Pakistan emerges as “Booming Digital Economy” says Commerce Minister

The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood on Friday informed that Information Technology (IT) Sector of Pakistan was generating revenue of approximately $3 billion annually.

In which $ 2.5 billion exports and $500 million domestic and Pakistan was ranked at no 9th in the world as a “Booming Digital Economy”, 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 here.

The delegation appreciated the excellent 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 continuation of same zeal and momentum for growth of IT and IT enabled services.

The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment highlighted the importance of increasing exports and recognized the current potential, P@SHA emphasized the importance of encouraging private sector role in meeting government needs for IT and IT enabled services.

P@SHA members mentioned that domestic size of the IT industry was directly linked to export enhancement therefore private sector participation was also extremely important.

Allocation of shares for MSMEs in PPRA rules was also discussed for promoting SMEs and Startups. The delegation also presented some proposals for accelerating growth and global competitiveness of Pakistan s IT sector.

The suggestions included tax incentive schemes for the IT sector, creation of Special Technology Zones (STZs), introduction of Make in Pakistan initiatives, and establishing an export marketing fund for strengthening this sector.

The Adviser took 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 of the country.

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.