Thread by @kayzafar

1. Pakistan can no longer afford to treat Science & Technology sector as a step child in policy making. Instead of wasting time posting silly memes, y not share ideas abt how @fawadchaudhry can improve S&T landscape. Here r mine centered around need 4 govt investment in S&T. 1/20

2. First for some context, here is a previous thread where I jotted down steps that the government needs to take to promote FOREIGN investment into the Science and Technology sector.

https://www.twitter.com/kayzafar/status/1085957442045952001

3. Now, why should Science & Tech be at the center of policy making discourse? Simple. It's the future and it's eating the world. According to PwC Global Top 100 rankings, ALL of the top 5 and 7 of the top 10 largest companies of the world are technology companies.

4. Despite that, we only keep supporting traditional old economy industries through favourable policies, incentives & subsidies at the complete expense of science & technology based new age industries like biotech, info tech, robotics, etc. We NEED to prioritize S&T higher. Why?

5. ALL stock exchange listed companies of Pakistan (mostly old economy industries) have a COMBINED TOTAL value of under $50B. Compare that to values of each of these tech Cos:
Netflix=$150B+
Uber=$62B+
Tencent/WeChat=$400B+
There are 10 US tech comps that became $1B+ in < 3 yrs.

6. Assuming 7x price/earning multiple, ALL stock exchange listed companies of Pakistan generated < $7B in profit which the govt could tax. Compare that to profit of Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite video game, which generated over $3B in profits last year.

7. If Epic Games was a Pakistani game maker, and assuming a very high 50% net margin on sales, that single tech company alone could pull in $6B in foreign exchange revenue annually which is what we are getting from IMF over 3 years after signing our lives away to them.

8. Some argue this only happens in Silicon Valley or developed nations. Not correct. Just last year, 8 tech startups in India became worth $1B+, some in less than 5 years.
qz.com/india/1499596/…

9. We can see the potential right here in Pakistan. Careem was founded by a Pakistani, all software was developed in Pakistan by Venture Dive, Pakistan is one of their largest markets, and it was sold to Uber for $3.1B. Most tech for FireEye ($3B+) was built in Lahore by eBryx.

10. The foremost researcher of the world on neurodegenerative diseases on verge of developing cure for Alzheimer's & Autism is a passionate Pakistani who works in US due to lack of funds & labs here. His drug has already cured rats & made em smarter than before onset of disease.

11. Do v have enough trained HR? Yes & No. S&T enjoys very high leverage on good HR. We don't need millions of trained workers, v just need a few 1000. Estonia & Finland, size of small cities of Pak, have produced Unicorns. V need more investment in HR but it's not a daunting ask

12. Instead of trying to educate & train the masses, we need to identify & invest in grooming the best already it there. Rollout red carpet for global experts to work w our S&T entrepreneurs. 12 ppl built 1B+ Instagram. 45 ppl built $19B WhatsApp. Focus on low hanging fruits.

13. Yes, S&T creates less direct jobs but they catalyze livelihoods at scale. Think of how many livelihoods r indirectly created by Careem/Uber in Pakistan. AirBnB, Fiverr, GrubHub have created millions of indirect jobs. Large tech Cos like Google even directly employ > 100K ppl.

14. Most S&T Cos, specially internet based IT & Mobile Cos r export oriented & generate precious foreign exchange & compete globally on level playing field offered by internet. They operate above trade & tariff barriers & due to their portability can be acquired by global giants.

15. S&T can also save our traditional industries. They NEED to innovate & embrace automation. Any1 who thinks labor is cheap so they don't have to innovate will find themselves priced out of market. Instead of saving some jobs w automation, they'll lose ALL jobs due 2 extinction.

16. So what's better? Import robots, machine learning & automation systems from outside or buy frm Pakistani Cos? We sell stock exchange software to world. We have built 3D printers. Artificial stents. Dialysis machines. With focus on hightech manufacturing v can build anything!

17. So what are 2-3 concrete steps that the government can take? Continue to invest in HR development through HEC and organizations like Ignite but also focus on HRD in private sector by subsidizing salaries of under training employees for companies like Ireland does.

18. Setup National Advanced Research, Development and Commercialization Company (NARDCO) for which I wrote a concept note long time ago and which can be reviewed here:
techies.pk/articles/natio…

19. Setup an innovation support and investment fund along the lines of Yozma program of Israel in collaboration with reputable, international investors like Sequoia. A concept note for Pakistan Innovation Fund I wrote some time ago is available at:
techies.pk/articles/pakis…

20. I strongly feel that by investing in S&T and bringing it to the fore of policy making discourse, we can cultivate a high growth industry in Pakistan that can turn us into a developed nation in now time. Time to act is now!