Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA) is the trade association representing the Pakistan IT & ITES sector. It was registered in 1993 which also makes it one of the oldest ICT associations in the region. P@SHA is the only Pakistani entity globally registered with & recognized by institutions such as the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), ASOCIO (Asian Oceanic Computing Industry Organization) and APICTA (Asia Paci?c ICT Alliance). With over 450 member companies nationwide, P@SHA has been the voice of the industry, advocating policy initiatives and working towards creating a high growth sustainable business environment in the country.
Now in its 16th year, The P@SHA ICT Awards are the premier event of P@SHA and the IT industry which brings together business leaders from various sectors as well as diplomats and Media. The Awards are an immaculate representation of the best innovation Pakistani IT Industry has to offer, for which hundreds of contestants send in their submissions from all over Pakistan and are then evaluated by judges from leading tech companies.
The annual P@SHA ICT Awards aim to provide recognition to the software and service companies of Pakistan by providing them an opportunity to gain local, regional and international exposure through on-going promotional activities. The Awards are meant to celebrate the achievements of home-grown Pakistani innovators hence, acknowledging creativity, innovation and excellence in Pakistan's Information and Communications Technologies sector.
There are 9 main categories in the P@SHA ICT Awards; namely Consumer, Inclusions & Community Services, Industrial, Business Services, Public Sector, Student, Service, Technology, and Cross-categories. All main categories then together have a total of 37 sub-categories. The diversity of these sub-categories allow participants to apply in the domains which suit them best.
These categories are also well aligned with Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards (APICTA Awards). APICTA is an international awards program aiming to increase ICT awareness in the Asian community and assist in bridging the digital divide. The position holders from the P@SHA ICT Awards take part in the APICTA Awards every year as well and have won several awards over the years. In 2018, the winners of P@SHA ICT Awards returned with 1 Winner Award & 6 Merit Awards from the APCITA's global platform.
Last year, P@SHA was able to conduct two hundred presentations simultaneously in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. This year, the awards have only gotten bigger; over 370 applications were received out of which 300 applicants presented over a span of two weeks in the presence of 35 judges.
These esteemed judges belong to the executive positions of well recognized IT companies, start-ups and educational institutes and are carefully chosen to represent different categories according to their specialization. Notable names of the IT industry such as ShahzadShahid - CEO TPS Worldwide, Dr Shoab Ahmed Khan - CEO Care (Pvt.) Ltd, MujeebZahur - MD S&P Global Pakistan, Syed Ahmad - Chairman P@SHA and Chair Prime Minister IT TaskForce also participated in the judging committee this year. The P@SHA Awards 2019 are going to be held on September 21st, 2019 at the Faletti's Hotel Egerton Road, Lahore from 6PM-11PM in the presence of the honorable Chief Guest, Asad Umar.