Pakistani freelancers, who have long been frustrated by the unavailability of PayPal, an online payment system enabling global money transfers, now have a reason to celebrate. Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Dr. Umar Saif, has recently announced his determination to introduce "PayPal and Stripe to Pakistan."
Dr. Saif, a prominent figure in the tech industry, shared his vision for Pakistan's online freelancers on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). He outlined the following roadmap for them:
1. Bring PayPal and Stripe to Pakistan.
2. Apply a uniform tax rate of 0.25% for online freelancing, similar to the IT industry.
3. Establish co-working spaces to accommodate 500,000 freelancers in Pakistan.
He expressed confidence that Pakistani online freelancers could collectively earn up to $2.5 billion within the next two years.
Dr. Saif presented this roadmap during an event related to ITCN Asia 2023, aiming to achieve an annual export target of $10 billion through four key dimensions. He also proposed measures to increase IT exports, including retaining export income within Pakistan's banks and training 100,000 software developers through public-private partnerships, which could lead to a $2 billion annual boost in exports, ultimately reaching a total export value of $5.5 billion. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of organizing training programs and boot camps to equip university graduates with the in-demand skills of the IT industry.