Government working to boost IT exports to $5 billion by 2023

The Minister for IT & Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque, has said that the government is working on an initiative to boost the IT exports of the country that have already been performing well in the previous years. He added that the PSEB registration fee for Information Technology & IT-enabled Services (ITeS) companies, including call centers and IT startups from underserved areas of the country has been completely waived off. This will help the IT industry grow rapidly especially in the underdeveloped parts of the country.

The IT and ITeS export remittances comprising of computer services and call center services have surged to $648.940 million at a growth rate of 38.16% during July-November of FY 2020-21. In comparison, the exports were $469.713 million during July-November of FY 2019-20. This is the highest growth rate for this period since 2018.

Amin Ul Haque said, “We are taking all possible steps to ensure sustainable growth of Pakistan’s IT industry and to ensure close coordination with the IT industry and associated stakeholders.” The minister has set the goal of $5 billion in IT exports during the next 3 years.

Managing Director of Pakistan Software Export Board, Mr. Osman Nasir said that all possible efforts are being made to achieve $5 billion remittances inflow from the country’s IT sector by the Year 2023 as per the target set by Minister of IT, Syed Amin Ul Haque.

This seems like an ambitious goal as Pakistan’s IT industry’s exports are expected to reach $10 billion by 2030 and achieving half of that within 3 years will be very challenging. Let’s hope the government continues to make policies that promote this industry.

Image Source: New York Times