Dear Members,
An earlier iteration of this newsletter rolled out with a malformed link to the Membership Renewal form. The error is regretted and the link has been corrected. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
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P@SHA PULSE Vol 5. Feb 2023 Edition
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Membership Renewals for April 2023 β March 2024 are LIVE.
Dear Members,
We wish you all well with this fifth edition of our monthly newsletter. We are striving to build transparency & continuous information flow through our updates via email, social media, WhatsApp, and this newsletter. Keeping you updated on recent happenings and upcoming opportunities is our utmost focus.
March 2023 is an important month, as it is when our ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP TENURE comes to an end. This calls for MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS.
Members can request the renewal of their P@SHA Membership here.
Membership Renewal Deadline: Mar 31, 2023
We would like to highlight that only members who renew during this month, i.e. before 31st March 2023, will be included in the eligible voter list. We highly encourage all of you to renew your membership at the earliest.
You can reach out to us at services@pasha.org.pk or connect directly with our Industry Relations Lead, Zain Tariq, on WhatsApp at +92 334 9157608 for any assistance in this regard.
We look forward to renewing your membership!
P@SHA CEC
By the Members, For the Members
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February 6-9, 2023
LEAP 2023
Representing Pakistan at LEAP 2023 were 150+ delegates from 18 tech companies and 10 startups. The delegation was supported by PSEB, Tech Destination Pakistan, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and P@SHA.
P@SHA Chairman Muhammad Zohaib Khan and members of the CEC also participated in the inauguration of the Pakistan Pavilion at LEAP 2023.
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February 7, 2023
P@SHA Connect - Pak Saudi B2B Tech Connect
P@SHA hosted its first international tech networking event at LEAP 2023. It brought together 200+ top decision-makers from some of Pakistan's & Saudi Arabia's leading companies.
Graced by honored guests & experts including H.E. Ameer Khurram Rathore from the Pakistan Embassy, Deema Alyahya (SG, DCO), and Fahd bin Mohammed Al-Bash (Chairman, Saudi-Pak Business Council) among others, the evening proved to be a welcome break from conference activities and an excellent opportunity for business leaders to find ways to collaborate.
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February 9, 2023
P@SHA at Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry
The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, representing the Business Support sector, invited the P@SHA IT delegation to attend a special meeting on February 9. Business leaders discussed SaudiVision2030 and the way forward for both countries' tech sectors.
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February 23-25, 2023
22nd ITCN 2023
P@SHA was an ICT Industry Partner for the 22nd ITCN Asia,! The event provided a 360Β° international platform for showcasing cutting-edge tech to decision-makers from several industries like Banking & Finance, Telecommunication, Health & Pharma. The three-day event took place in Islamabad at the Pak-China Friendship Center.
The Federal Minister of IT & Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque paid a heartwarming visit to P@SHA's booth to appreciate our efforts in unleashing the tremendous potential of Pakistan's tech industry.
We also took the opportunity to gather P@SHA members from across the country alongside key public & foreign stakeholders at an exclusive PASHA Connect event. This delightful networking dinner was hosted by Inbox Business Technologies.
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February 16, 2023
Panel Discussion: Can IT Services Companies Exit?
P@SHA organized a panel designed to help current or aspiring IT services founders build equity value in services businesses and exit them for life-changing financial outcomes. It consisted of experts from the USA that have built and successfully sold services businesses.
We are grateful to Aater Suleman, Darin Cook and Steve K. Lee for joining us and sharing their insights, and the enriching Q&A session with our attendees. CEC Member Jamil Goheer moderated this panel.
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February 21, 2023
CXO Spring Meetup 2023 (Lahore)
P@SHA CXO Meetups for Spring 2023 kicked off with the Lahore CXO Meetup. This meetup was powered by CureMD, The Game Storm Studios (Pvt.) Ltd., Devflovv, and Scaylar Technologies.
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February 11, 2023
Outreach Partner for JTECH 2023
P@SHA was an Outreach partner for JTECH23 held in Karachi on February 11. Organized by Jinnah University for Women, it brought together motivated students & IT industry professionals.
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February 1 , 2023
PM Office: Utilization of Industrial Land in Islamabad
The SAPM on Government Effectiveness chaired a meeting on the Utilization of Industrial Land in Islamabad Capital Territory for use by the IT sector. The meeting was attended by P@SHA, MoITT, CDA, Chamber of Commerce, and representatives from the office of the Commissioner of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. From P@SHA, the meeting was attended by the Land Committee and Policy Lead Kashoon Leeza.
