The PTCL Group, comprising PTCL and Ufone 4G, took center stage at GITEX Global 2025 in Dubai, showcasing Pakistan’s strides in digital transformation, industrial innovation, and social inclusion. The event, one of the world’s largest technology gatherings, attracted over 6,000 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors from 180 countries. PTCL Group’s participation, housed within the e& pavilion, emphasized initiatives that merge technology with social development, particularly in digital inclusion, women’s empowerment, and accessibility for persons with disabilities.
During the five-day event, PTCL Group forged several strategic partnerships to bolster Pakistan’s digital ecosystem. A notable collaboration with the GSMA under its Open Gateway initiative aims to streamline access between digital services and mobile networks, fostering innovation and enhancing digital security for developers and enterprises in Pakistan. Additionally, a partnership with Cequens introduced Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) in Pakistan, enabling businesses to manage customer engagement across SMS, voice, and WhatsApp through a unified interface. Another agreement with Mercantile, Apple’s authorized distributor in Pakistan, will roll out a Device as a Service model, offering enterprises access to Apple products via subscription-based plans, reducing upfront costs.
PTCL Group also signed a deal with Smart MEP to bring Vodafone’s IoT Core Platform to Pakistan, providing advanced industrial IoT solutions to sectors like energy, manufacturing, and utilities. This technology will enable companies to leverage real-time data for improved operational efficiency and automation.
Beyond commercial ventures, PTCL Group highlighted its social impact initiatives, including Ba-Ikhtiar, a women’s empowerment program in collaboration with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. Initially piloted in Haripur, the initiative now supports over 2,000 women in 23 flood-affected districts through digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and access to financial tools. The Group also showcased its collaboration with ConnectHear, a social enterprise assisting the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Their joint innovation, Suno, is an AI-powered early warning system that translates disaster alerts into sign language videos, disseminated through Ufone 4G’s WhatsApp chatbot, ensuring emergency communications are accessible to all.
PTCL Group’s efforts were internationally recognized at the Dragons of Asia Awards, where it won the Gold Dragon Award for Digital Campaigns for its project addressing water scarcity in Thar. The initiative involves installing solar-powered water pumps and filtration units in drought-hit villages, providing clean drinking water to over 15,000 residents, with plans to expand coverage to 200,000 people in Thar and South Punjab.
Federal Minister for IT and Telecom, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, met with PTCL Group President & Group CEO Hatem Bamatraf and e& International CEO Khalifa Shamsi during the event. Discussions focused on strengthening Pakistan’s digital ecosystem and fostering collaboration with international technology leaders.
PTCL Group’s engagements at GITEX underscored Pakistan’s growing role in the global technology arena, demonstrating how collaboration, innovation, and inclusion are shaping the nation’s digital future. The challenge ahead lies in sustaining this momentum and ensuring the benefits of technology reach every segment of society.