The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) will hold an international CEO Forum in Karachi on August 10 aiming at showcasing the rapid strides made by Pakistan in the Information Technology sector, PSEB Managing Director Yusuf Hussain said on Wednesday.
Addressing a news conference here, he said the CEO Forum would provide an opportunity to thought leaders of the knowledge economy captains of industry, financiers and authors to apprise themselves of what the significant progress Pakistani IT companies have achieved in recent years.
The PSEB MD said various high profile delegates representing international and national IT companies would participate in the Forum while other prominent IT personalities would also attend it.
About the rising image of Pakistan in the outer world, he said that A.T. Kearney, a Chicago-based research and strategic management consulting company, in its latest annual survey report for the first time has ranked Pakistan amongst the top 50 countries for its
offshore market potential.
“This speaks volumes for the target-oriented initiatives as well as the potential of outsourcing capabilities of local companies and also a strong manifestation of confidence the outer world has in the Pakistan IT industry,” he said.
Yusuf said the Board was launching the PSEB IT Job Board Portal for the Pakistani industry, adding, talent acquisition was the first step in the talent management.
In this connection, he said, the PSEB and Brightspyre have joined hands to help the IT industry by upgrading their talent acquisition to international standards besides providing help to the
foreign investors in acquiring talent pool from Pakistan.
About the potential of Pakistan in the IT sector, he said that Pakistan’s IT industry was growing at a high rate and added its advantage included relatively low wages amounting to as little as
half the level of salaries in India.
Yusuf said that over 1,000 companies were registered with the PSEB, out of which 100 were ISO certified and there were, at this point 90,000 IT professionals employed in Pakistan.
More or less 60 foreign IT and telecommunication companies were working in Pakistan that were also further exploring the local market in terms of more investment and outsourcing of IT-based
services, he said.
The PSEB MD urged the local investors to establish a venture capital fund for the local IT industry to promote an innovative and knowledge-based economy in the country.
He said the fund should be managed by professional managers and the government would play a role of an enabler and facilitator for the creation of innovation by the private sector.
Yusuf said nine engineering universities were being set up in the country that would help provide skilled manpower to the IT sector.
He said the PSEB has been facilitating the IT industry through its programmes in various fields including human capital, office space, marketing, telecom, strategy and research.