Google’s Head of Large Customer Marketing for South Asia, Lars Anthonisen, has described Pakistan as a fast emerging ‘digital-first country’ which will prove to be a good investment place for the entrepreneurs around the world.
Anthonisen, in his blogpost published on Google, listed five reasons that make Pakistan the best country for digital companies to put money in.
Rapidly-Growing Population
According to the Google Marketing high-up, the first reason for his claim was that Pakistan is a rapidly growing country which will soon be the fifth largest population in the world. Almost 40 % of the population lives in urban areas and have access to the internet.
Entrepreneurs Contributing Big
Lars argues that Pakistan would be the fourth fastest-growing economy by the end of 2030 and that the country’s entrepreneurship is gaining its ground and play a significant role in the country’s economy.
Rapid Increase in Smartphone Users
Lars revealed the fact that currently, more than 59 million people in Pakistan are smartphone users, and he expects the numbers to grow in near future as the mobile phones’ price have gone down in the country. Due to the lower internet data prices, the usage of mobile apps is going up. He also revealed that a massive chunk of YouTube users comes from Pakistan.
Internet Penetration
Anthonisen makes a point that despite Pakistan’s overall internet penetration standing at 22% (44.6 million users out of 200 million population), the digital consumption in the country continues to proliferate. According to him, YouTube watch time in the country has grown to 60 per cent over the last three years.
China’s Investment in CPEC
Google’s official believes that China’s investment in a CPEC project to lay 820 kilometres of fibre-optic cable will connect more and more people to the internet.
Anthonisen advises digital companies and entrepreneurs to “leave a mark” on Pakistan’s growing online market to grab the “endless opportunities that it can offer to investors.