Global IT firms focusing on Pakistan

Foreign investment of $11.4 million landed in IT sector in Jul-Sept 2020

With a growing consumer base of broadband internet in Pakistan, global information technology (IT) companies are focusing on the country to enhance their business outreach through local partners and setting up offices for customers.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), foreign investment worth nearly $11.4 million landed in the IT sector of Pakistan in July-September 2020. Its report revealed that in previous fiscal year 2019-20, $41 million of foreign investment had been received.

“Investment in the IT sector differs from other sectors because the IT segment is not only based on cash inflows but depends more on transfer of knowledge and technology as well as training of human resources,” said Western Digital Corporation Middle East and Pakistan Senior Sales Director Khawaja Saifuddin. The US-based enterprise has recently launched its business in Pakistan. There are over 86 million users of mobile broadband in Pakistan, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

In comments to The Express Tribune, Saifuddin said that sales numbers were growing rapidly and besides smartphones, the demand for various gadgets and storage devices was also skyrocketing. Western Digital is a hard disk drive manufacturer and data storage company that specialises in data technology products, including storage devices, data centre systems and cloud storage services.

According to him, the utility of data is growing in the country due to which demand for data storage devices is soaring. He elaborated that storage devices were needed to protect data in the long run, not only at the corporate level but also at the individual level.

Pakistan is the sixth most populous nation in the world with a population of around 220 million and literacy rate of 58%.

“It is a growing market for consumer electronics, hence communications’ equipment segment was the most lucrative back in 2018, when it got massive revenues, which represented 68.4% of the total market value,” he said. “A major chunk of the locals, especially youngsters, is tech-savvy.”

It can be gauged from the fact that the smartphone penetration rate is almost 40% and there are 169 million cellular subscribers, a number that has been growing rapidly.

Likewise, according to him, the country produces over 20,000 IT graduates annually and 70% of the nearly 700 startups, established since 2010, are still functional.

On the other hand, the current government was encouraging tech-based entrepreneurship and had been prioritising thorough documentation of the economy due to which data collection had risen significantly, he said.

“With increased need, there is growing focus on storing data securely, and digitisation has made data storage an integral part of every student and professional’s daily routine, irrespective of the industry,” he said.

Data plays a significant role in the world and is equally important to the marketers and end-consumers.

Saifuddin pointed out that still there was a significant market gap in Pakistan with regard to storage devices and there was a vast room for market development. “Pakistan provides a level playing field for new entrants because of the present gap that gives enough room to several companies to enter the market,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2020.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.