2. Introduction
In 2019, when launching the ‘Digital Pakistan’ initiative, aimed at
introducing the latest technology for public welfare, Prime Minister Imran
Khan had said, “Our government will put all our efforts to promote Digital
Pakistan. The future of Pakistan is very exciting.”
3. 1.
Going digital’ is often presented as a solution for most of
Pakistan’s problems.
•Technology has made many strides since then. Today, the
landline sits idly in many households.
•According to DataReportal, an online platform that collects
digital insights from around the world, Pakistan had over 173
million mobile connections in January 2021. The number of
mobile connections in the country increased by 6.9 million (an
increase of 4.2 percent) between January 2020 and January 2021.
4. Benefits
•Opened up opportunities for big business
•Transformed the lives of many women who are now able to work from home.
•Numerous small businesses have opened up on platforms such as Instagram, with
‘mompreneurs’ selling sarees and young women becoming in-demand bakers and
chefs.
•These businesses often take orders online, the payments are transferred to the
vendors’ accounts or are made through cash on delivery, and the orders are delivered
by riders called from online delivery services.
•This has changed many women’s lives.
5. The Covid-19 lockdowns showed just how quickly the world can change and how
important going digital is. “Easypaisa daily transactions increased by 17 percent during
lockdowns, we saw a 35 percent increase in new activations and a 184 percent
increase in bank transfers via Easypaisa,” says Telenor Pakistan’s Khan. “Similarly,
about 25 percent of our customers used to digitally top-up their mobile balances —
this has jumped to 36 percent after Covid-19.”
Khan says that the pandemic has undoubtedly been a catalyst for digital
transformation and adoption worldwide. “Now is the time for sustaining the
acceleration we’ve seen and taking our journey as a digital society forward.”
