Syed Sajjad Mustafa, the chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), declares that the Pakistan IT sector is incurring losses of over $1 million per hour due to the breakdown of the internet. He said this at a forum organized by GIZ to discuss stakeholder concerns on what was happening in the country and how it affects the industry operations and ultimately the target of $15 billion going up in smoke in IT exports set by the government.
According to Syed, every dollar invested in market access generates an average return of $49 over the last three years. The IT industry has recorded a growth of approximately 40% as total exports house to around $3.2 billion. Currently, 55% of colonies’ IT exports by the United States followed by European companies, which account for around 20%, export from Pakistan. He said there was a need for government investment in branding to enable the sector to reach its full potential.
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Passing around the effects of internet shutdowns, Syed says in a small way, echoed what companies have, which means that 99% of companies that reported down were actually experiencing it financially. By way of instance, there was a call center that had a penalty of $2 million because of the recent shutdown.
Syed, however, criticized the tax structure for revenue-based taxation for the sector and urged the government to provide tax incentives that would grow the sector whilst attracting remittances and promoting investment. The official also highlighted sthe ecurity risks of free VPNs, propounding adopting a secure VPN service providers’ model for better data protection. He emphasized P@SHA’s role in policy harmonization that advocates integration.