Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology has provided financial assistance for the establishment of about 20 training centers under the National Freelance Training Program to impart IT training to fresh graduates.
“As many as 8,647 graduates were trained through International standard IT courses and these students contributed to the country’s economy by earning $23 million through freelancing after training”, said an official of the Ministry of IT.
He said, during the year 2022, around 1,638 new IT companies got registered with Pakistan Software Export Board, while 761 call centers and 1,463 freelancers were also registered with the PSEB.
He said the ministry was also establishing specialized incubation centers in agriculture and textile, aerospace technologies, gaming and animation to create more businesses in these areas and boost exports.
For the provision of early-stage investment, he said Ignite was starting an accelerator program so that early-age startups can sustain their businesses.
Ignite is collaborating with international partners like Plug & Play, orbit, DMZ, 500 global and hub 71 so that the local startup ecosystem can be exposed to international investors.
He said that about 33 million people have got themselves registered for freelancing courses under the Digi Skills Programs of Ignite, which is 75% more than the target.
By June 2022, the freelancers trained with Digi Skills have earned a whopping $290 million, adding to the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
