Pakistan Emerges as a Competitive Techdestination at Japan IT Week 2023

Pakistan is making significant strides in its efforts to grow the IT sector by exploring and expanding into new markets.

Recently, 11 prominent IT companies from Pakistan showcased their IT expertise at the Techdestination Pakistan pavilion organized by the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) in collaboration with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), and Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and IT-enabled Services (P@SHA) at the Japan IT Week Spring 2023.

The event took place from April 5th to April 7th at Tokyo Big Sight.

The Pakistan Pavilion, inaugurated by Raza Bashir Tarar along with MD PSEB, Syed Junaid Imam, and PSEB officials through a ribbon-cutting ceremony, was a resounding success. Japan IT Week is the biggest IT trade show in Japan that brings together the brightest minds in the industry.

The three-day event was brimming with engagement, networking, collaboration, and business opportunities.
Japan has a well-developed and rapidly progressing ICT market. It ranks among the top ten countries as per the ICT Development Index. Pakistan’s trade relations with Japan have grown significantly in recent years.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has even called Pakistan the “next ICT powerhouse”. MD PSEB, referring to this, said that Pakistan needs to expand its horizons. Speaking on the occasion MD PSEB further stressed that Japan and Pakistan have enjoyed 70 years of diplomatic relations, and IT needs to be a vital component of these relations.

Speaking about Pakistan’s participation, the Director of Business Development and Partnerships at PSEB added, “PSEB is dedicated to building Pakistan’s reputation as a premier Techdestination. To achieve this goal, we invited 11 leading Pakistani companies to showcase their products and services as exhibitors and welcomed 2 companies as delegates to facilitate business expansion in the IT sector. Our ultimate objective is to position Pakistan as a dynamic and competitive Techdestination, offering unparalleled opportunities for countries to outsource, invest, and grow their IT businesses”.

Alongside the main event, PSEB organized meetings with various stakeholders from the Government of Japan and the private sector to explore collaboration avenues for facilitating the IT sector in both countries.

PSEB held meetings with officials from the Japan Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), RX JAPAN, Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (JISA), Profound Vision, Plus W and Birdy Ventures. The discussions focused on strategies for entering the Japanese market, producing competitive IT human resources, and opportunities for business outsourcing to Pakistan to grow the IT industry in both countries.

The event proved to be a tremendous success, with Pakistani companies gaining valuable business opportunities in a new market, and both countries reinforcing their trade ties. As Pakistan’s IT industry continues to flourish, international events like Japan IT Week Spring 2023 provide significant opportunities for Pakistani companies to showcase their expertise, expand their business horizons and contribute to the brand image of Techdestination Pakistan. Such endeavors can boost the growth of the industry and the country’s economy.