Islamabad: MNN
The Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, in collaboration with the Pakistan Software Export Board, has celebrated the graduation of the first cohort of the US SLED Procurement Training Program, aimed at enabling Pakistani IT companies to access the American public-sector market.
The graduation ceremony was held at the National Incubation Center in Islamabad. The initiative was supported by the Special Investment Facilitation Council and implemented by Collab P in partnership with RedMarker Systems.
The six-week program trained 74 Pakistani companies through 76 specialized modules covering US procurement systems, regulatory compliance, market intelligence, and public-sector contracting. Participants completed between 140 and 150 hours of hybrid training, with the project implemented at a cost of Rs 6.9 million.
Addressing the ceremony, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the government has redesigned its training initiatives in line with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision, ensuring that skill development leads directly to employment opportunities and international market access.
Shaza Fatima Khawaja said that This SLED program, supported by PSEB, will accelerate Pakistan’s IT exports to the United States by connecting our companies with real business opportunities.”
The US State, Local and Education procurement market represents an estimated 1.85 trillion dollars annually, involving over 90,000 public-sector entities and issuing more than 500,000 procurement solicitations every year.
The program focuses on sectors where Pakistan has strong capabilities, including cloud migration, cybersecurity modernization, AI-enabled services, data analytics, managed IT services, EdTech, and digital healthcare.
Collab P CEO Farhan Isar Shah said the initiative is designed to help Pakistani firms move beyond traditional outsourcing and become long-term suppliers within the US government’s high-value procurement ecosystem.
According to PSEB, the first graduating cohort has already developed an export pipeline with a projected value of 22.8 million US dollars, marking a significant step toward expanding Pakistan’s global IT exports and strengthening its presence in international public-sector markets.