Pakistan’s digital leap: A youth-led innovation strategy for global competitiveness | The Express Tribune

In a world reshaped by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital transformation is no longer an outcome; it is the engine of national resilience, economic competitiveness, and inclusive development.

For Pakistan, home to one of the globe’s largest youth populations and burgeoning digital talent, harnessing this revolution is not just aspirational—it is imperative. At this historic juncture, Pakistan is charting a strategic path to digital leadership, with a clear focus on youth skills, technology adoption, and integration into the global digital economy.

Pakistan’s Information Technology (IT) and IT-enabled services sector has rapidly transitioned from a peripheral contributor to an economic pillar. In the fiscal year 2024–25, Pakistan recorded an all-time high of USD 3.8 billion in IT exports, reflecting sustained growth and global demand for digital services. This marked an 18% year-on-year increase and underscored the strategic importance of tech services in stabilising the economy and generating foreign exchange.

Within this growth, the freelancing segment surged nearly 90%, showcasing Pakistan’s young professionals competing strongly in global digital markets. The country also ranks among the top five global freelance economies, fueled by a dynamic pool of English-speaking talent and adaptable digital workers.

These achievements place Pakistan’s digital exports alongside traditional trade sectors, reflecting the strategic shift toward knowledge-intensive economic activity. But while the momentum is real, Pakistan’s global positioning requires deeper structural strengthening, particularly in innovation ecosystems and digital competitiveness.

On global innovation benchmarks, Pakistan is on an upward trajectory but with significant headroom for ambition. In the Global Innovation Index 2024, which evaluates economies on innovation inputs (eg, infrastructure, human capital, research) and outputs (knowledge and creative outputs), Pakistan ranked 91st out of 133 economies. Among lower-middle-income countries, this places Pakistan above several peers, but behind several regional neighbours whose policies have successfully integrated education, R&D, and private-sector linkages into national innovation systems.

This ranking highlights a critical insight: talent and outputs are emerging, but investment in research, infrastructure, and human capital must accelerate to close the gap with global innovators. In parallel, global analyses show that countries with advanced digital economies, led by Switzerland, the United States, and Singapore, continue to benefit from robust digital competitiveness ecosystems spanning talent, infrastructure, and forward-looking regulatory frameworks.

Global institutions underscore that digital skills and infrastructure are central to future growth. The World Bank identifies digital transformation as essential for participation in the global digital economy, emphasising inclusive access to reliable internet and digital skills development as enablers of productivity and competitiveness.

Recognising this, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision for Pakistan’s digital future is bold, multidimensional, and youth-centric. It reframes technology as state capacity, not merely a sector. The strategy emphasises scaling digital skills, particularly in high-impact areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics, and blockchain technologies; prioritising broadband connectivity, cloud access, and next-generation networks essential for participation in global digital markets; and aligning regulation with global best practices to attract investment, uphold privacy and security standards, and foster entrepreneurship.

AI stands at the centre of this vision. While the AI revolution deepens global divides—with advanced economies pulling ahead in research and readiness—the opportunity for developing nations lies in strategic adoption and tailored skill development. Recent global analyses caution that uneven AI preparedness could exacerbate inequalities: without proactive measures in regulation, education, and infrastructure, developing countries risk being left behind in this critical technological shift.

Pakistan’s greatest comparative advantage is its demographic profile. Nearly two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, offering a vast reservoir of potential digital talent. This is not merely a statistic; it is a mandate for public policy.

Under the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, youth empowerment is now integrated with the national digital strategy. It is not about hand-outs; it is about enabling economic participation at scale through digital skills training and certification aligned to international standards; freelancing and micro-enterprise support connecting young professionals directly to global clients; startup incubation and scale-up financing that nurture innovative ideas into export-oriented ventures; and public-private partnerships that embed youth talent into emerging tech sectors.

This approach has already generated measurable impact: thousands of young Pakistanis have upskilled in digital domains, leading to new income streams, job creation, and cross-border collaborations. Pakistan’s journey toward digital leadership is not without challenges. Innovation ecosystem metrics highlight gaps in research spending, infrastructure, and institutional frameworks. But these are challenges that can be transformed into strategic priorities when coupled with political will and targeted investment.

The future of national competitiveness lies in our ability to reframe education systems around future skills; encourage research and innovation ecosystems integrated with industry needs; and align regulation with global AI governance standards to unlock investment and trust. Pakistan’s youth are not just beneficiaries of digital transformation; they are its architects.

As Pakistan strives for an inclusive, resilient, and globally competitive digital economy, international cooperation will be pivotal. We seek equitable access to knowledge, partnerships in research and innovation, and shared frameworks for AI governance that reflect both global standards and local contexts.

The message is clear: Pakistan’s digital agenda is a youth agenda, a growth agenda, and an innovation agenda fit for global collaboration. Together with the global community—from the UN to industry leaders at the WEF and innovation coalitions at technology summits—Pakistan is ready to contribute meaningfully to shaping a digital future that is inclusive, prosperous, and shared.

The writer is a Member of National Assembly and Focal Person for the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme.