Ignite signed an agreement with International Consulting Associates (Pvt.) Ltd. (iConsult) to perform an in-depth assessment study of Pakistan’s startup and freelancing ecosystems.
iConsult will complete the assignment in partnership with one of the leading international strategy consulting firms, Arthur D. Little. The agreement was signed by Ignite’s CEO, Asim Shahryar Husain, and Senior Partner of iConsult, Shahid Ahmed Khan.
The study will gather key data and insights into the current state of Pakistan’s startup ecosystem. Moreover, the study will identify key strengths and major gaps of Pakistan’s startup ecosystem so that relevant policy measures and regulatory incentives required for the growth and development of technology-based startups may be outlined and recommended.
The major outcome of the study is a comprehensive set of proposed policy measures and regulatory incentives, with justifications, for promotion, growth, and development of technology-based start-ups and overall development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem of Pakistan in general.
Measures taken as a result of the study are expected to boost local and foreign investment in Pakistani startups further. The goal is to launch many unicorns (billion-dollar startups) from Pakistan by 2025 or earlier. The study will further analyze and assess the current state of the freelancing ecosystem of Pakistan based on multiple key areas such as human capital, training opportunities, taxation, legal requirements, the process of existing freelancing payment systems, associated issues, and will suggest improvements.
The study will highlight the impediments and propose necessary recommendations for the development and growth of the freelancing ecosystem of Pakistan. The major outcome of the freelancing ecosystem study will be the impact assessment of DigiSkills.pk Training Program on the country’s overall freelancing ecosystem and IT exports. The goal is to take freelancing exports only to at least $1 billion by 2025 or earlier. Both studies are expected to complete in five months by July 2022.
