Pakistan To Host Apicta Awards 2022 For First Time In Over 20 Years

August 29, 2022August 29, 2022 admin 0 Comments Apicta Awards, ICT Alliance, P@SHA

Islamabad: The Asia-Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) and Pakistan Software Houses Association
(P@SHA) announced that Pakistan will be officially hosting the APICTA Awards this year for the first time.

Hosted by PA@SHA, the APICTA Executive Committee meeting with delegates from 16 member economies
including Malaysia, Australia, Sri Lanka, and Chinese Taipei was held in Serena Hotel, Islamabad. It was
announced that Pakistan has successfully won the bid to host the APICTAs Awards, making it a historic
milestone for Pakistan’s IT & ITeS industry. First held in 2001, the APICTA Awards have previously been
hosted by member economies such as Australia, Malaysia, China, and Singapore. The Awards have proven
to be a productive force to develop the local & regional economy and have already led to lucrative business
opportunities for qualifying Pakistan IT & IteS companies in the recent past.

Also Read: Real Estate sector badly affected by rising interest rates. What’s next for Pakistan?

By hosting APICTA awards, Pakistan would have an opportunity to position its strategic case for ‘Make in
Pakistan’. Majority of APICTA delegations will be first-time visitors to Pakistan and at least 200 international
delegates are expected for the 5-day event, including IT leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, foreign
officials, researchers and students which will help further strengthen a progressive image of Pakistan.

Entry into the APICTA Awards is only possible by qualifying through similar awards programs conducted by
the authorized representative of each member economy. P@SHA, being the sole authorized representative
within APICTA, is the only gateway for Pakistani IT & IteS enterprises, startups, and students to enter
APICTA Awards. To be fair and transparent, the rules for the jurors are highly regulated, with a mature
judging system and advisory judges to verify the decisions as impartial. Any intentional anomalies can even
lead to disqualification of judges.

Applications for the P@SHA ICT Awards are open till September 5th and may be submitted via
www.pashaictawards.com.

Chairman APICTA, Jit Sing Santok Singh appreciated Pakistan’s recognition of talent and expressed that he
expects more opportunities through this knowledge transfer coming to the country after hosting the
awards. While discussing the need of such opportunities he added “ICT is not a business enabler, it IS the
business.” He expressed his sincere thanks to P@SHA for their support. Further looking forward to a great
event and are hoping to make this an event with some great memories to take back.”
Stating APICTA Awards as the “Oscars of IT” in the region Chairman P@SHA, Badar Khushnood said
“Pakistan is transitioning from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy. It is the right time to
showcase the digital & tech talent of Pakistan to the world.”

About APICTA

The Asia-Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) is an association of ICT communities nominated by member
economies in the region who come together in the spirit of collaboration, forming a cooperative network to
promote technology innovation and development of indigenous ICT solutions for the global market via an
annual awards program known as the APICTA Awards. It currently comprises 16 member economies
including Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macao,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

About P@SHA

Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and ITES (P@SHA) is the sole trade body for Pakistan’s IT
industry and a registered association with DGTO under the Ministry of Commerce. It was founded in the
year 1992 to represent, promote and develop the software and IT services industry in Pakistan. It works
closely with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) and Pakistan Software
Export Board (PSEB)

It is the only Pakistani entity globally registered with and recognized by institutions such as WISTA (World
Information Technology and Services Alliance), ASOCIO (Asian Oceanic Computing Industry Organization),
and APICTA (Asia Pacific ICT Alliance).