For the first time in the country’s history, the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication is scheduled to launch a National IT and ITes exports strategy tomorrow, Thursday. The initiative aims to escalate Pakistan’s annual IT exports from the current $2.6 billion to a target of $10 billion over the next three years.
In this regard, the Caretaker Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Dr. Umar Saif, will present the planned strategy highlighting primary factors beneficial in achieving the $10 billion export objective. The minister informed that the strategy has been devised in collaboration with an internationally recognized consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), for the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB). He added that this is their initial roadmap.
The projected $10 billion IT exports increase includes $5 billion from an additional 0.2 million IT workforce, $3 billion from establishing 10,000 e-rozgar freelancing centers, $1 billion from dollar retention accounts to facilitate remittances in foreign currencies in Pakistan, and $1 billion from the Pakistan Startup fund.
Reports indicate continuous government efforts to launch PayPal and Stripe in the country to assist freelancers. Furthermore, the government has decided to fund freelancers in establishing e-working centers through interest-free loans. According to the plan, freelancers will receive an interest-free loan of up to Rs100,000 to establish their e-working centers where they will work peacefully. This step aims to improve the county’s current economic condition, enabling freelancers to earn a minimum of $30,000 annually, thus significantly contributing to the economy.
The government also aims to streamline IT startup procedures by providing easy access to loans and attracting foreign investments in the IT sector.
