Why Pakistan Is Your Best Bet For Offshoring

There is no question that Pakistan is a huge untapped market when it comes to human resources especially in the IT sector. For years, companies have been offshoring their development work to Eastern European countries such as Ukraine and Belarus. Tech giants also saw the workforce potential of Asian markets and thus set up their offices in India which had the largest population in the region. We saw a huge boom in the IT industry for all of these countries and they became the go-to destination for hiring tech talent.

However, there has been a shift in the market in recent times, even before the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Of course, the conflict caused fluctuations in the market and forced companies to look for talent alternatives in other countries but the real reason why the shift was inevitable is the maturity of these markets and the evolution of the local IT industry there. The IT businesses in these countries have become quite well established and are able to capture the top cream of the country.

The IT industry of India is a great example of this trend with startups getting over 25 billion dollars in investment just last year but, more significantly, tech giants such as Microsoft and Meta have given freelancers an alternative to work within the country at a higher rate, gain a stable job and achieve unique benefits such as stock options. This incentivises the top talent in the country to be employed by local companies rather than work as an independent contractor for a remote company. For these reasons, the market can benefit by increasing competition in the region which is where countries such as Pakistan come in.

Pakistan is the 5th most populous country in the world with a population of over 220 million. It produces over 25,000 graduates from top Computer Science universities each year and has over 600,000 software engineers with expertise in current and emerging technologies. This number does not even factor the thousands of Pakistanis working abroad who are willing to move back to the country if they can find an opportunity worth even half of what they’re earning abroad.

Pakistan, like other developing countries, has been a victim of brain drain where we have hundreds, if not thousands of highly talented workers leaving the country to pursue opportunities in developed nations. What makes these workers unique however is their willingness to move back, given a decent opportunity in the country. Due to the strong values  and family bonds, overseas Pakistanis prefer living modestly with their family rather than live a lavish life individually. These factors along with other macroeconomic factors such as Pakistan exiting the FATF grey list have made it a very attractive option for investors. We’ve seen this with the rise in startups recently and the trend of Pakistani developers working for an offshore company to receive their salaries in dollars to achieve stability in the face of unprecedented inflation. The salaries offered by local software companies is a blip compared to what their position offers when working remotely. Recently, the CEO of Turing said that Pakistan is emerging among the top choices for US companies as they look to ramp up their software development teams. Despite the tech recession, Google is also entering the Pakistani market as it is set to commence operations soon in Pakistan. Given these trends, the IT workforce of Pakistan seems like the best option for investors and working for remote companies is what should be the aim for most Pakistani developers. If you are interested in finding the top technical talent from Pakistan at an affordable rate, you can get in touch with us.

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