Country’s first e-Rozgar Centre inaugurated

Minister says 100 state-of-the-art workstations have been tailored for freelancers

ISLAMABAD:

Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT), Dr Umar Saif on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s first e-Rozgar Centre in collaboration of Excel Consulting Services. The centre boasts around 100 workstations fully equipped with state-of-the-art facilities tailored for freelancers, with plans to expand to 300 workstations in the future.

Additional Secretary MoITT Ayesha Moriani, Member IT Syed Junaid Imam, Project Director Amir Ahmed, Chairman EC Services Nazir Qureshi, ministry officials and a large number of freelancers were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Saif said that with the establishment of the centre, the project of setting up 10,000 e-Rozgar centres across the country has now begun officially. “We have also fulfilled another promise made to the people, where a significant number from the existing 1.5 million and upcoming new freelancers can work independently at very low rates,” the minister said.

Highlighting the features, he said the best facilities including high-speed internet, UPS, training centres, individual cabins, meeting rooms and separate office rooms for start-ups had been provided to freelancers.

Read 10,000 e-Rozgar Centres to be set up for freelancers

The minister predicted that with the completion of the great project, IT exports would jump by $10 billion annually and under public-private partnership, these centres would also be able to significantly increase the capacity and income of freelancers.

He added that the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) would be responsible for providing freelancers with required technical support.

“We have taken all the required steps for the digital ecosystem in Pakistan, and used all available forums to declare Pakistan as a “Technology Destination” internationally,” he said.

He asserted that the toughest decisions related to the IT and Telecom sector had been taken in the short period of the caretaker tenure. The minister said that timely decisions had been made due to Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

“A conducive environment for the upcoming government and a complete roadmap of Digital Pakistan has been prepared. Hopefully, the newly elected government will continue to play its full role in promoting Pakistan’s digital economy,” Saif remarked.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2024.

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