Pakistan’s First Software Technology Export Strategy

Preamble

When I joined the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) as its Managing Director in Aug 2020, I realized that this is the core institution with the potential to liberate Pakistan from its woes.

The crippling elements which are eroding the country’s ability to grow its economy and the societal failures of the lost generation which ran the country to the ground from 1970s to 2020s both can only be addressed by a country-wide silent transformation, which will supercharge its next generation to grow without limitation of local economic dependencies, the limitation of its public sector entities which fell prisoners of their own written lines and unable to think beyond their noses for a whole of country approach, or having to look up to any local monetary source.

PSEB was plagued by the fact that it used to get some great MDs with some vision, but after the end of their tenures, their programs and projects were forgotten and shelved, the organization had to restart from nothing after every transition, surely a recipe for institutional myopia, and eventual disaster, which is rampant in all our Public Sector Organisations.

I took a decision to change that, and write the first Technology Export Strategy of the country. Those who know me will tell you my disdain for the fancy-looking strategy diagrams and long write-ups which are nothing but arm-chair thoughts of “consultants” sitting outside of the system. I am a very much products and projects person, and I entirely based my strategy document on executable projects and programs.

Over the course of two years, by operating on-ground, visiting companies across the country, sharing ideas with counterparts globally, talking to CEOs in multiple countries, and developing projects, and plans, I learned that what I knew on day one on the job was limited and immature, and threw a lot of those thoughts out the window, and redrew the whiteboard multiple times, until all of that started to become real. That helped me in completely rebranding PSEB as Tech Destination Pakistan, and entirely restructuring the company in the process.

Upon the completion of my contracted 24 months tenure as Managing Director PSEB in Aug 2022, I presented the BoD with Pakistan’s first technology export strategy document with executed and executable programs and mentioned in my resignation letter that every next CEO/MD must leave a further optimized and updated version for the next leader to keep the document a living and breathing strategy, for addressing an industry which is dynamic and ever-changing.

As I have moved into my new roles, and the new CEO PSEB is about to take charge, it’s critical to keep the conversation alive to keep the transition informed. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will continue to discuss the strategy, and its implications for our tech industry, and the country. I will welcome you all to propose your suggestion and keep the discussion interesting.

Digitization is the best revenge!