LAHORE MIRROR — Google hosted Agay Barho: A Google for Pakistan Event in Islamabad, sharing updates on its continued commitment to unlocking future opportunities for Pakistan’s digital economy.
A new research findings show that investing in digital skills and boosting digital exports can play a significant role in future-proofing Pakistan’s digital economy.
At the event, Access Partnership unveiled a new report titled “Agay Barho: Empowering Pakistan’s Digital Economy,” which shows that despite facing economic challenges, Pakistan’s information technology (IT) industry is emerging as the engine of economic recovery and growth. Pakistan’s IT services exports have grown by 2.7x since 2014, reaching 35% of all service-sector exports in 2023.
According to the report, digital technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI, is playing a significant role in accelerating exports, by enabling the creation of new opportunities and access to overseas markets. Pakistan has vast potential to increase the share of its digital exports, specifically by developing new exportable digital solutions, reducing the cost of accessing overseas markets, and driving more efficiency in the export process. Mobile apps, online video services, and cross-border e-commerce can add PKR 1.8 trillion to Pakistan’s annual export value in 2030.
Pakistan’s IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja commended Google for its role in driving the country’s digital economy forward. “The potential of digital exports to transform our economy is immense,” she said. “By working together, the public and private sectors can ensure Pakistan reaches its full potential in the digital age.” The Minister added, “I would like to commend Google for undertaking initiatives that have significantly improved the lives of thousands of Pakistanis over the last few years. I was pleased to see that Google has provided over 960,000 jobs to Pakistani youths in 2023 alone. The success of these Google initiatives in Pakistan is a testament to both; the country’s potential in the digital world and Google’s commitment to upskilling and uplifting the youth of our country.”
Farhan S. Qureshi, Google Pakistan’s country director, stated: “Today’s event underscores our commitment to empowering Pakistan’s talents and vibrant digital economy. As the Access Partnership report highlights, Pakistan’s young and dynamic workforce is poised to drive remarkable growth.
With that opportunity in mind, we’re committed to fueling this momentum by investing in skills development with initiatives such as Google Career Certificates and Google Developer programs, ensuring individuals and businesses can harness the full potential of AI – a potential that could add PKR 2.8 trillion to Pakistan’s annual GDP by 2030.”
In order to harness Pakistan’s digital export potential, the report highlights a strong need for investing in digital skills training and education for the workforce to ensure competitiveness and readiness to participate in the digital economy. Narrowing the digital skills gap through digital skills training and greater adoption of education technologies can add PKR 2.8 trillion to Pakistan’s GDP in 2030.
Mr. Qureshi further added, “We’re also very proud that in 2023 alone, Google’s AI-powered tools contributed a staggering PKR 3.9 trillion to the Pakistani economy. In addition, our recent partnership with Tech Valley, Allied and NRTC to produce 500,000 Chromebooks locally, with the Prime Minister’s support, marks a significant stride in Pakistan’s digital transformation journey.”
Google’s impact and commitment to a Future Forward Pakistan
The Access Partnership’s report discusses the impact of Google’s efforts and contribution to Pakistan’s economic growth through bridging the gaps in the digital ecosystem and unlocking future opportunities focused on AI and digital.
According to the report, Google’s AI-powered products and services helped provide PKR 3.9 trillion of economic benefits for Pakistani businesses and households in 2023.
• Businesses: Google Search, Google Ads, Google AdSense, Google Play, Google Cloud, and YouTube helped provide PKR 2.6 trillion of economic activity for Pakistani businesses. Out of this, PKR 249 billion came from overseas markets.
• Households: Google Search, Google Maps, Google Play, Google Drive, and YouTube helped provide PKR 1.3 trillion of economic benefits for households.
In 2023, Google supported 864,600 jobs by helping businesses expand through their use of Google Search, Google Ads, Google AdSense, Google Cloud, and YouTube. The Android app economy supported an additional 100,400 jobs.
Under Agay Barho, Google’s initiatives focused on elevating Pakistani tech talent and developers with digital and AI skills, and getting the Pakistani workforce ready to seize new opportunities in the digital economy. Last year, Google provided 44,500 Google Career Certificate (GCC) scholarships to women and students, and will provide up to additional 45,000 scholarships in 2024 via its partners TechValley and PAFLA.
It also launched new programs such as Google AI Essentials skilling program to help learners make the most out of AI within just a few hours, and in collaboration with TechValley it launched Career Kamyabi, an initiative designed to close the employment gap for female GCC graduates. In collaboration with PAFLA, Google introduced Freelancer skilling program that equips freelancers with soft skills and has already trained more than 10,000 freelancers across Pakistan.
The company also ran various initiatives under its Google for Developer programs, designed to support Pakistan’s (aspiring) developers. Last year, Google reached over 114,000 developers across more than 900 events. Beyond that, Google has deepened its commitment to supporting the Gaming & Apps industries in recent years, and in 2023 engaged over 1,600 gaming and apps studios via 10 local programs.
In addition to developers, Google is also closely working with YouTube creators and the digital media ecosystem, to continue supporting their growth. In Pakistan, there are now 600 creators with over 1M subscribers and more than 8,500 creators with more than 100K subscribers. Content has reached far beyond Pakistan – in fact in 2023, over 55% of watch time on content produced by channels in Pakistan came from outside of Pakistan – with genres all the way from scripted dramas to street food tours. Google is committed to support creators on their economic opportunities. The number of YouTube channels making 10M PKR or more in their annual revenue is up over 25%, year over year.
At the event, Google reaffirmed its commitment to the ‘Future Forward Pakistan’ mission, which aims to support Pakistan in two core focus areas:
• Enabling economic growth by upskilling the tech talent and developer ecosystem, fostering innovation, and helping businesses leverage AI and digital technologies through programs under Agay Barho.
• Empowering Pakistani youth, women, and communities nationwide with internet safety knowledge and tools through programs under Safe Raho
