The Economic Survey of Pakistan 2018-19 has reported a staggering 151% growth in remittances solely due to the Information Technology sector in the last 5 years. This is the highest growth rate in comparison to other industries of our country and also the highest in the region.
The remittances include IT-enabled services and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) revenues sent to the country. IT exports have crossed $3.3 billion a year whereas revenue brought in by small and medium-sized enterprises as well as freelancers stands at $500 million. Our annual domestic revenue exceeds $1 billion.
While the report statistics are astounding but if we compare IT revenue growths year-on-year, there isn’t much significant increase in revenue. IT sector brought in around half a billion dollar revenue during the first half of 2018 but there is still much work to be done. Chairman of Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) Syed Ahmed recently remarked that the government is failing to support small and medium scale firms within the country and these will actually be growth drivers of the country.
Pakistan has been labeled as the 3rd most attractive location in regards to offshore services. Our freelancers have scored top accolades and earned a lot from providing services through renowned networks like Upwork, Freelancer, and others. Payoneer also labeled women from Pakistan as Freelancer of the Year back in Feb. Top tech companies have set up offshore offices in Pakistan including the likes of Bentley, Ciklum, IBM, etc.
What strategies do you think the government should deploy to further increase revenues from the IT sector in Pakistan?
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