Pakistan has a whole host of problems. So does every other country in the world. The trouble is that the name Pakistan carries an increasingly negative connotation in more places simultaneously.

This would not necessarily be a problem if Pakistan was a self-reliant, thriving country. The current state of affairs can be attributed to many different things depending on whom you ask, and it involves entirely too much human opinion. However, the majority would agree that there is substantial room for improvement.

Most Pakistani governments are unfit to lead the nation into the business world of today.

It doesn’t matter whether it is a democracy or a dictatorship, the parties/individuals in power can self-rationalize all they want about circumstances, wars, inherited problems and poverty, but it doesn’t change the facts; the results have never been there consistently.

The question I want to float for further exploration is: What does Pakistan bring to the global table, and can the tech sector play a role in it’s reinvention?

This is not meant to be backseat driving with useless criticisms. The following is my suggestion to infuse some vitality.

I believe that when governments fail, people pick up the slack. This may be one person, a small group or a mass of people rallying behind an idea whose time has come. NGO’s and the private sector have been doing this for many years sporadically. Their resilience shines through to become the silver lining the future will look for and latch on to.

In my opinion, this can be one of the alternatives to focus on for the present. The government can launch a platform for the people - much like a business incubator - and get out of the way.

To clarify, Wikipedia defines business incubators as: “...programs designed to support the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts”

Shared Workspace

Build or re-purpose an existing building into a cocoon facility which houses all the infrastructure and assistance an entrepreneur might need including accounting, legal, finance, administrative, marketing and human resource help.

Land isn’t in short supply. It’s not like trying to find a 100,000 sq ft. facility in downtown Manhattan.

Advisory Board

There is no dearth of intellectuals or bright minds in Pakistan. They arguably are some of the most gifted people in the world because they not only rise to the challenge, they do so in extremely challenging circumstances.

From academics to business owners, there are hundreds of individuals in the private sector who have used everything from a foreign education to sheer determination to be wildly successful in every facet.

To not leverage their expertise, insight and acumen is an unforgivable oversight.

Education

An ASP.NET developer who doesn’t know what masterpages are might suffice for a private businessman who’s only looking for a web presence because he’s expected to have one, but this is the gateway to a never-ending, self-perpetuating spiral of mediocrity.

In the international marketplace, it’s intolerable nonsense and it tarnishes the reputation of the country.

An intensive bootcamp focusing on specific areas of developmental excellence can be crafted with the assistance of companies and institutions, and amplified with adjunct faculty.

Weekly dinners with visitors, professors, clients, potential customers or peers from other parts of the world could play an intrinsic role in the development cycle. 

Standards.

As a result of the longstanding ineptitude and dismal economic conditions, short-term gain is vastly favored in Pakistan. This mindset needs to be changed quickly and permanently. To this end, a system of checks and balances needs to be in effect, perhaps with a tiered compensation model which vests in time.

Tailored tax incentives are another tool to ensure companies continue to strive for excellence.

Less Bureaucracy.

Currently, there are associations setup which lobby for legislation and delve in all types of irrelevant nonsense which is one of the reasons why the country’s tech sector can’t keep up with the rest of the world.

‘Software house’ is an obsolete term which conjures up images of a slow, lumbering beast. It might work for a contained setup which handles outsourced calls for foreign businesses, but doesn't really apply to the agile developer who wants to take a brazen idea global in a matter of months to keep pace with today’s industry.