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AI is Disrupting a Key Philippine Industry — and Creating Opportunities for Canada
Business process outsourcing (BPO) has been one of the most dynamic sectors of the Philippine economy over the past 25 years and is a substantial contributor to the country’s gross national product. By tapping into a large pool of English-speaking college graduates and having an affinity with the United States and its culture, the Philippines has become a leading beneficiary of international subcontracting of certain business functions to overseas vendors.
Today, Canadian firms and companies around the world rely on Philippines-based workers to perform voice and non-voice services such as data entry and analysis, customer service, document transcription, IT support, fulfilment of e-commerce orders, software development, sales and marketing, game development, payment processing, accounting, and other tasks, including creative services and design. Among the sectors that outsource activities to the Philippine BPO industry are IT, health care, legal, and finance. Hundreds of BPO companies operate in Metro Manila, Cebu City, and other Philippine urban centres like Clark, Davao, and Iloilo.
According to Jack Madrid, president of the Information Technology-Business Process Management Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the Philippine BPO industry employs about 1.7 million people and…
