The caretaker government has announced setting up 10,000 ‘e-Rozgar centres’ across the country as it looks to provide workspace for the country’s budding freelancing community, announced the interim minister for IT and Telecom on Wednesday.

“The (interim) government has decided to establish 10,000 ‘e-Rozgar centres’ across the country,” said Dr Umar Saif in a video message on social media platform X.

The caretaker minister shared that over 1.5 million persons in Pakistan are working as online freelancers, making it the second biggest online workforce in the world.

“However, they face major issues. One, they do not have a proper workspace which is an issue for freelancers, who on average earn $10-20 per day. They cannot purchase generators or other equipment, neither can they pay office rents,” he said.

Dr Saif shared that for this purpose, the government will provide interest-free loans to the private sector to convert real estate into co-working spaces i.e. e-Rozgar centres.

“These centres can provide workspace to 1 million freelancers, helping the country earn over $10 billion in a year,” he added.

The development comes a day after interim government formally launched the ‘Pakistan Startup Fund’ (PSF) under which the government will invest up to Rs2 billion a year in the sector.

The PSF is designed to help a startup raise its first external investment.

Explaining the PSF, the caretaker minister, in a tweet post on Tuesday, said the fund is structured as an equity-free capital to help close a VC (Venture Capital) round for a startup.

“If you are a startup in Pakistan and a foreign VC is evaluating your startup for a $1 million investment, the VC only needs to invest $700,000 — the Pakistan Startup Fund will give you a grant of $300,000 to help close the round,” Dr Saif wrote in a tweet post.

“We won’t take any equity/shares in your startup or a board position etc.