Pakistan’s software services exports surge to over $1bn for first time

Pakistan’s export of software services has seen consistent growth over the last few years, surpassing $1 billion in an 11-month period for the first time in history.

According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country earned foreign exchange of $1.01 billion through the export of software services during the period between July and May in the current financial year. This was an increase of 27.4% when compared to the $793 million figure reported in a similar period in the previous year.

Overall exports of IT and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS) stood at $3.47 billion during the said period, of which the highest share was that of software consultancy services (29.1%.)

Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) Senior Vice Chairman Muhammad Umair Nizam told Business Recorder that software consultancy services remain the main strength of Pakistan’s IT industry, driving overall IT exports to an all-time high.

He said the government and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) are aggressively exploring new markets, including the Gulf, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European region to enhance its exports of software consultancy and other services.

He added that these initiatives will further boost Pakistan’s software exports with the efforts of IT companies and organisations like the Pakistan Software Export Board in the next few years.

The IT sector fetched $534 million from computer software, $298 million from call centers, and $199 million from telecommunication services, according to data released by the central bank.

Dr Noman Said, an IT exporter and CEO of SI Global Solutions, said the increase in exports of IT and IT-enabled services must be linked to efforts of IT companies as well as the regulatory facilitation of the government.

However, he believes IT companies need to transform challenges into opportunities with the emergence of AI tools and solutions, which are scaling down the service demand of companies and professionals across the country.

He suggested that IT companies should focus on targeting mega projects in foreign markets, including software and hardware services, and the installation of IT applications in diversified sectors.

Pakistan is set to touch $4 billion in exports of IT and IT-enabled services. However, it may slightly miss the target by $100 to $150 million in the closing financial year 2024-25 due to internet disruption, analysts say.