ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Information Technology Minister Dr. Umar Saif said on Wednesday that the country’s IT exports increased by 32 percent in the last 60 days, crediting the government’s recent measures and Pakistan’s IT industry for “coming together” for the achievement. 

Pakistan has recently undertaken steps to facilitate the country’s burgeoning workforce of freelancers and to promote the IT industry. Last week, the government launched an initiative to build 10,000 co-working spaces across Pakistan for online freelancers. 

In January, Saif also launched the Pakistan Startup Fund, an initiative through which the government says it would invest Rs2 billion per year in Pakistani startups.

“In the last 60 days, we have grown revenue through IT exports by 32 percent,” Saif said in a video message uploaded from Davos, where he has gone to attend the World Economic Forum summit. 

He said the government recorded a growth of 13 percent in IT exports during November and in December, by 17 percent. 

“This happened because the IT ministry, the IT industry and Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), as well as the Special Investment Facilitation Council, we have all come together in the last few months,” Saif said. 

“We’ve taken a lot of steps over the past four months which have contributed to a rapid growth in IT,” he added. 

As per figures shared by the IT ministry, Pakistan’s IT exports in December surged to $ 303 million, an increase of 22.67 percent in comparison to $ 247 million in December 2022.

Compared to November 2023, IT services export remittances increased by $ 44 million in December 2023, a month-to-month increase of 16.99 percent, the ministry said.