The 20th Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards were held virtually on December 15th, 2021, hosted by PIKOM – The National Tech Association of Malaysia, at which Pakistan bagged 2 Gold and 4 Merit Awards, declaring the economy 5th in terms of yield!

With 16 different member economies participating in this mega event, winning at APICTA is a great way for participants to get recognition for their ICT innovations at an international level. The APICTA Awards not only promote the development and deployment of ICT solutions but also facilitate trade, business matching, technology exchange and collaborations. This year, APICTA received 300+ nominations from 260 teams representing Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Each year, one of the member APICTA economies is responsible for hosting the APITCA Awards ceremony. However, due to the prevailing restrictions caused by COVID19, the 2020-21 edition of the APICTA Awards were held online.

Over the course of more than a decade, Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) has soundly upheld Pakistan’s representation at APICTA by taking the official delegation of winners and runner-ups from the annual P@SHA ICT Awards to showcase the country’s ICT talent. Multiple mentoring and coaching sessions were organized by P@SHA for the Pakistani candidates in order to prepare them for the APICTA presentations round and help them put their best foot forward. This year, a total of 16 teams from Pakistan participated in different categories, securing 2 winners and 4 runners-up positions.

The Gold awards were won by the following teams:

1. Autosphere by Mercurial Minds in ICT Services under Business Services
2. Poulta Inc. in the Industrial Category

The Merit awards were secured by the following teams:

1. Nano Loan Prediction Model by Love for Data in the Banking under Consumer category
2. Ultra Low-latency Market Feed Handler by eMumba in the Finance & Accounting under under Business Services category
3. Social Champ in the Marketing Solutions under Business Services category
4. Swyft Logistics in the Supply Chain/Logistics under Industrial category

The judges representing Pakistan for the APICTA Awards 2020-21 were  Dr. Shoab Ahmed Khan – CEO CARE (Pvt.) Ltd as the Head Judge, Mr. Asfandyar Farukh – MD HUB & SVC Chainstore Association of Pakistan, Mr. Barkan Saeed – CEO Vizteck Solutions, Mr. Mujeeb Zahur – MD S&P Global Pakistan, Mr. Haris Naseer – Director Business Operations InfoTech and  Mr. Shahzad Shahid – CEO TPS Worldwide. These esteemed judges participated in the evaluation of the submissions presented in different categories by all 16 economies on December 10th & 11th, 2021, along with judges from other countries. The Economy Coordinator from Pakistan was Mr. Talha Bin Afzal, P@SHA’s Director Marketing, Events & Comms.

Dr. Shoab A. Khan, Head Judge at the APICTA Awards and Chair P@SHA Awards & Judging Committee, commented “This year is a special year as sixteen teams from Pakistan made it to the final round of Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards. The number of wins we have secured this year reflects the creativity of our young minds who are crafting world class IT solutions and the only way for them to go is upwards. Pakistan’s tech talent is a force to be reckoned with as it is doubling our IT related exports every two years. I extend my congratulations to Pakistan for its youth making such an impact on the IT landscape of our region.”

P@SHA congratulates the position holders & participants from Team Pakistan who went above and beyond to make the country proud and sincerely thanks the judges for their guidance and constant support.

#PashaICTAwards #IlluminatingTheTechSuperstars #PashaGoesToApicta #ApictaAwards

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About P@SHA

The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA) is Pakistan’s sole trade association representing the IT and IT Enabled Services sector since 1992. Its mandate is to work with the government on policy issues and with all other stakeholders to promote the IT sector and provide platforms that create more opportunities for members of the ecosystem, both domestically and internationally.

CONTACT: Talha Bin Afzal
Director Marketing, Events & Comms
P@SHA
Email: talha@pasha.org.pk