(Commonwealth)_ Pakistan’s gaming industry and digital economy have also seen robust growth recently, with locally developed applications recording a compound annual growth rate of 32 percent in global downloads during the years 2018–2023. The momentum is now being further stepped up by yet another initiative focused on making use of esports as a tool to activate young people, provide them with employment opportunities, and improve digital competencies.
The Commonwealth Secretariat’s Social Policy Development, Youth and Gender division has just concluded a technical capacity-building initiative aimed at mainstreaming esports into the national digital agenda. Being home to more than 170 million young people, Pakistan has enormous potential to grow its domestic digital economy as well as its outward export market presence across the world.
The Government of Pakistan has embarked on a three-pronged approach to unleashing potential in this sector. These include specialist training schemes to provide young people with suitable technical expertise, funding schemes to finance emerging talent, and sector support to develop local entrepreneurship in the gaming and app development sector.
In these efforts, the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) has hired the services of the Commonwealth Secretariat to work with the British Esports Federation. The collaboration will enhance Pakistan’s organisational capacity building and policy formulation capacity for esports. Some of the key goals include creating a national policy for esports and defining the organisational structure of the Pakistan Esports Federation. The federation will be required to promote the nation’s esports, introduce competitive competitions to the country, and provide the young players with a chance to access foreign opportunities.
The draft policy and organisational structure are being sent out for consultation and will be completed within a couple of months. The implementation will prepare the ground for the official inauguration of the Pakistan Esports Federation, positioning it as the industry’s hub. The Pakistan visit of the Commonwealth Secretariat was also a bid to extend to such key ministries, government departments, and other stakeholders. The team met with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, provincial IT, Education, and Sport ministries, the British Council, and private sector partners. The partnerships aim to align an integrated national plan for esports development with the nation’s broader digital transformation agenda.
In addition to esports, the strategy aligns with the nation’s goal of growing the gaming and app development sectors. The sector has been identified as one of the high-growth industries that can create jobs, enhance innovation, and position Pakistan among world leaders in the digital economy. Overseas downloads of domestically developed apps can be used as measures of the industry’s export potential, and the inclusion of esports presents a method of diversification of growth in the market.
During the visit, there were structured, organised sessions to share a seat for national stakeholders and international partners. The sessions aimed to consolidate common objectives of youth development, esports innovation, and digital inclusion. The partnership is looking towards the role that technology and creative industries are set to play in driving future jobs and enhancing Pakistan’s role in international digital markets.
Esports, previously considered merely a passion, is being more and more considered a source of technological know-how, strategic innovation, and entrepreneurship. In Pakistan, establishing a domestic esports ecosystem is being seen as a means of channelling the energy and innovative thinking of the country’s youth into productive economic activity, as well as encouraging outreach into the global digital economy.
The concurrent approach taken—bolting policy formulation, institution, capacity, and private sector involvement together—betrays a persistent passion for the growth of industry. In practice, the Pakistan Esports Federation will facilitate regulations, organise national and international events, and connect Pakistani players, developers, and entrepreneurs to global channels.
Located at the intersection of gaming, technology, and youth enterprise, Pakistan’s current efforts represent a significant investment in the country’s digital future. The collaboration between a healthy app development economy and a smooth market of esports has the potential to generate enormous economic, social, and cultural returns in the coming years.
