ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) is launching various initiatives to facilitate access to Venture Capital, strengthen the equity base of IT companies and promote world class entrepreneurial culture in the IT industry.

The projects are aimed at raising the fast track development and robust growth of Pakistan’s IT industry.

One such programme, the PSEB’s Entrepreneurship Project, has been initiated to provide consultancy to selected IT companies with the objective of qualifying them for Initial Public Offering.

Currently, out of more than 1,082 IT companies in Pakistan, only two were listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange.

“To get more companies listed, as envisioned under the project, the PSEB will subsidise the consultancy cost by 75 per cent while selected companies will bear the remaining 25 per cent of the consultancy fee,” a spokesman for the PSEB and director international marketing, Aon Ashraf Rana, said on Thursday.

In order to facilitate access to venture capital, the PSEB would facilitate entrepreneurs in getting venture capital funding through vetting business plans and establishing linkages with Angel, VC, private equity, public and multilateral funding organisations.

The PSEB had also launched an apprenticeship programme for creating a pool of skilled resources in Pakistan’s IT industry matching the advanced and specialised international technological requirements.

Under this initiative, IT companies will recruit IT graduates on apprenticeships and later hire them for a period of at least one year.

“This will allow fresh graduates to follow a career path provided by the participating companies, thus strengthening the pool of IT human capital in the country.

Under the programme, 1,058 fresh graduates will be placed as apprentices within Pakistani’s IT industry,” the spokesman said, and added that a multinational IT company, Bearing Point, has already expressed its willingness to recruit about 100 IT apprentices, out of which 46 had already been placed.

Another major project, the IT industry Internship Programme, the director international marketing said, intended to bridge the gap between the IT industry and the academic institutions, and would help mould fresh graduates into professionals.

“Some 3,100 internees from 205 universities and institutes were placed in the local IT/ITes industry and 235 IT departments of public and private sector organisations.

Under its HR capacity building programme, the PSEB provided training to professional staff of 94 leading IT companies in various programmes.

Mr Rana said that the PSEB’s expert advisory programme was in the process of being finalised.

“The major objective of the programme is to facilitate PSEB member companies to hire foreign experts and expatriates.

“The PSEB expects that the international corporate exposure and technical expertise of the experts will assist Pakistan IT companies in addressing gaps in the management of technical teams, and result in achieving fast track growth and capability to compete at a world level.