Spokesman Report
ISLAMABAD: The Special Technology Zones Authority has invited Pakistan’s largest EdTech Start-up, Extreme Commerce to be part of the technology revolution in the country. STZA Chairman, Amer Hashmi in a recent meeting with Sunny Ali, the Founder of Extreme Commerce.
A delegation of Extreme Commerce led by Sunny Ali met the Chairman and the team of Special Technology Zones Authority in the STZA Secretariat situated at the Prime Minister Secretariat, Islamabad.
Amer Hashmi, Chairman, Special Technology Zones Authority has said that the Government of Pakistan has established the STZ Authority to position Pakistan as Asia’s Next Big Technology Hub. He further said, we are on a mission to establish the knowledge economy by introducing high-tech infrastructure and regulatory framework that enables lightning paced growth in the technology sector.
He also briefed the delegation that Pakistan has made unprecedented improvements in ease of doing business according to the World Bank report 2020 due to the introduction and integration of e-services at the national and provincial levels. This is a great opportunity and time for setting up new tech-based businesses in Pakistan.
He further said that Pakistan has improved in accelerated business climate reforms, whereas, over the last few years, Pakistan has restructured the business climate enabling efficient coordination among institutions and reducing red-tapism which has led to significant improvements.
He briefed the Extreme Commerce delegation that, in recognition of the crucial need to harness the opportunities of the digital age, the Prime Minister has issued a mandate to establish the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA), which is ready to provide legislative and institutional support for the development of the national technology sector. This body, under the Cabinet Division of Government of Pakistan, will work to develop a technology-driven knowledge ecosystem and encourage modern innovative solutions and futuristic entrepreneurship.
Sunny Ali, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Extreme Commerce informed the STZA Chairman and his team that, Extreme Commerce is Pakistan’s largest EdTech company and has surpassed one million community membership, whereas more than 150,000 students are enrolled and benefiting from the Video Boot Camp, which hosts the largest number of online training resources in the region.
The founder Extreme Commerce said that with the launch of Extreme Commerce Incubators across Pakistan’s eight (08) cities, Extreme Commerce has the facility to host more than 2000 students at a time in 12 cities of the country. Sunny Ali also informed the STZA that Extreme Commerce has plans to launch its own Freelancers University in Pakistan and this has been initiated with the establishment of the Extreme Commerce College (EC College). The EC College is being set up in partnership with the leading higher education institutes in the United Kingdom, the Magna Carta College, Oxford and Pearson.
Extreme Commerce is Pakistan’s first EdTech start up with a sole focus on skills development and capacity building within the ecommerce and digital arena. Founded in 2017, it is the largest community of its kind in Pakistan, with well over 1,000,000 members to date and with over 150+ courses and income streams to choose from. Extreme Commerce (EC) estimates that by 2025, the EC community will be 1.5 million strong, generating well over $1 billion in inward remittance for Pakistan.
The STZA is developing Special Technology Zones (STZs) across Pakistan, providing special incentives to attract investors, builders, and technology companies to partner with the government, and, also provide a one-window facilitation to local and international companies in the STZs. Ultimately, the Authority aims to build knowledge ecosystems that will harness Pakistan’s IT potential and set the country on the trajectory of an entrepreneurial, innovative, and tech-driven future for shared prosperity & inclusive growth.