Pakistani IT industry can earn up to $2 billion from the economic stimulus package worth $2 trillion announced by US President Donald Trump to help the financial victims of coronavirus.
This was concluded at a discussion session held by IT experts in Washington DC.
US-based Pakistani American Rana Saad, CEO of Incepio, an IT company in USA, said that US government has allocated funds for the IT companies who will suggest global solutions of the current problems. Saad said that like every cloud has silver lining, coronavirus has created a lot of opportunities for the IT experts especially in the fields of tele-health, tele-medicines, data analysis, analytics, electronics, e-training and online education. It is a high time for the IT experts of Pakistan to launch their products in American markets and contribute to their national economy, he added.
He said that there is no dearth of talent in Pakistan but the problem is our IT experts are unable to reach the international markets to showcase their products. He said that now the funds are available for anyone who wants to give unique solutions to the problems the world has been facing now. After the WWII, the crises of coronavirus is the biggest that we have been facing now, he added. Unique problems require unique solutions, said Saad.
Tauseef Khan, a US-based IT specialist at Booz Allen Hamilton, said that first the IT students/experts have to identify the problems and then suggest the solutions to those problems, which is also known as entrepreneurship. He said that various IT companies have different models, a few of the companies have their headquarters in America while they are working in Pakistan and vice versa. He said that America’s goal is to support communities through the recently announced package and to give relief to those who have lost their jobs and especially to the elderly people.
Shahid Hashmi, a software engineer at Lockheed Martin in USA, said that currently the biggest problem is that our health system is overwhelmed, exhausted, out of reach and is unable to support work load. He said that hospitals are damaged in terms of capacity and capability. He more said that by using artificial intelligent (AI) and technology, IT industry can help people to cope with these problems. They can suggest solutions pertaining to employment and healthcare system while sitting anywhere in the world, he added. No system or country is perfect, there are a lot of loopholes in every system and coronavirus has revealed that even the superpowers have poor health systems, this time is a golden opportunity for IT industry, he added.
Existing resources are insufficient to deal with this pandemic, this is why US government has intervened with such a huge package to bring life back to normal and to enable people to stand on their own feet, he added. Everyone now is waiting to see when the world would be back on its track, he added. He said that not only software companies but hardware companies can also benefit from this package. Giving the example he said that US has appreciated the efforts of Indian students who have prepared much cheaper and better ventilators, so anyone who would devise global solutions will be rewarded from this package devoid of nationality or religion. Both Indian and Pakistani people are smart enough to represent themselves at global level and are appreciated by the US based employers. Pakistanis IT experts have earned a good repute here in America, he added. He said that Pakistani IT companies can also offer services and earn a lot after submitting their bids as sub-contractors of US-based companies.