Dr. Umar Saif, the acting federal minister in charge of IT and telecommunications, announced on Wednesday that Pakistan will get “good news” in the next few weeks about PayPal and Stripe payment gateways.
Speaking to the media alongside Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, Dr. Saif stated that there isn’t a financial tool available to help the nation’s emerging freelancing community with payments.
These businesses are concerned about a number of things, including the FATF problem. In spite of this, things are improving. In the next four to six weeks, he predicted, “we will hear good news about Stripe and PayPal, and we will use any formula to offer these services to our freelancer community.”
1.5 million Pakistanis are self-employed in the IT sector, according to Dr. Saif. He declared, “We are the second-largest online workforce.”
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But the dearth of infrastructure is impeding our progress. Interest-free loans will be given to the private sector through the E-Rozgar program, enabling the establishment of coworking spaces for 500,000 people, the minister revealed. According to the interim minister, the nation’s IT sector employs 150,000 people, produces $2.5 billion in official exports, and is made up of about 19,000 businesses.
According to Dr. Saif, many IT companies maintain their foreign exchange reserves and income outside of the nation due to prohibitions on the repatriation of US dollars.
“A conservative estimate places Pakistan’s IT exports between $4 and 4.5 billion, but due to restrictions on US-dollar spending, this is not the reality,” he stated.
The IT ministry and P@SHA worked hard to get the authorities permission to keep half of their revenue in US dollars. The banks will give these businesses corporate debit cards, which they can use at any time to make foreign payments,” he stated.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised the allowable retention limit of IT exporters from 35% to 50% of their export proceeds in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts (ESFCAs) a few days ago in order to help them boost the exports of IT and IT-enabled services.
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Furthermore, there has been additional liberalization regarding the use of the retained funds. As per the SBP, the ease of use of the balances in the ESFCAs has been enhanced by permitting IT exporters to make their payments from these accounts without requiring authorization from the banks or the SBP. This action was taken in response to the IT industry’s recommendation to support exporters of software, IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS), and freelance services in order to increase export revenue and bring in more foreign exchange.
“We think that many IT companies that were forced to hold their reserves outside will bring their liquidity into Pakistan as a result of this decision, and our IT exports will soon reach $3.5–4 billion,” said Dr Saif.
We are collaborating with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to administer a standardized test to IT graduates. Those who pass will be required to complete an apprenticeship in the IT sector, the speaker said.
According to Dr. Saif, the National Computing and Education Accreditation Council will administer the test at all universities. He stated that the first test would take place in December of this year. This year, Saif added, “we will also train about 16,000 people in various software services.” He continued, “This will strengthen the bench strength of the local IT companies.”
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The interim minister stated that there is a lot of potential for Pakistani IT companies, citing his recent trip to the United Arab Emirates, where he attended the GITEX conference. Regarding startups, the acting minister stated that funding in this area should be made easier by the government.
We will be launching the Pakistan Startup Fund in the next few weeks, through which we will work with international venture capitalists to facilitate investments in Pakistani startups. There will be billion-dollar startups in Pakistan in the upcoming years, he continued.
According to Dr. Saif, the process of bidding for approximately 5G spectrum has begun.
We are also launching a cell phone financing program in collaboration with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), which will enable consumers to buy high-end phones over time.
“This measure will establish a market for high-end phones in the country,” he declared.
According to Dr. Saif, efforts are being made by the government to improve cyber-security and prevent online data theft. “We’re going to announce a cyber-security authority within the next few months,” he continued.
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