The Philippines as a New Destination for Creative Process Outsourcing
For a while now, businesses have been outsourcing essential processes to the Philippines. With the emergence of the creative process outsourcing industry, the country is being exposed to new service areas.
According to the Oxford Business Group (OBG), the right conditions are already in place for this new industry to grow in the country. Local policy-makers will, therefore, need to leverage existing strengths in digital marketing and other creative areas. For OBG Asia Regional Editor Patrick Cooke, several factors will play a crucial role in this:
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, at least 62% of the population belong to the over 18 age bracket. This also happens to be the largest age group in the country.
Furthermore, the Philippines currently has one of the lowest median ages in Asia at 24.3 years old. For Cooke, this young population is highly capable of understanding and handling new technologies.
Young entrepreneurs are running many business startups in the country that offer creative and virtual assistant services for various industries. It only goes to show that age does matter in a business landscape that’s increasingly digitally-driven.
Despite challenges in the global market, the Philippines’ consumer culture remains upbeat.
Indeed, the high prices of goods did little to dilute spending. In fact, the Consumer Expectation Survey for Q4 shows increased consumer confidence. This has indicated the presence of a workforce that has ready access to new technology and that doesn’t lag behind in terms of tech adoption.
Heavily influenced by new media, young adults dominate the local outsourcing industry. From real estate virtual assistants to creative associates, they form a great source of digitally-savvy skills for businesses to utilize.
“This creates a fertile ground for a vibrant youth culture to flourish, sustained on a diet of music, film, fashion, arts and online content,” Cooke says in a report by the Philippine News Agency. “The innate Filipino creativity and all-pervasive musicality (are) impossible for first-time visitors to the country to ignore…”
Cooke adds that this environment will produce individuals that are skilled in handling “high-value activities like graphic design, online marketing, and web development…”
The business process outsourcing industry and foreign remittances have buoyed the Philippine economy for such a long time.
However, we are seeing an easement of these economic drivers as remittances have dropped considerably during the first quarter of this year. The BPO industry, meanwhile, has projected slower growth up until the year 2022 as AI remains a critical threat.
Policymakers should, therefore, seek new areas for maintaining a sustainable local market. This would involve searching for “new growth engines” in the creative industry.
Therefore, a clear framework is important for developing the local creative industry and nurture an ideal business ecosystem where it is allowed to grow.
Creative process outsourcing will definitely provide new opportunities for the Philippines. The country has always been a top destination for hiring offshore call center workers and virtual assistants. We can only expect it to prosper as it branches out across different creative fields.
One thing’s for sure, several companies are already at the forefront of this sector. You can count OneVirtual Solutions among them. With our top-of-the-line facilities and a highly dynamic workforce of virtual assistants and creatives, we are an essential partner for your business’ growth. Contact us today to get started.
