ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 19: The nation’s export remittances for information technology and IT-enabled services (ITeS), which include call center and computer services, showed a roughly 4% decrease in the first month of the current fiscal year, July, coming in at $286 million as opposed to $298 million in June 2024. Official data indicates that remittances from IT exports rose by around 34% year over year in July 2024 from $214 million in the same month the previous year.
Remittances for IT exports surged by 24 percent to $3.223 billion in the fiscal year 2023–24 from $2.596 billion in 2022–23, the all-time high.
For the past few weeks, internet connections have been slow, which industry analysts say could have a severe impact on the nation’s IT exports.
The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) and the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications, working closely with the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to improve the ease of doing business environment and accelerate international business development, have increased IT and ITeS exports and bolstered the confidence of the IT industry, according to the ministry.
The government has determined that a number of obstacles, such as inconsistent policy, taxation, and banking, are impeding the nation’s $15 billion export potential in the information technology sector.
According to the Economic Survey, Pakistan’s IT sector currently exports goods worth about $2.6 billion a year. But in order to reach the lofty goal of $15 billion in annual exports over the next five years, at least 200,000 more skilled and qualified IT workers are required. The biggest organizations in the world are among the frequent clients of Pakistan’s ICT sector.
Numerous global corporations, such as Bentley, Ciklum, IBM, Mentor Graphics, S&P Global, Symantec, Teradata, and VMware, have established global consulting services centers, research and development facilities, and business process outsourcing (BPO) support services centers in Pakistan. These initiatives have created well-paying employment opportunities for skilled young people, enhanced Pakistan’s reputation, and drawn foreign direct investment.