The CDA shared it has mapped the industrial area while including IT in the industrial list. IT companies can now lease industrial plots in designated areas.
Concerns were raised regarding financing challenges and the land allocation formula, which the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) has taken into consideration.
Furthermore, CDA has revisited the trade change policy and made the process easier for IT companies to add their trade and acquire land.
P@SHA offered to facilitate the development of a roadmap to encourage knowledge-based industries over conventional manufacturing. The Assistant Commissioner Islamabad mentioned the transport plan will be shared with the committee which will improve transportation flow in the area.
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Ministry of Commerce: PAK-GCC Free Trade Agreement
A meeting on PAK-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Trade in Services was held with the Ministry of Commerce, PSEB, and MoITT on February 1. Azam Mughal and Khurram Rahat represented P@SHA.
It was discussed that investors will be required to recruit at least 75% of the workforce from Pakistan. This move is expected to increase employment opportunities for locals and reduce the country's dependency on foreign labor.
P@SHA suggested that the definition of FTA (Free Trade Agreement) should be comprehensive and should include IT and ITeS to pave the way for Pakistan's IT sector growth.
A new business visa category was proposed with 12 months validity on multiple entries. The stay in GCC countries can be restricted to 30 days to ensure that it's only utilized for work purposes. For authentication and legitimacy, one of the visa requirements can be P@SHA/PSEB membership certificates.
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February 7, 2023
Institute of Regional Studies: Cyber Security
The Institute of Regional Studies and P@SHA discussed collaboration on Cyber Security. P@SHA shared insights on the inclusion of cyber-relevant curriculum with the help of HEC, and a stakeholder mapping exercise to achieve consensus.
It was suggested that a meeting between IRS's cyber security wing and P@SHA's Cyber Committee should be arranged to explore potential collaboration opportunities.
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Atlantic Council: Pakistanβs Technology Policy Priorities
A meeting with Atlantic Council was held on February 7 to discuss Pakistanβs technology policy priorities (data protection & privacy). Bilal Hashmat and Kashoon Leeza represented P@SHA.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the State Department, the U.S. Islamabad Embassy (Political Desk), and Meta representatives. The dialogue was an important step toward addressing the challenges of data protection & privacy in Pakistan. We look forward to further progress in this area.
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February 9 , 2023
Trade in Services and E-Commerce
Under the GCC-PAK Free Trade Agreement negotiations, a meeting was held with the Ministry of Commerce which was also attended by the Ministry of IT, PSEB, and the GCC negotiation team.
The meeting discussed chapters of Trade in Services (Texts & Market Access) and e-Commerce. A key takeaway from the meeting was that the Ministry of Commerce will reach out to P@SHA for comments on the updates in the chapter on E-Commerce.
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February 10, 2023
PITB: California & Punjab Sister States
A meeting with PITB was held on February 10 to discuss the scope of collaboration with California regarding the PITB-California and Punjab Sister States initiative. Ali Ihsan and Kashoon Leeza represented P@SHA.
P@SHA recommended that local universities mirror a few courses from top international universities, and that they connect with VCs in the US circuit to bring delegations of VC to Punjab.
P@SHA invited interested parties to join the task force for potential IT investments in Punjab with PITB/Punjab to provide incentivization, investment climate (tax benefits), resource pool, and visa facilitation.
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February 15, 2023
PBIT: Unleashing the True Potential of Pakistan's IT Sector
A meeting with Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) was held on February 15 in which Kashoon Leeza presented a document on βUnleashing the True Potential of IT Sector in Pakistan and Making it a Tech Destinationβ.
The document covered Pakistanβs IT exports landscape including remittances, measures for Ease of Doing Business, and measures for skill development. PBIT provided their feedback on the document.
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February 22, 2023
State Bank of Pakistan Meeting
Under the ongoing engagement with the SBP, a meeting took place on February 22. Attendees from P@SHA were Shahzad Shahid, Kashoon Leeza, Boo-Ali (CFO NETSOL), and Kamran Hanif (CFO, Inbox).
P@SHA suggested top five banks as well as a mechanism for FOREX retention and utilization. It also mentioned four unresolved cases with SBP. P@SHA also requested the SBP to ensure required facilities, including a dollar-denominated corporate debit card, international transfer option, and consistency of facilities, are provided to ensure exporters' confidence and ease.
The State Bank and banks indicated that they would soon be starting a digital platform for payments, expediting FCY accounts and allocation of corporate debit cards.
P@SHA plans to give its members awareness of the account opening process and focal persons list, while banks have been requested to expedite the facilities for IT exporters.
