Stepping stone

Pakistan's IT exports hit a new record in the recently ended fiscal year, crossing $4.6 billion, and monthly exports hit $416 million in June. The new record amount represents a 21% increase over the past fiscal year, while the June figure was up 23% year-on-year. Technology is now the country's largest services export, representing 46% of the sector. Meanwhile, the trade surplus on technology was a whopping $3.9 billion, which is also the largest among all service sectors.

But it is also worth remembering that all of these achievements represent just a tiny fraction of what is possible. The global IT services outsourcing market is projected at approximately $462 billion in 2026, and is expected to double within the decade. Meanwhile, India, which has about six times our population, has over 43 times our IT exports. While it makes sense for the government to keep growth targets in check, the conservative targets are actually very understated. Even if we face strong headwinds, our young population and ever-growing workforce of IT graduates have already come together to build one of the world's largest freelancer communities. In fact, freelancers generated over $1 billion in export earnings this year. Freelancers and firms alike have been looking beyond the traditional Western hubs and tapping markets in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere.

But increasing IT exports will need further government support, not necessarily in the form of major financial investment, but through ease of doing business reforms that remove structural barriers, most notably access to international payment channels and improvements to internet infrastructure. Such improvements will be relatively inexpensive, while also having the potential to be the catalyst for exponential economic benefits. At a business level, IT requires almost no imported materials beyond hardware and a reliable internet connection. This is Pakistan's most democratic export industry, and its most scalable.