The coronavirus has caused major fiscal damage to the economy worldwide, reaching an unprecedented $15 trillion so far.
This is generating incredible stress in capital markets and prompting forceful rejoinders from central banks. Asset liquidity has seen an avalanche effect with write-downs imminent as well as capital shortages, bailouts, and recapitalisation of financial institutions.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief, Kristalina Georgieva, economies have legitimately entered a recession that is worse than in 2008.
Following this, Pakistan is itself pleading waivers and relaxations from the international lending agencies in the wake of Covid-19. Sceptically, judging from the performance indicators in the current state of affairs, these financial leniency litanies would have come even without the virus outbreak.
The pandemic has confined over 2 billion individuals globally in isolation, whether compulsory or voluntary, resulting in highly restricted capital formation opportunities and damage to both labour and productivity.
The blessing in disguise is that the entire workforce is now idle but readily available, at a time where governments are desperate for diversified income generation streams. For Pakistan, in the era of hi-tech mechanisation, this skilled labour can become not only the real Relief Tigers but also national modernisation drivers.
Pakistan’s current digital atlas is sub-par, to say the least, in both the public and private sectors, eg, e-governance is partially implemented, financial technologies are unavailable, cyber security of critical infrastructure goes off half-cocked, and e-education and e-healthcare are nowhere to be seen.
Interestingly, there is a huge market magnitude of 210+ million people and rising IT demand, despite these shortfalls, suggesting a need for capitalistic headway in this sector. If the government acts swiftly and smartly, the talent pool can realistically resolve a few of its practical annoyances and public grievances via indigenous digital innovation and implementation during this isolation and beyond.
This article is originally published in The Express Tribune
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