Pakistan’s IT sector continued to maintain its accelerated pace with each passing month, as it made another historical record of $332 million in May 2024—an all-time high monthly inflow.
Previously, the export receipts for the IT sector stood at $310 in May and $306 million in March 2024 respectively.
Experts attributed the growth to consistent policy measures, including facilitation and incentives for IT exporters by the Ministry of IT and Telecommunications (MoIT) and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
According to the data revealed by the State Bank of Pakistan, the exports of IT and IT-enabled services surged to record highs throughout the financial year, increasing to crossing $2.92 billion during the period of July to April 2023–24 as compared to previous export inflows of $2.37 million, showing an increase of $0.55 billion, or 23% year-on-year.
Renowned IT exporter Dr. Noman Said commented that the growth of IT exports depicted the confidence of IT exporters in government policies favorable for their sector’s development and expansion. The recent collective efforts of the IT sector made by the Ministry of IT, Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and IT industry association mainly in the Gulf region translated into increasing exports of the IT sector.
Pakistan’s IT companies are maintaining growth in traditional and non-traditional markets, including the US, EU, and Gulf countries, which may result in consistent growth of IT exports in the coming months, he said and added. IT companies should keep their trust in government policies to work on high-margin projects, even through joint ventures with local partners or foreign companies.
Another exporter, Saad Shah said the export of IT services continued to grow up from Gulf region particularly from United Arab Emirate and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He pointed out that various IT companies are establishing their offshore offices in these two countries whereas some of these expanded their operations to meet the demand of the host countries offering handsome business opportunities.
The economies of Gulf countries maintain hyper growth with the IT is the essential part of the development in every sector, CEO Hexalyze remarked.
President and CEO of the of the Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA), Tufail Ahmed Khan, said the contribution of freelancers and remote workers is growing into overall exports of IT and IT-enabled services.
He mentioned that the role of commercial banks and banking regulatory bodies to facilitate freelancers is vital to empower them to bring in IT remittances into the country through proper banking channels.
Various training and scholarship programs offered by various institutions, including tech giant Google, will enable thousands of people in Pakistan to make themselves valuable parts of the IT sector and economy. Not only will IT companies offer them jobs, but skilled IT workers could earn millions of dollars in Pakistan by working on various projects on different freelancing platforms.
With one month left for the financial year, the exports of IT and IT-enabled services are likely to stand above $3.3 billion in the current financial year 2023–24.
