PSEB facilitates IT companies in their interaction with various Government agencies, and also launches programs in areas of strategic importance. The facilitation services range from providing strategic insight and guidance regarding the sector’s issues, to assisting the private-sector in visa assistance, and liaising with higher Government officials.
Setting up an IT Business
Infrastructure Support
Software Import
Industrial Automation
Open Source Resource Center
Facilitation Meetings
Visa and Travel Assistance
General Industry Issues
SBP Circulars / Notifications
SETTING UP AN IT BUSINESS
This section delineates the process of establishing an IT business in Pakistan, whether it is by a newcomer to the IT scene, or by an existing foreign-based company. It also outlines venture capital firms which are assisting potential business investors; support available for new product development by IT/ITeS companies; and national laws concerning implementation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
Options for Foreign Investors - Setting up a Legal Entity
Options for Foreign Investors - A Step-by-step Guide
Venture Capital Firms in Pakistan
Support for New Product Development
List of Management Consultancy and Chartered Accountancy Firms
INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT
As the apex body within the Government charged with the task of enhancing Pakistan's IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) exports, PSEB is committed to creating an environment that is conducive to the growth of this crucial sector. In order to encourage investment and entrepreneurship in the ITeS industry, PSEB has added value to the already existing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) infrastructure by establishing dedicated Software Technology Parks (STPs), and providing high-speed connectivity to its registered companies.
Software Technology Parks (STPs)
International Data Connectivity
SOFTWARE IMPORT
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) requires that any company wanting to procure software from abroad first needs to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from PSEB. This process enables PSEB to:
- Gauge the software requirements of the companies in the various economic sectors of the Pakistani industry
- Explore the possibility of developing linkages between international IT companies and Pakistani software companies, that could result in these companies setting up development centers in Pakistan
Please download, print, and clearly fill out this NOC form, and post it at the address given below. PSEB will normally take three working days after the receipt of this form to issue this certificate. In case this certificate is required in less than this time period, please contact the undersigned.
Mr. Sajid Iqbal
Head of Domestic Business
Pakistan Software Export Board (G) Limited
2nd Floor Evacuee Trust Complex
F-5, Aga Khan Road
Islamabad - 44000
Telephone: 92-51-9204074, Extension 102
Fax: 92-51-9204075
E-mail: siqbal@pseb.org.pk
INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
Performer of the Month June (2008)
| Acrologix |
- Excellent follow up and support for AutoPlus ERP in nominated units of PAAPAM
- Successfully showcased AutoPlus at Microsoft Innovation Center in Karachi in collaboration with Microsoft and PAAPAM
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Background
Pakistan's Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector is currently operating at a disadvantage. This is primarily because a majority of the manufacturing and planning processes are either unautomated, or, if automated, are not being utilized to their fullest potential.
Objectives
In order to close this gap, PSEB's "Automation of Domestic Industry on Open Source Systems" project is engaged in developing complete ERP solutions to automate the processes and procedures for the SMEs in HR & Payroll, Finance, Inventory, Production and Sales in those sectors of the economy with the highest export potential. The ERP solutions are being developed using open source software code. The solutions will be made available to the industry, so that applications can be further enhanced as per the needs of the units.
The project has collaborated with software consulting companies with expertise in developing/implementing ERP solutions for the industry. The companies are encouraged to develop readily-available, purpose-built shareware using open source technologies. The source code for the applications would be made available to the industrial units for further collaboration between the software companies and the industrial units to further enhance these products that are built on a sound set of requirements from these industries. This will fuel innovation and constructive dialogue among software developers and engineers, leading to improved quality products for other sectors of the economy as well.
Collaboration
Industrial Sectors
PSEB has partnered with the following four Industrial Associations after technical evaluation of their Expressions of Interest (EoIs) through the national press, and Terms of Reference (ToRs) made available on the website till the prescribed deadline.
| APTPMA |
All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association |
| PAAPAM |
Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers |
| PRGMEA/PHMA |
Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers Association
Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association |
| SIMAP |
Surgical Instruments Manufactures Association |
| FAP |
Farmers Association of Pakistan |
Initially the solution will be provided to fifteen units in each of these sectors.
