Islamabad: Pakistani youth have the potential to earn around $30 billion to $40 billion by exporting IT and telecom services, and all they need is the right training, education, motivation and hope, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has said and announced plans to train 1.6 million young people in the different fields including IT under the Bano Qabil programme.
He was speaking at the grand finale of AI Hackathon Pakistan 2026 at the Pak-China Friendship Centre, where Team Salix won the first prize of $7,000 among 300 finalist teams from across the country.
Hafiz Naeem said Pakistan had more than 150 million young people, yet its IT and telecom exports stood at only about $4.5 billion. India, he said, exported such services worth over $250 billion, many times more, because it had invested in its youth.
The Jamaat chief said that, apart from pointing out the shortcomings of governments and authorities, Jamaat-e-Islami had launched its own initiatives to make a difference in society. Through the Alkhidmat Foundation and its different arms, he said, it had made remarkable progress in health and education and in responding to natural and man-made disasters and other difficult times.
He said the party had trained more than 150,000 young people, thousands of whom were now earning a respectable livelihood, and had set up over 150 IT labs in 58 cities across the country.
The hackathon, billed as the country’s largest, was organised jointly by Alibaba Cloud and the Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan, with Bano Qabil leading the effort. It drew more than 16,000 AI projects, from which 300 teams advanced to the national finale after regional rounds in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
The initiative was launched at Alkhidmat’s headquarters in Lahore on June 8, with registrations open to students, developers, researchers, entrepreneurs and startups until August 7. Alibaba Cloud provided the technology and cloud infrastructure, and registered teams received AI tools and cloud credits free of charge.
The total prize pool stood at $60,000, split equally between cash and Alibaba Cloud credits meant to help winning teams develop and scale their projects. Second- and third-place winners and runners-up in all six categories were also recognised. Projects were presented in healthcare, financial inclusion, education, smart agriculture, open innovation, and Urdu and regional languages.
Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan President Dr Hafeezur Rehman described the hackathon as a milestone in creating opportunities for youth through international technology partnerships. He recalled that Alkhidmat launched Bano Qabil three years ago to provide free IT education, and said that with AI reshaping industries, the foundation had widened its focus to AI education through its tie-up with Alibaba Cloud.
He said the response had exceeded expectations and that every participant who presented a project was a winner, since the initiative aimed to encourage learning and innovation as much as to reward outstanding ideas.
Alibaba Cloud Vice President Eric Wan praised the digital capabilities of Pakistani youth, saying access to quality education, advanced technology and the right opportunities could turn them into innovators and entrepreneurs. He commended Alkhidmat’s efforts and called the partnership an important step towards nurturing AI talent in Pakistan. He urged participants to apply AI to challenges in healthcare, education, agriculture and other sectors.
Alibaba Cloud Pakistan Country Director Hank Shao, Yilan Zhuang, head of marketing for the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa, Bano Qabil Chairman Naveed Ali Baig and CEO Shahid Iqbal were also present, along with diplomats, technology experts, industry leaders and representatives of the education sector.
The collaboration also includes plans for Bano Qabil training centres in Karachi and Lahore, offering courses based on Alibaba Cloud’s international curriculum.