The Philippines built one of its greatest economic success stories on the back of the outsourcing industry. Starting in the early 2000s, successive governments offered tax incentives, invested in infrastructure, and courted multinational companies to set up large operations. The bet paid off. Today, the Philippine BPO industry employs roughly 1.9 million people and generates $40 billion in annual revenues, accounting for about 10% of the country's economy.
Global firms like Accenture, Concentrix, and Teleperformance built sprawling campuses across Manila and other cities, offering stable, middle-class incomes to hundreds of thousands of Filipinos. For many, a job in a call center Philippines or a multinational's back-office was a direct route out of poverty.
