Home-based ICT sector needs reliable power

DAVAO CITY April 4 (PIA) The home-based online workers would need reliable power to sustain their booming businesses.

This according to Atty. Sam Matunog, president of ICT Davao (Information Communication Technology).

Matunog said a considerable percentage of the 35,000 ICT workers in Davao City are home-based.

Citing figures from freelancing online platforms oDesk and Elance, there were P124-million worth of freelance homebased projects done by Dabawenyos from 2010-2014.

Matunog said that in order to grow the industry must be spared from brownouts which had affected their work.

Davao City has been plagued by rotating brownouts due to below normal capacity of hydro-power plants and in some instances damaged plants which extended the hours of rotating brownouts.

Unlike major business process outsourcing companies like large call centers which has large generator sets, many home-based workers do not have gen-sets at their workplaces- their house.

Among the online home jobs include virtual assistants, graphic design, article writing, website development.

Matunog said that online homebased business is booming as the Davao City population is young, highly-educated, tech-savvy and multicultural.

There is potential in the industry citing Cebu which based on Elance and oDesk registered P700-million earned revenues from the same period (2010-2014). (PIA/RG Alama)