Pakistan creating enabling environment for IT growth: envoy

Masood Khan says youth graduating from universities are participating in digitized economy, giving a new direction to economy.

WASHINGTON: Successive governments in Pakistan have worked hard for creating an enabling environment for the growth of tech and IT sector keeping in view its rising value.

This was stated by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Masood Khan while speaking at a special session as a key note speaker at San Francisco.

He said youth graduating from universities in Pakistan are participating in digitized economy which is giving a new direction to the economy.

Moreover, the previous government set up a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and IT sector was among its foremost priorities.

He said that the country has set up a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and IT sector was among its foremost priorities.

The SIFC is aimed at fast-tracking approvals and registrations, overseeing implementation and catalyze much needed regulatory reforms including ensuring stable payment cycles, protection of intellectual property rights and addressing the issues related to repatriation of funds by foreign investors. 

The ambassador told the participants that from a meagre $10 million venture capital funding in 2018 per year, global VCs and other investors were pouring in $1 billion annually in Pakistan now. 

He also highlighted steps being taken by the government to facilitate businesses that included moving toward investors’ friendly regulatory regime, e-wallet facility introduced by State Bank of Pakistan, clear definition of a tech-startup by Securities and Exchange Commission and setting up of special technology zones.

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