On a warm afternoon in Karachi, the hum inside a Shahrah e Faisal office tower housing one of Pakistan’s largest technology exporters and a portfolio company of the tech bellwether TRG feels almost worlds apart from Pakistan’s uncertain economic climate. Here, young professionals with headsets and screens are servicing clients halfway across the globe. Each conversation, each transaction, each solution delivered feeds into something larger: a steady stream of dollars that Pakistan desperately needs.
Every year, TRG (The Resource Group) sends more than $100 million back into the country’s foreign-exchange reserves. In an economy stretched by ballooning debt repayments, thin reserves, and recurring IMF bailouts, that inflow has become both rare and vital.
Betting on Talent, Not Factories
Unlike traditional exporters, TRG’s portfolio companies do not rely on cotton, rice, or manufacturing plants. Their export is human capital – tens of thousands of young Pakistanis trained to provide customer experience, digital transformation, and enterprise support services to clients in North America and Europe.
“When we started, people told us it couldn’t be done from Pakistan,” says Mohammed Khaishgi, Co-Founder of TRG. “But we believed the talent here could compete globally. All we had to do was build the systems and culture that would let it shine.”
That conviction has turned into a global operation. TRG’s portfolio companies now employ more than 35,000 people worldwide, with 10,000 in Pakistan alone. Just two years ago, that local number stood at 7,000. The company’s rapid growth ¬¬– nearly 50% in Pakistan over 24 months – has been fueled largely by demand from U.S. clients.
Hasnain Aslam, TRG’s other Co-Founder, remembers vividly TRG’s early challenges and objectives. “We weren’t just trying to build a successful business. We also wanted to prove that a Pakistan-rooted company could stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best and excel globally. Our measure of success was never just profits – it was also jobs created, skills developed, and dollars repatriated.”
Scaling Without Heavy Lifting
TRG’s business model is deceptively simple: invest in people, not plants. High-speed broadband and cloud platforms allow its portfolio companies to focus on technology enabled industries that leverage human capital and that can scale up quickly without the massive infrastructure costs associated with traditional exports. That makes its operations resilient to the shocks – oil prices, commodity cycles, supply chain disruptions – that routinely destabilize companies in the emerging markets that produce goods. In Pakistan’s case, TRG’s companies have introduced Pakistan’s IT services into global capital markets and international networks.
Building a Generation of Professionals
The economic contribution of TRG and its portfolio companies extends far beyond the forex they generate. In cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, through its various portfolio companies, TRG has created thousands of jobs for young graduates who might otherwise struggle in a saturated job market. These roles often serve as stepping stones into the global workforce, sharpening language skills, boosting technical expertise, and nurturing leadership potential.
For many, TRG is more than an employer – it’s a training ground that equips them for the world. In a country where youth unemployment remains high, that contribution is transformative.
A Blueprint for Pakistan’s Digital Future
Pakistan has set its sights on increasing IT and digital exports to $15 billion by 2030. If that target is to be met, companies like TRG will be at the heart of the effort. The company’s proven ability to create large-scale companies that attract international clients and build a scalable export model demonstrates what’s possible when talent meets infrastructure and leadership.
Every year, the foreign earnings of TRG’s portfolio plug a crucial gap in the external account – without adding to debt, without the volatility of commodities. In a fragile economy, that makes it not just profitable but indispensable.
A Story Still Being Written
From its modest beginnings to its rise as a multinational player, TRG embodies a different narrative for Pakistan – one not of dependence, but of potential. Under the stewardship of Khaishgi and Aslam, it has become both a symbol of resilience and a blueprint for the country’s digital-export future.
“Today, the dollars we bring in may be a small part of Pakistan’s larger picture,” Khaishgi reflects. “But they matter. They matter because they prove that Pakistan’s talent can build global businesses, and that, in itself, is the foundation of a stronger economy.”
As Pakistan looks to the next decade, companies like TRG show that the country’s greatest export may not come from its soil, but from its people.