The Consortium for Development Policy Research held a session of its Lahore Policy Exchange on “Bringing Pakistan’s Technology Sector to the Forefront”.
A significant focus of development discourse in Pakistan has revolved around catalyzing growth in traditional industrial sectors such as garments, textiles, and automobiles, etc. The technology sector has made significant strides in increasing its share of GDP, as well as exports. Moreover, an estimated 23000 IT graduates enter the industry annually. As a result, the sector is poised to kick start growth in the country and absorb a significant talent pool in the process.
However, the technology sector faces deep-rooted systemic challenges arising from loopholes in the policy and legal framework due to which the sector has not been able to take off, especially when compared to India and Bangladesh.