Mindanao chief.

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Players in the ICT sector cited the readily available pool of workforce in the region for the robust growth of the ICT sector.

Based on the assessment of Concentrix, one of the largest BPO companies operating in Davao City, the labor pool at hand is one of the best in the country.

"The absorption rate of applicants is at seven percent, the highest in the country. Metro Manila and Cebu has an average of only three to four percent," said Concentrix manager Gerardo Dumael.

On a larger scale, Dumael said similar figures can be applied with the BPO sector as a whole in Davao City.

"With such large pool, covering up to Digos and Kidapawan in the South and as far as Tagum and Davao Oriental, Davao City has big potential for the BPO sector," Dumael said.

Official data showed that there are more than 446,000 IT-BPO workers, from what started with only 2,400 employees in 2000 nationwide.

Revenues generated by the BPO industry in 2001 was pegged at only $0.02 billion, a far cry from last year's $7.3 billion earnings posted on the national scale. (CPM)