A growing GDP, significant tax benefits and increasingly friendly trade relationships have contributed to Sri Lanka being listed as one of the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world by The Economist Intelligent Unit. With the support and vision of the government, the ITO/BPO industry is projected to become the top revenue earner for the country. As per the IT-BPM and knowledge services industry chamber (Slasscom.lk) the target is to generate a revenue of US$1bn in export and to provide 100,000 direct employment and 150,000 indirect employment from the ITO/BPO industry. Currently there are more than 300 IT and BPO companies in Sri Lanka. These companies provide employment to more than 75,000 people bringing in revenue of more than US$600 million in exports.
There is a culture of longevity between Sri Lankan employees and their employers. This can contribute to creating a trusting and long term understanding for your business plus protecting the business with a loyal, highly skilled offshore team. Sri Lanka has approximately 10,000 state schools, 23 universities with international degrees and affiliations with other universities worldwide. Boasting a literacy rate of 90%, the highest in the South Asia, Sri Lanka has produced 40,000 CIMA and ACCA qualified accountants of which 70% are prepared for work in the BPO industry. The Sri Lankan government has focused alot on exposing students for more educational programs. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president of Sri Lanka received an award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for “Nenasala”, a mobile library and digital content for people living in remote villages
Despite the global economic crisis, the ITO/BPO market in Sri Lanka has grown by 23% for the last few years with the potential to grow further due to the rapid development taking place in the country. This has propelled many international companies to base a presence in the country and to tap into the highly skilled and experienced services. An example is the London Stock Exchange Group which has based their operations in Sri Lanka employing more than 700 people. At present the IT industry in Sri Lanka operates with well-known brands – from Banking to Healthcare to the Airline industry.
Sri Lanka was awarded the prestigious “Offshoring Destination of the Year” award by the National Outsourcing Association (NOA), UK on 23rd of October 2013. In addition Sri Lanka was ranked as one of the top 25 Global Outsourcing Destinations by A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm.