Pakistan’s exports of advertising and market research
services rose 19% year-on-year to $30.7 million in July–September 2026, up from $25.8
million in the same quarter last year, State Bank of Pakistan data shows. The figures set the
backdrop for Payoneer Connect Lahore, where more than 40 marketing agencies met to
explore how to win clients abroad and scale with them.
Hosted by Payoneer, the global financial technology company that helps businesses grow
across borders, the event was themed ‘The Export Era of Global Marketing’. It brought
agency leaders together with representatives of the Pakistan Software Houses Association
(P@SHA), Google, along with AI practitioners.
This services export momentum extends across professional services. Other business
services, from the wider State Bank category that also covers public relations, consulting and
technical services, recorded exports of $620 million in the same quarter, up 27% year-on-
year. Within it, exports of consulting and public relations services rose 22% to $81.2 million.
That emphasis on quality over volume also ran through a fireside chat on agentic AI with Ali
Imran Memon, founder and CEO of Kitsune AI. The conversation examined whether
Pakistan has reached the limits of freelancing and outsourcing, and how agencies can turn
their expertise into AI agents and products rather than billable hours. It also weighed whether
AI services should be priced by subscription, task or outcome.
AI is also lowering the cost of scaling in new markets. Google’s Customer Solutions team
showed how localisation using AI tools can greatly expand cross-border business
opportunities for Pakistani companies.
Sustaining this growth will also depend on policy. P@SHA Vice Chairman Samad Saleem
outlined the policy and advocacy work under way to enable and scale Pakistan’s digital
services exports, as the government pursues its target of $15 billion in IT exports by 2030.
