The Government of Pakistan and Alibaba have signed a series of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) covering artificial intelligence (AI), cloud solutions, digital skills, healthcare technology, e-commerce, SME development, and digital financial services, marking an important milestone in Pakistan’s ongoing digital transformation.
The agreements were signed at Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China, witnessed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai. Pakistani signatories include Ignite National Technology Fund (Ignite), Sky47, and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA). Alibaba signatories include Alibaba Cloud, DAMO Academy, Alibaba.com and Koko Tech.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated the pace with which Alibaba has transformed itself into a globally leading digital entity with its notable contributions in E-Commerce, AI, Fintech and human resource development. He noted that together, Alibaba and government of Pakistan can transform the lives of the people of Pakistan by digital inclusion, youth empowerment, modernization of agriculture sector and digitization of financial sector.
“Pakistan is home to extraordinary talent and immense digital potential,” said Joe Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group. “We believe AI, cloud technologies and embodied intelligence can play a transformative role in improving healthcare, empowering businesses to tap into global markets through digital exports and supporting long-term economic development.”
Advancing AI & Cloud Capabilities
Ignite and Alibaba Cloud will collaborate to develop secure, localized AI and cloud solutions for Pakistan, including AI foundation models for Urdu and regional languages designed to serve key sectors such as education, healthcare, and agriculture. The partnership will roll out nationwide AI and cloud skill programs targeting 500,000 individuals, including developers, students, and public sector employees, through trainings and certifications. To further nurture Pakistan’s tech ecosystem, the two parties will co-host a joint AI hackathon for young developers focused on smart agriculture, financial inclusion, and Urdu language technologies.
Expanding AI-Powered Healthcare
DAMO Academy and Sky47 will deploy AI-enabled healthcare solutions in Pakistan, centered on DAMO Academy’s multi-disease screening technology. This system uses non-contrast CT scans to detect lesions often difficult for the human eye to identify, enabling early screening for cancers including pancreatic and liver cancer. Sky47 plans to roll out the technology across cities such as Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. Separately, DAMO Academy and Ignite will build embodied intelligence capacity at Pakistani universities through online courses, workshops, and developer community activities.
Empowering SMEs and Digital Commerce
Alibaba.com and SMEDA will help Pakistani SMEs expand into global markets. The partnership will provide AI-powered digital trade training to 10,000 businesses using Alibaba.com’s enterprise AI agent Accio Work, enhancing their cross-border capabilities. The initiative will also onboard at least 2,000 SMEs onto the platform through a dedicated “Pakistan Pavilion”, a unified digital gateway showcasing the country’s diverse industries and connecting Pakistani sellers with over 50 million global buyers. Services including Trade Assurance and Verified Supplier certification will help build trust and accelerate export growth.
Driving Financial Inclusion
Koko Tech, a Daraz Group company, has signed a cooperation agreement with Ignite to introduce and scale a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution in Pakistan, operating as a NBFC (Non-banking Finance Company). Koko Tech plans to invest US$ 3 million to expand digital payment services nationwide and create local employment. The initiative supports Ignite’s mission to foster technology innovation and advance Pakistan’s digital economy, contributing to broader goals of financial inclusion and innovation-led growth.
About Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba Cloud (www.alibabacloud.com) is a global leader in full-stack artificial intelligence services, offering state-of-the-art intelligent capabilities and a worldwide AI cloud computing network, providing developer-friendly AI services across the globe. Qwen (Chinese: Tongyi Qianwen) is a family of large language and multimodal AI models developed by Alibaba. Debuted in 2023, open-weight Qwen models are available to global developers via HuggingFace and ModelScope.
About DAMO Academy
Founded on October 11, 2017, Alibaba DAMO Academy is dedicated to exploring the unknown through scientific and technological research and innovation. The driving force behind the Academy is the pursuit of the betterment of humanity.
About Alibaba.com
Launched in 1999, Alibaba.com is a leading platform for global business-to-business (B2B) e- commerce that serves buyers and suppliers from over 200 countries and regions around the world. It is engaged in services covering various aspects of commerce, including providing businesses with tools that help them reach a global audience for their products and helping buyers discover products, find suppliers and place orders online fast and efficiently. Alibaba.com is part of Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group.
About Koko Tech
KOKO TECH PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED (Koko Tech) is a digital financial services company backed by Daraz Group, focused on expanding access to technology-enabled consumer financing solutions. Building on Koko’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) experience in Sri Lanka, the company aims to broaden access to formal consumer credit and support the growth of Pakistan’s digital commerce and fintech ecosystem. Koko Tech has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to operate a BNPL business in the country.
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