ISLAMABAD - the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority announced on Monday that it opened applications for a national innovation fund, according to a statement released to reporters.
The numbers tell part of the story. Freelancers in Pakistan brought in $30 million in Q1 2026, and the country remains one of the largest suppliers of online talent in the world.
The service will initially be available in Multan, Rawalpindi and Islamabad, with a nationwide launch planned for later in 2026.
The view from investors
Employees will be offered training through a partnership with UET Lahore, the company said, with a focus on cloud engineering, data analysis and product management.
"Students who learn to work with AI tools today will define the workforce of 2035."
Usman Tariq, chief technology officer at Easypaisa
The company said the initiative would create roughly 80 jobs over the next two years, most of them in Multan and Peshawar. It did not disclose the size of the investment, but people familiar with the plans put the figure at between $80 million and $400 million.
How the deal came together
Analysts at Systems Limited estimate that the addressable market could be worth $150 million by 2028, driven by a young population and rising smartphone ownership.
Key points
- Regulatory approval from Ignite National Technology Fund still pending
- Pricing to remain unchanged until at least April
- Roughly 30 jobs expected over the next two years
- Competitors including Careem are expected to respond within months
Several competitors have made similar bets. Zameen expanded into Islamabad earlier this year, while OpenAI has been quietly hiring engineers in Lahore and Islamabad.
Still, questions remain about long-term sustainability. Margins in the software exports business are thin, and customer acquisition costs have risen sharply since 2022.
Reporting by the WritePures newsroom. Have a tip? Contact our editors.
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