ISLAMABAD, Sep 1 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi Friday said that having lost some of the time already, Pakistan was ready to jump on the bandwagon to exhibit its potential in the technology sector.
“There is so much vibrancy around. While we think we have lost some of the time, I hope we are still ready to jump on that bandwagon and show the world what we are like,” the president said.
He was addressing the launching ceremony of a working paper “Energising the Tech Investment Ecosystem in Pakistan” issued by the Center for Digital Transformation which pointed out the issues impeding Pakistan’s advancement in technological sector and recommended the ways forward.
The president reiterated his call for promoting the online education what he said was far more cost effective and could also lead to the enhancement of the enrolment.
He said the knowledge was available in the cloud but the country had not yet adopted the required tools, though some of the progress had been achieved by experimenting the online learning during COVID pandemic.
He told the gathering that out of 25,000 out of 30,000 IT graduates produced by Pakistan remained jobless just because their education did not match the market needs.
Recalling his meeting with him, the president said ex-Japan prime minister had assured to employ even 100,000 IT graduates from Pakistan but unfortunately the country did not have quality graduates.
He desired the IT graduates should not move abroad for employment rather they should earn by working remotely as their relocation abroad would make the country lose investment on them.
He said after assuming the office, he had given the idea to launch a program to train the trainers but it could not be achieved yet owing to the “slow” bureaucracy which was naïve to the fourth industrial revolution.
“All this is the criminal negligence. This is greatly linked with country’s future,” he remarked.
The president said being chancellor of many universities, he had been instructing the institutions to invest on human resource. At least, efforts should be made to increase the enrolment of in higher education.
He said the Virtual University had increased its enrolment to 40,000 without requiring for any additional campus just because of adopting the modern tools.
He said the government had removed the obstacles pointed out by the Silicon Valley experts as well as Amazon sellers which made a great impact.
President Alvi said he was striving to ensure the transfer of Ehsaas assistance directly to the women accounts to provide them financial independence and more control on money.
Highlighting the importance of data protection, the president asked the universities to invest on cyber security.
He said the IT could uplift Pakistan more than anything else as the youngsters had earned billions within four to five years which otherwise used to take generations.
In his address, Chairman of Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) Amer Ahmed Hashmi said the incumbent government took bold steps and decided to intervene allowing the tech sector to grow.
He said the tax incentives have been announced for the startups giving tax waiver for 10 years.
He said the STZA would bring about socio-economic development and resolved that despite hiccups, Pakistan would bring about a tech revolution.
Giving a presentation on the working paper, Aliza Amin and Ali Khizar told the gathering that comparing 2018, progress had been achieved in 2021 having passed security policy, STZA Act, foreign funding for startups, National Broadband Policy and National Freelancing Policy.
Ali Khizar said fiscal pressure could be addressed by increasing exports and foreign direct investment. He called for improving connectivity, protecting investors’ rights and strengthen the STZA model.
Moreover, the working paper, also recommended the launch of “Pakistan Tech Destination” campaign, develop technological development roadmap and accelerate the digitization in government sector.
CEO of Tabadlab Musharraf Zaidi said the use of technology could be a driver of change for youth of middle and lower middle class.
He said despite inflation and other challenges, more and more startups were coming up. He said the STZA was a great sign showing government’s seriousness to exploit the opportunities in tech sector.
Misbah Naqvi called for enhancing women participation in tech sector saying that ignoring their role was tantamount to wasting talent of 50% population.
She also stressed the need for behavioral change to allow the women use mobile phone and internet.
