Youth and Entrepreneurs’ Potential in IT Industry Amazes U.S

U.S. Consul General, has said that he is pleasantly surprised at the sheer scale, talent, and potential in IT industry of Pakistan.

Youth and Entrepreneurs’ Potential in IT Industry Amazes U.S

H.E. William K. Makaneole, U.S. Consul General, has said that he is pleasantly surprised at the sheer scale, talent, and potential in IT industry of Pakistan. He was speaking at the occasion of Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA)’s 18th Annual ICT Awards. He added that he appreciates the dynamic leadership of the IT & ITeS industry of Pakistan and sees a lot of scope for people-to-people & business-to-business cooperation.

It is pertinent to note that ICT awards were given after a rigorous competition in diverse categories and verticals: industrial technologies, IT exports, consumer-centric IT services, business services, inclusivity & community development, public sector, student projects & innovations, gaming, technological innovations, and cross categories as well to promote potential in IT industry of Pakistan. There were a total of 900+ applications mostly from IT companies and 33 winners were awarded in the above-mentioned categories.

Mr. Zohaib Khan, Chairman P@SHA, apprised that the objectives of the awards are to promote, encourage and acknowledge the strides and accomplishments of the IT industry; which will result in enhanced exports, employment generation, social uplift, skills development, woman emancipation, more revenues to the exchequer and economic development. It is a winning spiral all through, he added.

Dr. Arsalan Khalid, IT Minister Punjab, highlighted that the Punjab government is cooperating with the IT industry at every level and inducting representatives of P@SHA in all the relevant bodies and committees. He also apprised the audience of the potential of the recently signed MoU between the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and P@SHA to work closely on curriculum development and upscaling of IT skills across all divisions of the province.

As per the details, Systems Limited won the gold award for the top exporter; IBEX Global Solutions won the award for the best BPO services provider; Crickwick for media & entertainment; Love for Data for the best in both banking & real estate sub-categories; SalesFlo in the retail segment; Glorify for digital marketing; bookme.pk for tourism; and Bagallery for marketplaces.

Careem was awarded the gold in transport, Algo in the supply chain, Octans Digital in manufacturing, Ricult both in agriculture & artificial intelligence, CobaltA in government & citizen services, Crop2X in the internet of things, Social Champ in big data analytics, Sybrid in CSR, Walee in startup and AI Dashcam in R&D. IBEX Global also won the award for gender diversity; Kualitatem in professional services and WRP Studios won the award for game of the year.

Mr. Zohaib Khan took the opportunity to demand that the tax holiday status of the IT industry should be restored and extended to 2030 to enhance Pakistani IT exports to upwards of $15 billion within a short span of 5 – 7 years.

Originally published at ProPakistani.pk