December 25 was just another working day at OnTime Technologies at Mahavilachchiya and things were going on at full throttle when I stepped-in to this rural BPO, arguably the first such initiative in Sri Lanka.
Here is the good and bad news.
Good news: The wheels are still in motion. Unlike most of the ICT4D projects (especially telecenters) that survive on donors’ oxygen, now it is self sustainable and taken seriously by the employees and villagers, who initially thought it would soon end. Employee turnover is low and what they do is seen as a career, rather than a pause till a better opportunity. Overall, the business prospects look good.
Bad News: The much hyped expansion to 50 seats has never happened. It still has 11.
Why it never took off? Certainly not because there is no work. The demand is still not met. Not the infrastructure issues too. Bandwidth is guaranteed. Capacity? Perhaps. Talent is in short supply in a village that had advanced level classes only in the arts stream, but it cannot be the only reason. It might be a management issue. Running a 50 seat BPO is certainly riskier. That needs strong management skills which someone cannot provide on voluntary basis.
Interestingly, the same issues never blocked Sri Lanka’s entry to apparel industry in the early 1990s. Nearly two decades later, garment factories provide employment for thousands of rural youth. Why only rural BPOs don’t advance? Aren’t we still mature enough or too shy to ride on the waves of digital economy?
2 Comments
sam
Digital economy! Oh no! Even last week I heard in radio a monk explaining the grave dangerous of internet and that sort of digital things.
Rohan Samarajiva
Curse the darkness or light a candle? Choice for each to make. We choose the latter.
LIRNEasia Chair speaks on the inauthenticity of content in internet regulation
LIRNEasia Chair, Rohan Samarajiva delivered the keynote address on Day 1 of ICA Manipal Regional Hub 2023, organised by the Manipal Institute of Communication, titled: Inauthenticity of content in internet regulation: Who decides and how?
Sri Lanka Social Safety Net Survey: Survey Methodology Note
Sri Lanka Social Safety Net Survey: Survey Methodology Note
LIRNEasia is hiring: Consultant
LIRNEasia is looking for a consultant to conduct an assessment on public-private collaborations in the data domain and to identify enablers and barriers to such partnerships, with special attention to achieving SDGs in Bangladesh. This will involve mapping public-private collaborations in the data domain in Bangladesh through desk research; and conducting key informant interviews to identify enablers and barriers for data partnerships.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
15 1/2, Balcombe Place, Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2023 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific