Why tech-based entrepreneurship is important

Pakistan continues to lose economic opportunities due to unwarranted and absurd controls on the IT sector.

Rafay Bin Ali October 16, 2013
Technology based entrepreneurship has rapidly gained momentum in western societies with low costs to entry and high Return on Investment (ROIs) acting as the prime catalysts. The trend has piqued interest in Pakistan recently as well for similar reasons.

Consequently, entrepreneurship courses and workshops are gaining interest among the country’s youth. As recently as a month ago, there was news in The Express Tribune about a book exchange project launched by two students of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi. This was truly a commendable effort and such entrepreneurial spirit can only be facilitated through the innovative use of Information Technology.

However, while the young and energetic are capitalising on this trend both, locally and globally to prove their mettle to the world, the Government of Pakistan continues to make statements implying that the country's progress will soon be in retrograde. Only a year ago we were witness to the shocking news that YouTube had been blocked in the country, while memories of the Facebook ban were still afresh. More recently, the Sindh government made a ridiculous proposition that Skype and Viber should be banned under the pretext of security, law and order.

Contrary to what our government would have us believe, terrorists seldom use unencrypted channels such as Skype and Viber to communicate their ultra-heinous plans. Rather, their modus operandi is far more sophisticated and their operational techniques much more stealth.

Moreover, what bothers me the most about these on-going bans is the thought process behind them. Has banning these programs ever achieved anything? Did the YouTube ban teach Google a lesson and make it come begging for mercy? Not that I know of.

On the other hand, economic opportunities for the youth continue to become casualties in the process. The general trend of IT is inclined towards Integrated Systems Market, and hence, technology companies have provided platforms that make it easier than ever for the youth to enter the workforce as entrepreneurs. A case in point is offshore outsourcing which became popular during the late 90s. Numerous technology giants including Microsoft and Google saw opportunities in India and hence, expanded their operations there. However, these same companies were reluctant to conduct operations in Pakistan because even back then our government imposed similar unwarranted and absurd controls; thus, allowing India to gain an edge over us.

Arsalan Abdul Ghani is the CEO of Infostrata Solutions which is based in the UK and has set-ups in Hyderabad, India and Karachi, Pakistan. According to him Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) may be utilised to circumvent restrictions on digital communication networks. He rhetorically asked,
“Do you think terrorists can’t purchase such services, which are often available for as cheap as $5 per month?”

It seems to me like the man had a point.

However, such offshore operations and entrepreneurial ventures can only be possible if uninterrupted and uncensored digital communication is guaranteed.

My research for this piece also led me to Moona Kanwal, the CEO of Leading Solutions Interface – a company that specialises in software development. Most of the company’s work and clients is in countries such as the UK, Canada and Saudi Arabia. Kanwal explained that she and her team communicate with clients on IP based channels such as Skype and Lync. Moreover, since the team at Leading Solutions is also spread globally, she often hires people for small projects via the web.  Hence, her virtual presence globally provides a cost effective and efficient channel for conducting discussion and meeting with clients.

There is also a massive move towards Cloud Computing which can be defined as the ability to run a program on many connected computers at the same time. This trend also provides a chance to Pakistan's youth and talented workforce to harness the power of computing to start a business. Just recently, Microsoft aggressively campaigned for its relatively new Office 365 platform which allows software developers to sell ‘apps’ on the Office Store. The Office Store is especially attractive for students and is a great place to explore business options while they are still at the undergraduate level. Microsoft has made it amazingly simple and cost-effective for students to sign up and start developing and selling their software to a global audience with entry costs as low as $3 per month. The Office Store even has a subscription based pricing system which young entrepreneurs can use to create apps that require a recurring pricing structure.  Needless to say, the returns relative to the cost of entry are huge.

The point is that the private and public sectors in the West are quite keen to promote products which can help increase employment opportunities in a country where the rate of unemployment is 9.23%; and this rate has been on an increasing trend over the last five years. Technology is not only providing a platform for growth to the youth, it is also creating immense economic opportunities that can transform our socio-economic status.

So the question is will our government facilitate economic growth in the country or become a hindrance to it?
WRITTEN BY:
Rafay Bin Ali A software developer working with financial clients from Toronto. He is currently doing his MBA from IBA, Karachi, and is planning an entrepreneurial set-up in Pakistan. He tweets as @rafayali (https://twitter.com/rafayali)
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (24)

Hassaan | 10 years ago | Reply 1) I wholeheartedly agree to the issues pointed out above. What the government resolves by banning any communication forums, be it all meetings of groups larger than 3 people (as one of our presidents has done in the past) or by banning Youtube, Skype, Viber etc, is little more than suppression of the symptoms not a solution of the problems. Terrorism is a problem which can not be solved through such modest measures as there will always be another way to carry out all terrorist activities. The issue which the government needs to address is why are terrorists bred in the first place? 2) Yes the whole banning communication tools fiasco has adverse effects on the economy and society which are far greater than the one highlighted above. Better were the days when I could find out what caused the Greek Debt Crisis directly on Youtube instead of finding other such websites then hoping they have the good quality lectures uploaded. This hysteria on the part of the government has affected academia in an extremely negative manner. And 3) one of the effects is on technopreneurship obviously. From making it difficult to market your venture (Youtube was FREE and millions saw what you had to offer) to making it difficult to even start the venture... Everything has suffered. However, I also see this as a huge opportunity for the young entrepreneurs who can use this policy flaw as a chance to come up with new applications, websites etc to cater to the gap left by the banning of various sites.
Rafay Bin Ali | 10 years ago Hassaan, thank you for your informative comments and for bringing to light some of the issues that are facing the students. You have articulated the issue quite well, Hassaan. Yes, the real focus is to explore the reasons "why are terrorists bred in the first place?". You have brought forward a very pressing issue of where we have been deprived (or perhaps robbed is the correct word) of education resources from Youtube. Thanks again for your insightful comments.
Hussain | 10 years ago | Reply You have highlighted a very pressing topic for us. Job security has become a huge concern for the middle class. Work ethics are another issue where an employee at my cousin's company in Pakistan was recently laid off without any notice. This was a multinational company.
Rafay Bin Ali | 10 years ago Thanks for your comments. That is quite unfortunate. A multinational should be more ethical by serving a lay off notice prior to termination.
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