Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has announced that the Information Technology (IT) sector of Pakistan is generating revenue of approximately $3 billion annually.
Out of this $3 billion, $2.5 billion accounts for exports and $500 million is domestic. Pakistan was also ranked at no 9th in the world among “Booming Digital Economies”, said the Ministry of Commerce. The Adviser had an online meeting with a delegation of Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) led by its President Jehan Ara.
The delegation appreciated the collaboration of P@SHA with the Ministry of Commerce for promotion and facilitation of domestic and cross border e-Commerce in Pakistan. The association requested a continuation of the same zeal and momentum for the growth of IT and IT-enabled services.
The adviser highlighted the importance of increasing exports and recognized the current potential. P@SHA emphasized the importance of encouraging the private sector’s role in meeting government needs for IT and IT-enabled services.
I had a very productive meeting with P@SHA in which we discussed recommendations for enhancing IT exports and global competitiveness. Pakistan has a huge competitive edge in terms of a skilled human resource and a strong IT infrastructure…. 1/2
— Abdul Razak Dawood (@razak_dawood) July 24, 2020
P@SHA members mentioned that the size of the local IT industry is directly linked to export enhancement therefore private sector participation is also extremely important.
The allocation of shares for MSMEs in PPRA rules was also discussed for promoting small and medium enterprises as well as startups. The delegation also presented some proposals for accelerating the growth and global competitiveness of Pakistan’s IT sector.
The suggestions included tax incentives for the IT sector, creation of Special Technology Zones (STZs), the introduction of Make in Pakistan initiatives, and establishing an export marketing fund for strengthening this sector.
The adviser took a keen interest in the bottlenecks faced by the IT sector and directed the Ministry to start working on them.
He also added that effective use of the financing schemes of SBP (LTFF, LTTF, and EFS) shall be ensured for the benefit of the IT sector.
The issues being faced by the startups and freelancers were also discussed and the adviser assured of all possible assistance by the Ministry in this regard. Amendments proposed in the DGTO rules/regulations for online voting were also welcomed by the MoC.
And here we are trying to ban youtube…..
Glad to see that you think IT is just youtube?
When did I say that IT is just youtube?
I just said that youtube is a big part of the IT industry.
Help me