Farzana Mansoor
DUBAI (UAE): “Pakistan has one of the largest exhibit lounge at GITEX, the world’s largest IT exhibition. We have 27 companies and over 45 startups exhibiting at GITEX.
Our brand TechDestinationPakistan is one of the biggest brands visible at GITEX Global 2023”, said Dr. Umar Saif, care taker Federal Minister for IT and telecommunications.
He was speaking at the inaugural of Pakistan Pavilion at GITEX Global at World Trade Center Dubai, on Monday. GITEX is being held at two locations in Dubai where more than 170 countries and 6000 companies are participating. The Exhibition will continue from October 16-20, 2023.
In Pakistan, IT exports and start-ups have shown a sharp upward trend in recent years, driven by enabling policies of the government of Pakistan. Today Pakistan’s IT exports stand at US $ 2.6 billion annually with potential of increasing to US $ 10 billion within next 2-3 years.
For incentivizing Industry, Pakistan is establishing special technology Zones. Around 5- 7 technology zones are ready while two technology zones are already operational. These technology zones will house technology companies, outsourcing companies, startups, financial institutions and real estate developers capable of building technology infrastructure. Additionally we are also creating co-working spaces with necessary infrastructure to accommodate 500,000 free lancers working online in Pakistan, said Dr. Saif.
He further mentioned that Pakistan has 2nd largest online free lancing workforce in IT.
Talking about startups in Pakistan, Dr. Umar Saif said that US $ 800 billion has already been invested in startups in Pakistan. This shows potential in Pakistan’s IT and startup sector.
Appreciating the event, Dr. Umar Saif said that GITEX provides an ideal platform to Pakistani exhibitors to interact and network with key industry players, explore business opportunities and learn important developments taking place around the world.
