The GSMA Innovation Fund for Mobile Internet Adoption and Digital Inclusion announced three Pakistani startups as winners out of the 597 applications collected from 44 countries. The winning startups from Pakistan — Vceela, Knowledge Platform, and Orenda Pakistan — will receive a total grant of £668,000 (Rs146 million).
Addressing the event virtually, GSMA Head of Asia Pacific Julian Gorman stated that digital technologies are in the stage to modify the way people live and work in Pakistan. By 2023, the financial participation of the mobile industry in Pakistan is supposed to reach $24 billion, valuing 6.6 percent of GDP, he added. To expedite this growth, Pakistan has recently moved forward with important mobile services tax reforms.
Read more: SBP allows startups to avail foreign loans as convertible debt
“As we saw in the GSMA 2020 Digital Societies Report, which tracks the progress of 11 focus countries in the Asia Pacific, Pakistan is advancing its societal, economic, and digital ambition, as outlined in Digital Pakistan Vision,” Mr. Gorman said. The World Economic Forum (WEF) listed Pakistan as among the best nations in terms of the affordability of ICT assistance. Moreover, Pakistan is ranked 4th in the Global Freelance industry, presenting the best technical means in several technology domains.
Furthermore, according to the GSMA 2020 Digital Societies Report, which follows the development of 11 focus countries in the Asia Pacific, Pakistan is advancing its societal, financial, and digital ambition, as described in Digital Pakistan Vision.
Read more: Customer segmentation is the key to a startup’s success, says CEO Bykea
Federal Minister for IT, Syed Aminul Haq told that the “Right of Way Policy” has been executed by the government to promote the IT and telecom division in the country. He stated that the system was one of the requirements of the telephony and internet service providers for the last 24 years.
Source: Mashable
