IBPAP
Definition
IBPAP
IBPAP, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines, is the umbrella body for the country’s IT-BPM sector. Founded as BPAP in 2004 and renamed in 2011, it is the self-regulatory voice of more than 300 member firms across the country.
The sector IBPAP represents earned an estimated $38 billion in export revenues in 2024 and employs about 1.82 million full-time workers. Those jobs cluster in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, and Clark.
IBPAP is headquartered in Makati City and led by president Jack Madrid — appointed in April 2022 after senior roles at Yahoo Southeast Asia. He steers the association’s outsourcing agenda through 2028.
It works alongside the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), the Board of Investments, and the Commission on Higher Education. Funding comes from tiered membership dues, corporate sponsorships, and government partnerships rather than public subsidy.
Key takeaways
- IBPAP represents more than 300 IT-BPM member firms across the Philippines.
- Founded as BPAP in 2004, renamed IBPAP in 2011, and led from Makati City.
- Four pillars drive its work: policy, talent, country branding, and innovation.
- Roadmap 2028 targets $59 billion in export revenues and 1.1 million net-new jobs.
- IBPAP backed the CREATE MORE Act, signed into law in November 2024.
How it works
IBPAP runs on four pillars: policy advocacy, talent development, country branding, and innovation. Members pay tiered dues and gain lobbying reach, workforce programs, market intelligence, and events across the Philippine BPO industry.
Dues buy more than a logo on a member list. Firms get a seat in working groups on labour, taxation, and infrastructure, plus early sight of policy drafts that reach Congress.
A 15-member board sits above six sub-associations — each covering a distinct segment of the IT-BPM industry. Sub-associations elect their own leadership and appoint representatives to the central board.
The six are the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), the Animation Council of the Philippines, and the Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines.
The other three are the Philippine Software Industry Association, the Global In-House Center Council, and the Shared Services Association of the Philippines. Each runs its own committees and advocacy focus.
| Pillar | What it does | Example initiative |
|---|---|---|
| Policy | Lobbies Congress and agencies on labour, tax, and incentives | CREATE MORE Act support (2024) |
| Talent | Builds the workforce pipeline from schools to mid-career reskilling | Service Management Program |
| Branding | Promotes the Philippines to global buyers and investors | International IT-BPM Summit |
| Innovation | Pushes members toward AI, analytics, and engineering work | GIC Council; digital services roadmap |
Members range from wholly-owned captives of global banks to Filipino-founded startups. Dues scale with company size and grant voting rights on the association’s policy positions.
The Global In-House Center Council serves the captive shared-services arms of global brands like JPMorgan Chase and Manulife.
IBPAP also publishes an annual state-of-the-industry report, maintains investor-facing market intelligence, and runs talent programs that feed graduates straight into member companies.
That reporting matters to buyers as much as members. When a global bank sizes up Manila against Bengaluru or Krakow, IBPAP’s headcount and wage data usually sit in the first slide deck.
Examples
IBPAP’s visible outputs include Roadmap 2028, the annual International IT-BPM Summit in Manila, and the Service Management Program taught in partner colleges. Its advocacy helped grow the sector from $1.3 billion in 2004.
Over that span, headcount climbed from roughly 100,000 workers to 1.82 million, and the remit widened from voice services to animation, healthcare, software, and captive shared services.
Those milestones read as a single arc: an association formed to defend voice work now speaks for animation studios, medical coders, software houses, and captive engineering teams.
- Roadmap 2028 (published 2022): the blueprint targeting $59 billion in export revenues and 1.1 million net-new jobs by end-2028.
- International IT-BPM Summit: held annually since 2009, the sector’s flagship investor conference draws 1,500-plus delegates to Manila each cycle.
- Service Management Program: a Commission on Higher Education-endorsed curriculum in more than 100 partner institutions, feeding BPO-ready graduates into the pipeline.
- CREATE MORE Act advocacy: IBPAP backed the CREATE MORE Act — signed into law in November 2024 — which locked in fiscal incentives and work-from-home flexibility.
- Near-Hire Program: a joint effort with the Department of Information and Communications Technology that upskills near-graduates for entry-level roles across Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao.
Buyers tracking the same roadmap often start by comparing the top BPO companies in the Philippines before approaching IBPAP members directly.
Knowing which sub-association a provider sits under tells you a lot: a CCAP member sells voice at scale, while a PSIA member is likelier to bid on software builds.
Related terms
IBPAP sits inside a cluster of Philippine outsourcing terms that buyers meet early. These are the ones worth knowing before you read an industry report or shortlist a Manila-based provider.
- BPO Industry: the broader sector IBPAP represents in the Philippines.
- PEZA: the economic zone authority granting tax incentives to IT-BPM firms.
- Contact Center: the largest sub-sector of IBPAP membership by headcount.
- Knowledge Process Outsourcing: the higher-value work IBPAP’s innovation pillar targets.
- Global In-House Center: the captive shared-services shops represented under the GIC Council.
- Metro Manila: the capital region holding the densest concentration of member firms.
- Outsourcing: the wider practice of contracting work to an external provider.
FAQ
What does IBPAP stand for?
IBPAP stands for the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines. It’s the umbrella body for the country’s IT-BPM industry, formed as BPAP in 2004 and renamed in 2011. The rename folded IT into the name as software and analytics work grew.
Who runs IBPAP?
A president and a board drawn from the six sub-associations run IBPAP from its Makati City headquarters. Jack Madrid took the president’s seat in April 2022 and still leads the Roadmap 2028 execution phase. Board seats rotate as sub-associations elect new leadership.
How much does the Philippine IT-BPM sector earn?
The sector generated roughly $38 billion in export revenues during 2024 and employs about 1.82 million full-time workers, per IBPAP’s public reporting. Roadmap 2028 pushes that revenue target to $59 billion.
Is IBPAP membership open to any outsourcing firm?
Yes. Firms running IT-BPM services in the Philippines can join through one of the six sub-associations. Dues scale with company size and grant voting rights, event access, and workforce-program participation.
What is Roadmap 2028?
Roadmap 2028 is IBPAP’s industry blueprint, published in 2022. It targets $59 billion in export revenues, 1.1 million net-new jobs, and a shift toward AI, analytics, and engineering by end-2028.
How can businesses engage with IBPAP without joining?
Non-members can attend the annual International IT-BPM Summit, subscribe to IBPAP’s public reports, and browse its member directory online.
See how Philippine providers stack up against the rest of the market on Outsource Accelerator.
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