Google hosted Think Apps 2024 in Lahore, bringing together nearly 350 of Pakistan’s top developers, alongside global and regional industry leaders and experts. Building on the success of Think Apps in 2023, this year’s event, the largest for the industry, focused on empowering developers to harness AI to drive innovation, growth, and sustainability in Pakistan’s expanding app industry.
According to Access Partnership’s latest Economic Impact Report, Pakistan can realize a $6.6 billion annual increase in revenue potential by 2030 through focusing on digital exports, with the gaming and app industry identified as one of the key growth opportunity areas. In recent years, Pakistan’s gaming and app industry has demonstrated impressive growth, including a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32% in global downloads of locally-made apps from 2018 to 2023. While overall app downloads dipped slightly in 2023, placing the country at 17th globally, the industry remains resilient as in-app purchase (IAP) revenue soared by 50%.
New programs to support Pakistani gaming & app developers
One of the biggest opportunities for Pakistani developers is creating high quality, sustainable games. Beyond that, reaching users across the world remains a top priority.
To double down on its commitment to supporting developers, Google is launching new programs in 2024:
● Game Design Masterclass: This program brings together Pakistan’s most talented game developers from the country’s top studios, teaching them to create high quality games through a dedicated 6-month program.
● Google Ads Academy: These are in-person offline hackathon workshops in Lahore and Islamabad where marketing professionals from across Pakistan’s top studios can access in-person training, focusing on app growth strategies.
● Build with AI and Cloud AI Study Jams: Developers can also deepen their expertise through hands-on AI and Cloud training. To date, more than 9,300 developers have been trained under this program.
These programs build on existing initiatives by Google to support developers in Pakistan, including Google App Academy, which have reached over 800 participants to date. These online workshops for marketing professionals provide in-depth knowledge on critical marketing topics maximizing reach and profitability, and are localized in Urdu.
Additionally, Google is deepening engagement at key events like Google Developer Conference (US), CXO meetups in APAC, and APAC’s App Summit, connecting leaders of Pakistan’s top gaming & app studios talent with global peers.
Google believes that success in the app industry requires a balanced, forward-thinking approach. Think Apps 2024 focused on how AI is revolutionizing game and app development and highlighted the local and regional players that have used Google’s AI solutions to create high-quality apps, achieve financial success, and build sustainable businesses.
“Pakistan’s app and gaming industry has high potential for long-term future growth. Several Pakistani studios are leading the charge in mobile app development, such as Vyro.AI, Hazel Mobile, Games District, GeniTeam, and Finz Games, which are consistently generating millions of downloads daily, employing hundreds of Pakistanis, and garnering global attention.” said Farhan S. Qureshi, Google’s Director for Pakistan. “Think Apps 2024 is a testament to our commitment to empowering local developers. By providing access to our AI-powered products and resources, we aim to help them create exceptional games and apps, drive profitability, and build sustainable businesses. This will subsequently unlock the opportunity to improve the country’s economy through digital export proceeds and provide high-value employment. Google remains dedicated to investing in Pakistan’s developer ecosystem and supporting its journey to global success.”
