“Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the best chance for us to compete with high-tech nations like India, Japan, and others. At least within our region, we should be in the top 5,” says Muhammad Burhan Mirza.
As an investor and mentor behind over 15 IT startups in Pakistan, Burhan Mirza has secured a premium position in Pakistan’s IT ecosystem. His net worth is rumored to be around $2.3 Million, but he is not a classic case of overnight success; rather, it is a comprehensive case study of a man with a passion, a dream, and an iron will. He has been steering the industry since the late 2000s, a time when a lot of people refered the term IT to browsing on the internet. In a society heavily influenced by conventional jobs such as doctors, lawyers, and bankers, having a vision for IT was something unique. Mirza had it.
“When I started, we used to joke about the things that now AI is making possible, and this reality is changing today’s landscape,” he added. During a detailed discussion, he pointed out that, with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is now possible to create more employment opportunities. However, the culture needs to be changed in order to adapt it more positively. He highlighted the fact that the job culture in Pakistan still thrives on the seeds of hard work, though it is not replaceable, but the use of AI in a smart manner will take us a long way. For instance, previously, a lot of labor was required even in the mere task of data entry, but now we have tools to manage it in a better way. “AI is not here to replace humans; it is here to help us,” he explained. However, a lot of people are still in a dilemma and refuse to accept the reality of AI and the impact it has on our society.
During the discussion, he highlighted that, throughout his extensive IT career, one of the strongest barriers he encountered in the industry and among people in general was the perception of the IT industry. Still, it is either linked with call centers or pseudo setups to launder money. “With this menial perception of the industry at large, it is difficult for us to create unicorns and compete with the outer world,” Mirza added. Steering the discussion along the same lines, Mirza shared that the IT industry is now truly large and holds considerable untapped potential. Previously, it was limited to marketing, content, and software development, but with the emergence of new technologies, new needs are being identified, and with the efficient assistance of AI, fruitful results can be achieved in the future.
As one of the pioneers of the industry, he recalled his memorable and pivotal step when he decided to shape the future of Pakistani youth by laying the groundwork for an institution known as "The Coach360". It is not only an initiative to support and guide people in achieving their corporate dreams; it has been Mirza’s dream project to contribute to the betterment of the industry. “With Coach360, we allow people from all professional backgrounds and provide them with the required training, obviously as per their career goals,” he said. Through this organization, Mirza has successfully trained numerous individuals to achieve their desired corporate goals through extensive workshops with the hands of experts in the industry.
“At times I feel the younger generations are luckier than us; the things we much struggled to sustain ourselves are now easily done with the help of AI,” Mirza added while elaborating on the importance of integrating AI in the corporate environment. “I cannot emphasize enough learning and using AI; I know it will take us time, but taking the initiative is the key,” he further explained. In the conversation, he highlighted that the perceived reality of the IT industry here in Pakistan is among the few barriers that are hard to remove.
“As an active investor and entrepreneur, I have been to numerous multinational conferences. One thing I realized is that Pakistan is ahead in IQ, but a competent mindset is missing,” he said. According to Mirza, a competent mind is a result of exclusive training and education. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the key elements that drive the core of an IT firm are still alien concepts; teaching them in institutions is a different exercise altogether. According to him, we still deal with a lot of misconceptions that circle around the IT industry. While, on the one hand, a large portion of society is working in the industry, a larger section still perceives it as a short-term gig, and the remaining others consider it to be a strictly no-go area. In his opinion, this perception must be erased; otherwise, the expected boom in IT, especially with AI, will never be experienced in Pakistan.
The nations that are far ahead in IT today have sown the seeds in the 1970s and 1980s. It is a result of their successive planning and strengthened strategy that they are leading the industry by miles. “I agree, we are behind, but definitely, it will be our fault if we stay blind. I am confident in our youth, but government and other stakeholders need to look at IT with a fresher lens,” he added towards the end.
Minds like Burhan are essential requirements for developing economies like Pakistan. The people who have the vision to foresee the future before it eventually happens are the game-changers. Government and other regulatory authorities should consult such individuals in policy-making for the betterment of the country.