More ICTA grants to help IT-BPO firms get quality certifications

ICTA has already pledged over USD180, 000 in grants to 13 domestic ICT companies to obtain internationally recognized quality certifications and this process is well underway.

These certifications are absolute requirements for the growth of the ICT industry, as most international clients look for such certifications before work alliances are committed to with a local partner. For example, if any IT company wishes to bid for a World Bank contract, the requirements call for a CMMI Level 4 certification.

ICTA Programme Manager Fayaz Hudah says, “Almost all successful Indian ICT outsourcing firms possess these certifications and the Chinese government is also encouraging its ICT outsourcing firms to obtain them, offering tax credits upon certification. However, as Sri Lankan ICT companies, while fast growing, are still relatively small, they do not usually have the funds to obtain such certification which can cost in excess of USD25,000.”

This gap is being addressed by the ICBP, which gives short-term boosts to such companies. It provides funding for the certification process to ensure that, when local ICT firms take their services to the international market, they are on par with any other firm in the world.

The ICBP, a USD 5.3 million fund overseen by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) and implemented by PricewaterhouseCoopers Sri Lanka, consists of several strategies that aim at developing the local ICT industry.

The ICT Capacity Building Programme (ICBP) has therefore announced the availability of grants of up to USD 15,000 each for ICT companies to meet part of the cost of obtaining internationally recognized business certifications. Thus far, ISO and CMMI are the two best known certifications but any other internationally recognized certification will qualify. The applications for these grants are available on the ICBP website at http://www.icta.lk/icbp.