Software Companies
PSEB has further partnered with software consulting companies for the requirement-gathering and development of ERP solutions for units in these sectors.
Current Status
| PRGMEA/PHMA |
- Software Development Complete
- Model Implementation Complete
- Implementation at 14 units in Progress
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| PAAPAM |
- Software Development Complete
- Model Implementation Complete
- Implementation at 14 units in Progress
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| APTPMA |
- Software Development Complete
- Implementation at 15 units in Progress
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| SIMAP |
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| FAP |
- Model Implementation Completed
- Implementation at 10 farms in Progress
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Benefits
This ERP solution will help the industry to utilize its resources effectively, make automation affordable, especially for SMEs, and increase profitability and economies of scale. It will also shorten the activity lifecycle in time-sensitive, export-oriented industries.
The ERP solution will integrate the processes and procedures in the industry in HR and Payroll, Finance, Production, Sales and Inventory management.
The solution will provide and improve:
- Security - Application access available based on rights
- Efficiency - Quick access to information; all data is entered once only; integration of information between different modules.
- Data Consistency - All users in the application see the same information
- Order Tracking - Faster product/service look-up and ordering, saving time and money
- Automated ordering and payment, lowering payment processing and paper costs
- Remove Redundancy - Any data will be entered only once
- Generate invoices and vouchers
- Generate needed reports
- Fast access to detailed account histories, providing more abundant information and improved planning and analysis.
In order to participate in this project, or to obtain further information, please write to:
Project Manager
Pakistan Software Export Board (G) Limited
2nd Floor Evacuee Trust Complex
F-5, Aga Khan Road
Islamabad - 44000
Telephone: 92-51-9204074, Extension 109
Fax: 92-51-9204075
OPEN SOURCE RESOURCE CENTER
There is a growing global shift from proprietary software to Open Source Software (OSS). In this regard, the Ministry of Information Technology, through its implementation arm, the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), has launched initiatives to introduce this technology in the country. The core objectives of this initiative include:
- Raising core software development awareness among the people
- Decreasing dependency on proprietary software
- Addressing the issues of International Proprietary Rights effectively
- Decreasing deployment costs in the education and government sectors
The Ministry of Information Technology has developed a three-pronged strategy of demand, supply and support, i.e. to create a demand for OSS; to supply technical expertise on OSS; and to develop a resource center to support these activities.
In order to support this demand-supply model, PSEB has developed, and houses, an Open Source Resource Center (OSRC) project in Islamabad. The OSRC has been working since July 2004. Its broad objectives include:
- Developing a community for OSS
- Holding workshops on OSS development in all major cities of Pakistan
- Creating a network of OSS developers
- Grooming an environment for OSS development in Pakistan
- Encouraging research and development on OSS activities in local universities with international collaboration
The strategy adopted by the OSRC includes:
- Mobilizing the OSS practicing community through the OSRC's web-portal and the academia
- Conducting training and awareness-raising workshops, thereby ensuring the local industry's participation
- Promoting OSS within the industry by holding seminars, providing training material, initiating discussion forums, and networking with hardware/software vendors
- Building in-house support capability
- Providing back-up support on solution(s) given to the industry using OSS
The Action Plan and expected outcomes include:
- Developing linkages with major universities in Pakistan by promoting the culture of, and developing a breeding ground for students to use OSS
- Conducting training workshops for universities' faculty members, who, in turn, will return to their universities and teach their students
- Encouraging students to develop their research projects using OSS
- Placing students developing OSS projects on internships within the industry
- Developing linkages with the industry through different professional bodies by creating awareness regarding the benefits of using OSS
- Promoting OSS use within the industry
- Developing linkages with Chambers of Commerce and the Computer Society of Pakistan, resulting in joint workshops on OSS. Convincing, and creating a demand among the business community to migrate from proprietary software to cost-effective open source software.