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AGG Committee Updates
MOU Signing of CEGA at NED Karachi on Feb 18, 2023
P@SHA AGG Committee Member Hassan Bin Rizwan participated in the signing of the MOU for the establishment of the Centre of Excellence in Gaming and Animation(CEGA) hosted at NED Karachi.
The MoU was signed by Asim Shahryar HuΒsain, CEO of Ignite National TechΒnology Fund, affiliated with the MinisΒtry of IT and Telecom (MoITT), and Syed Ghazanfar Hussain, Registrar NED University KaraΒchi.
The AGG committee emphasized how CEGA represents a significant step forward for the gaming & animation industry of Pakistan. Through CEGA as an enabler, Pakistanβs gaming and aniΒmation exports will have the potential to exceed $500 million within the next five years.
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Skills Committee
Roundtable at ITCN 2023
The P@SHA Skills Committee and the L&D team conducted a roundtable discussion at the ITCN on the topic of βInvesting in Secondary Education to Cultivate Pakistanβs Tech Talentβ.
The participants include, Ministry of IT, Ministry of Education, PSEB, HEC, PEC NCEAC, private and public schools, universities, ed techs, Non Profit Organizations, training & vocational institutes, and representatives from the IT industry.
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Count of TechLift Bootcamps
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Bootcamps Completed
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Bootcamps
In Progress
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Planned
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Grand Total
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60
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22
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20
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102
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Count of TechLift Students By Track
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Main Track
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Active Students
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Graduated Students
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Total Students
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Cloud Solution Architecture
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285
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337
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622
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MEAN/MERN Stack
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358
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737
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1095
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Mobile App Development
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18
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275
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293
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SQA (Selenium and Test Complete)
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294
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301
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595
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Web Engineering
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181
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423
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604
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Grand Total
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1136
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2073
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3209
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Count of TechLift Bootcamps By Status & City
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City
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Bootcamps Completed
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Bootcamps In Progress
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Planned
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Total
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Islamabad
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24
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8
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8
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40
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Karachi
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6
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5
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5
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16
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Lahore
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30
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9
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7
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46
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Grand Total
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60
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22
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20
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102
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Member Committee
Meeting with HBL Digital Transformation Team
The Member Committee had a meeting with HBL Digital Transformation Team on February 16 at Royal Palm. The discussion focused on IT industry challenges and avenues where HBL could help the industry maximize growth.
From P@SHA's side, the meeting was attended by CEC Member Mudassir Malik (CEO, AppsGenii), Mr. Waqas Pitafi (ex-VC, P@SHA; CEO, DevBatch), Mr. Ahmed Muzammil (VP, Gaper.io), Mr. Mustafa Najoom (VP, Gaper.io), Fakhar Khan (founder, Softpyramid), and Mahrukh Qadeer (CEO, CoWired).
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February 21, 2023 |
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MMBL Joins Hands with Avanza Solutions to Launch DOST Corporate Portal |
MMBL collaborated with Avanza Solutions to develop and deploy DOST Corporate Portal, a state-of-the-art enterprise banking solution. Sardar Mohammad Abubakr (Chief Operating Officer, MMBL) and Omer Ahmed Khan (Chief Executive Officer, Avanza Solutions), inked the agreement in Islamabad at the MMBL Headquarters. The DOST Corporate Portal is based on Avanza's 'Ambit Enterprise Banking Platform,' which provides secure, cost-effective, and personalized corporate internet banking services.
View Website
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Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) brings the game development community together to exchange ideas, solve problems, and shape the future of the industry. P@SHA's delegation to GDC will be in San Francisco, California, from March 20-24th.
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Building Equity Value in IT Services Company
Join our workshop series and get practical advice on positioning, client pitching, and pitch practice. Real case studies, exit founders, and investors will be facilitating the workshop.
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International Match Day
International Match Day will take place on March 20th, 2023. The conference will showcase current topics and cross-border business development, presenting best-of-breed offerings from 5 countries: Malaysia, Pakistan, Portugal, Brazil, and Argentina.
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March 12-13 , 2023
Jordan Web 3.0 Summit
This event will bring together government officials and regulators, Web 3.0 experts, investors, blockchain developers, cryptocurrency traders, NFT creators, early adopters, financial institutions, fintech start-ups, as well as DeFi decentralized fintech and Dapp decentralized applications in a highly interactive conference.
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April 5-7th , 2023
Japan IT Week
Japan IT Week Spring is the largest IT exhibition in Japan. In collaboration with PSEB, P@SHA is forming a delegation of members interested in attending this event. It is a valuable opportunity to learn, explore, enter the Japanese market, and do business with Japan.
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