IT exports: strong run, hard climb ahead

Pakistan’s IT exports remain robust. In 11MFY26, exports of IT and IT-enabled services reached USD4.184 billion, up from USD3.475 billion in the same period last year. That is growth of around 20 percent.

May 2026 was also a solid month. IT exports stood at USD373 million, up 13 percent year-on-year. The number was lower than April’s USD423 million and March’s USD413 million, but that does not change the broader trend. The sector is growing, even if the monthly path remains uneven.

This matters. Pakistan’s goods exports are still struggling, imports have picked up, and the trade deficit remains a pressure point. In that setting, IT exports are doing something valuable. They bring in dollars without heavy import dependence.

The sector has already crossed USD4 billion in the first eleven months of the year. With one month still left, full-year IT exports should move past USD4.5 billion.

Freelancers are now a major part of the IT export story. SBP’s reporting framework separately records “freelance of computer and information services” under its balance of payments purpose-code classification. Based on SBP data reported in the press, freelance IT earnings crossed USD1.06 billion in 11MFY26, up from USD708 million last year, while their share in total IT exports rose to around one-fourth.

This is impressive, but it also shows the next challenge. Pakistan has scale in freelancing. It now needs value. Too much of the work is still low-ticket and low margin. The shift must be toward AI, cloud, cybersecurity, data science, fintech, healthtech, product design and enterprise software.

That shift will not happen on its own. It needs better skills, reliable internet, easier payments, and a tax system that helps small exporters formalize instead of pushing them away.

The budget has offered some support. The extension of the 0.25 percent final tax regime for IT exporters until June 2029 gives the sector some certainty. The cut in withholding tax on foreign credit card and digital payments from 5 percent to 0.5 percent is also helpful, especially for freelancers and smaller IT firms using global platforms, cloud tools, and online subscriptions.

The 11MFY26 numbers deserve credit.

The sector is growing. Freelancers are earning more. Policy support has improved. But the harder part starts now.

Moving from USD4.5 billion to USD10 billion will require more than tax relief. It will require serious work on skills, connectivity, payments, company scale, domestic digitisation, and export market access.

Pakistan has the talent and momentum but needs execution. The real test is whether the country can build the system to sustain them and eventually bring in the much-needed foreign investment in the sector.