- Developing a network of OSS professionals, and providing a support mechanism to OSS practitioners. This network of professionals is gradually being developed through OSRC's web-portal, which currently has 325 registered users, and 1200 mailing list users, and is growing by the day.
Expectations from the OSS Community and the Industry:
- The OSRC's activities are regularly updated on its website at http://www.osrc.org.pk/, where a forum is also available in order to collect feedback from students, the academia, businesses, and OSS enthusiasts. This is essential for the OSRC to interact more effectively with the OSS community and the industry, to guage development trends and provide customized support services.
- The OSRC strongly believes that the academia can play a major role in promoting the use of OSS, as it is usually the breeding ground for cutting-edge innovation and research. For this reason, the OSRC will soon launch training workshops for faculty members, who, after being trained, will return to their respective institutes and train their students. This will result in a major human resources talent pool of qualified OSS experts, who will meet the demand which will be generated by automating the local industry on OSS.
For further information, please write to:
Khurram Islam Khan
Project Manager (OSRC)
H#33, St#35 F-6/1 Islamabad
Telephone: +92-51-9244095
Email: kislam@pseb.org.pk
URL: www.osrc.org.pk
FACILITATION MEETINGS
PSEB facilitates various meetings between the stakeholders of the industry in order to resolve general industry issues. Periodic meetings are held with PASHA’s regional as well as executive committee members in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. Official action plans and their progress is usually discussed during these meetings with a view to enhancing the IT industry and building the capacity of larger companies to increase their international competitiveness. This meeting is usually chaired by the Secretary IT, so that the feedback of the private-sector is directly incorporated into the Government’s policy-formulation for the IT/ITeS industry.
PSEB also works with various government bodies in order to represent the IT industry and raise issues of concern to it. Meetings are held with the Statistics Division and the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) under a new initiative to collect Information and Communication Technology (ICT) benchmarks for Pakistan.
PSEB has assisted IBM in an economic, IT and telecom-related survey, which may lead to the establishment of a resource centre in Pakistan.
PSEB has prepared a working paper on the telecom bandwidth quality-of-service issues being faced by the IT-enabled services sector. This has been forwarded to the Ministry of IT, which plans to intervene to address some of these issues. PSEB is also in the process of preparing another working paper regarding telecom bandwidth pricing.
VISA AND TRAVEL ASSISTANCE
PSEB facilitates various private-sector IT companies and delegates in visa, taxes, foreign currency remittance, establishment of liaison offices and other related matters. PSEB also provides its members certain documentation and protocol support on an as-and-when basis, as required by the companies.
For further information, please contact the Manager Domestic Business at siqbal@pseb.org.pk.
GENERAL INDUSTRY ISSUES
PSEB has always acted as a bridge between the Government and the industry regarding various issues of concern to it. Some issues can be mission-critical for the IT industry, such as the breakdown of bandwidth, and the imposition of General Sales Tax (GST) on IT products and services.
Recently, PTCL officials were also invited to a meeting as PSEB and the industry had raised concerns about bandwidth cost, and the quality of, and delay in, providing optical fiber cable to Software Technology Parks. PTCL EVP and GM South have been appointed as focal persons to resolve the IT industry’s issues in Karachi.
The issue of mobile Urdu content has also been taken up by PSEB since July 2006. Major IT players in this area and other stakeholders have been identified. In the next stage, impediments related to the widespread use of Urdu mobile content, such as cellular technology, the absence of standards, programming, and potential revenue will be investigated. It will also be ascertained as to what, if anything, should be done by the MoIT/PSEB in this regard.
In order to raise any issues or problems related to Pakistan’s IT/ITeS industry, please fill in the feedback form or e-mail at info@pseb.org.pk.
SBP CIRCULARS/NOTIFICATIONS
{Under Construction}
For further information please contact:
Mr. Sajid Iqbal
Head of Domestic Business
Pakistan Software Export Board (G) Limited
2nd Floor Evacuee Trust Complex
F-5, Aga Khan Road
Islamabad - 44000
Telephone: 92-51-9204074, Extension 102
Fax: 92-51-9204075
E-mail: siqbal@pseb.org.pk
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