OPEN Silicon Valley Showcases Pakistan-Based Tech Ventures

Palo Alto, California: Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs (OPEN) Silicon Valley, in collaboration with Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), will introduce several Pakistan-based technology ventures to the business community in Silicon Valley in a series of high-level business meetings and a major OPEN SV networking event. The PSEB delegation’s visit is designed to raise the profile of Pakistan’s software and IT services industry.

As hosts, OPEN Silicon Valleys seeks to enable visitors’ business relationships with key stakeholders in Silicon Valley. The delegates will brief OPEN Charter Members – distinguished Pakistani-American business leaders and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley – on the companies’ products and services and discuss potential for market entry and partnerships. “Silicon Valley leads the world in innovation and entrepreneurship, and Pakistani-American entrepreneurs play a significant role in innovation and economic vitality of Silicon Valley, especially in the high-tech sector. Our initiative for the Pakistani ventures, is an excellent opportunity for Pakistani entrepreneurs to connect with leaders of Silicon Valley’s success stories – and get guidance on how to grow and expand their ventures globally”, says Dilawar A. Syed, President of OPEN Silicon Valley. 
The companies represented in the visiting PSEB delegation are Alp Business Service Management, CTO 24/7, Digital Prodigy, Digital Processing Systems, GoodCore Software, Intagleo Systems, Invaterra, Palmchip Pakistan, Prislogix, Post Amazers, Server4sale and Xorlogics.

PSEB is a government agency mandated to promote Pakistan's IT Industry, including software, services, hardware and call centers locally and globally,

In a statement  a spokesman of PSEB said that during the current visit networking sessions and meetings have been arranged with leading Blue Chip brand companies, Chambers of Commerce and Government entities in collaboration with Texas Trade Council (TTC), Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs in North American (OPEN), Pakistan's Embassy in USA and various other local partners..

USA is the world's leading global destination for ICT outsourcing activities with 60% share in the total global outsourcing market. USA is also a major source of exports for Pakistani IT companies and accounts for more than 58% of their export earnings.

The main purpose of these meetings and networking sessions in the USA is to promote the incentives and opportunities offered by Pakistan IT sector, dispel the misconceptions about Pakistan, foster business collaboration with American IT companies, enable Pakistani IT companies to learn from the successful experiences of their counterparts and expand their presence, the spokesman explained. During these sessions and meetings, foreign companies would also be encouraged to set up their development/competency centers in Pakistan, he added.

PSEB regularly arranges participation of member companies in trade fairs and exhibitions across the world to promote Pakistan IT Industry's brand. Earlier, PSEB arranged country-focused networking events in London, Manchester and Glasgow in UK, and Dublin in Ireland. These events were highly successful and several business leads were generated by the participating companies.

With an IT Industry worth more than $ 2.8 billion, including annual IT exports exceeding USD 1.4 billion, Pakistan is eyeing to increase the size of its IT sector to over $11 billion by 2011. "IT export oriented initiatives by PSEB are not only enhancing the country's image abroad but are also having a positive impact on the IT export related earnings of the country", the PSEB spokesman said.

 The operational costs in Pakistan are 30% lower than neighboring country India, while the infrastructure advantages of high-speed connectivity in all the major cities are available at competitive rates. According to "Buying Triangle", the operational cost for a full time employee is $ 58,598 in USA, while it is $ 23,708 to $ 35,562 in India and only $ 9,000 in Pakistan, the spokesman added.

PSEB is a Government agency mandated to promote Pakistan's IT Industry, including software, services, hardware and call centers locally and globally. PSEB regularly sponsors attendance by its member companies in international trade shows and exhibitions that help companies showcase their capabilities and develop business contacts. PSEB has been facilitating the IT Industry through its programs in Human Capital, Office Space, Marketing, Company Capability Development, Telecom Bandwidth, Industry Finance, Public Policy, Strategy & Research, and Facilitation.

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Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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