KARACHI: Google launched on Thursday its Startups Cloud Program­­me in Pakistan, which is aimed at empowering the local up-and-coming technology-driven firms with tools, resources and credits — up to $350,000 for AI startups — to grow and scale their businesses in the cloud.

Addressing the participants of the virtual lau­nch ceremony, Google’s Country Director Farhan S. Qureshi said providing technology-based startups with an enabling environment could add $60 billion to the national GDP by 2030.

Cloud storage helps companies access their data anywhere and anytime regardless of their geographical location or specific devices through the internet.

The Google for Start­ups Cloud Programme will support Pakistan-based firms with experts and Google Cloud and Firebase costs covering up to $200,000 — $350,000 in the case of AI startups — over two years, including technical training, business support and Google-wide offers.

Mr Qureshi said the best time to enter the technology-based marketplace was now even though funding for startups was nowhere near the 2021 level. But the changes in the startup ecosystem, particularly the shift in focus from growth-at-all-cost to sustainability, have reduced the level of “noise” and made it easier for real talent to succeed, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Google’s Growth Manager Saad Hamid highlighted how Google ads and AI applications could help startups accelerate their growth and optimise business processes, generate valuable insights and create personalised customer experiences.

He said Google has been leading the AI field with 3,000 researchers and 7,000 publications since 2015. It’s played a key role in developing the generative AI — technology that produces text and images in response to prompts — which is going to be a main growth driver of technology businesses going forward.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2023