Google country director says 5G rollout will help Pakistan's tech ecosystem

Google Country Director for Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh Farhan Siddique Qureshi said on Friday that Pakistan has proved itself as a high-growth market and any technological advancement, including the expected rollout of 5G, will boost the tech ecosystem in the country.

Qureshi was talking to journalists at the sidelines of an event where YouTube, an online video sharing and social media platform, hosted its first Brandcast in Pakistan. YouTube is owned by Google.

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Speaking to Business Recorder, Qureshi said “different kinds of technological advancement will not only help Pakistan but also the wider technology sector”.

His comments came as Federal Minister for IT & Telecom Syed Aminul Haque has been seen pushing the launch of 5G launch in the country. In August, the minister said that the technology would be launched before elections next year.

Meanwhile, Google's country head underlined that Pakistan possessed a huge youth population that makes it a high growth market. He said that despite connectivity and accessibility issues, significant growth has been seen in the country.

According to Google and Kantar’s Unlocking Digital in Rural Pakistan research, YouTube is the most popular online video platform in the country as 62% of online Pakistanis of age bracket 18-24 have reported watching YouTube once a month or more. The same study found that 48% of Pakistanis living in rural areas are now online and YouTube was popular among 78% of them.

Qureshi stated that 55% of the content created by Pakistani YouTubers was watched abroad.

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“Growth is increasing with internet penetration in the country,” he said.

“YouTube is about making connections and finding a community you can call home. It is a place where viewers come to learn, unwind and connect with their passions,” he said. “The platform empowers people by not only giving them a voice but also financial stability.”

Since the platform resonates well with people of all ages and areas, it is no wonder that YouTube creates deep connections between brands, creators and audiences in urban and rural areas of Pakistan, Qureshi said.

In the first quarter of 2022, the watch time videos related to digital marketing grew by over 95% while clips classified under web development saw 90% increase in their views.

The watch time of exercise-related videos grew over 80% while views of live television clips surged by over eight times.

On the occasion, Marc Lefkowitz, Director of YouTube Partner Development and Management Asia-Pacific (APAC), said that there are over 5,400 YouTube channels in Pakistan whose subscriber count exceeded 100,000.

“Pakistan is one of the fastest growing markets in the APAC region,” he stressed. “The number of YouTube channels in the country grew 35% over last year.”

According to him, over 350 of these channels had more than a million subscribers.

The platform intends to continue to extend its support to Pakistani content creators so they can pursue their passions and build careers in a responsible manner, Lefkowitz said.

As of June 2021, the number of YouTube channels making Rs1 million or more in revenue was up over 110% on a year-on-year basis.