Google and Pakistan partner to launch Chromebook assembly line and accelerate digital transformation in the country

 

In a major step toward accelerating Pakistan’s digital transformation and building a Future Forward Pakistan, Google and the Government of Pakistan announced a series of initiatives — including the launch of Pakistan’s Chromebook assembly line and a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to drive the next phase of Pakistan’s digital with the Ministry of IT & Telecommunication (MoITT) to drive digital skills and AI innovation. 

The announcements were made at a high-level ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad, attended by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, senior government officials, and Google’s regional leadership.

Launch of Pakistan’s Chromebook assembly line: Empowering Education and Jobs

Google, in partnership with Tech Valley, Allied, and the National Radio & Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), launched Pakistan’s first Chromebook assembly line at NRTC’s facility in Haripur.
The facility will assemble 500,000 Chromebooks by 2026, helping to create local jobs, strengthen the digital economy, and pave the way for device exports from Pakistan.

This initiative directly addresses the urgent need to prepare Pakistan’s massive youth population for the future of work in two key ways:

• Empowering students: It will provide students and educators across Pakistan with more affordable, high-quality Chromebooks. This access is the key to helping them gain from our digital skills initiatives and become career-ready.
• Creating local jobs: The new assembly line will create valuable job opportunities for the local youth.
  
  
  

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, commended the partnership, stating: “This launch is an important milestone in Pakistan’s transition toward a digital future. The government is encouraged by this strong collaboration to create jobs, promote local innovation, and bring affordable technology within reach of every student. Google’s partnership in education and skills development is not only critical in driving national progress, it will also contribute to the nation’s ambitious goals for IT exports and economic growth.” 

 

“Google has been a part of Pakistan’s digital journey for many years, and the local production of Chromebooks with Allied, NRTC and Tech valley marks an important step in our efforts to continue supporting the digital transformations of education in Pakistan,” said Farhan Qureshi, Country Director, Google Pakistan. “By delivering 'Made-in-Pakistan' Chromebooks, we are providing high-quality, safe, affordable devices that build on our robust digital skilling programs for teachers, students, developers and creators. This digital skills training and greater adoption of education technologies will narrow the digital skills gap and can add PKR 2.8 trillion of annual GDP in Pakistan in 2030. Beyond meeting local demand, this initiative paves the way for exporting locally assembled devices, helping to establish Pakistan as a key hardware exporter.” 

 

Umar Farooq, Founder & CEO of Tech Valley, added, "Our mission is to unlock opportunity for every young person in Pakistan. Locally assembling these affordable devices means we can finally scale access to high-quality digital education. This isn't just about getting kids online; it's about putting them on a direct path to meaningful employment and empowering them to build a stronger national economy from the ground up

Google deepens partnership with MoiTT to advance digital skills for Pakistanis

Alongside the launch, MoITT and Google signed a Memorandum of Understanding to drive the next phase of Pakistan’s digital and AI-powered growth. The partnership focuses on three key areas:

• Expanding Digital Skilling: Provide 100,000 Google Career Certificates by 2025, building on 80,000 scholarships already awarded this year, nearly half to women. An AI Skills Lab will also engage 100,000+ developers in AI-first technologies.
• Accelerating the gaming and startups industries: Collaborate on policy frameworks for the gaming industry and offer workshops, mentorship, and Google Cloud support for startups under the Pakistan Startup Fund.
• AI for Impact: Launch an AI Leaders Fellowship for 100 organizations in Pakistan – including public institutions, startups, and corporates – to adopt AI responsibly, and collaborate on Emergency Location Services (ELS) to improve emergency response systems in Pakistan.

As part of the MOU, Google and MoiTT will also collaborate to share international best practices for an enabling regulatory environment. 

 

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for IT & Telecommunication, said: “This partnership with Google represents a major step toward building a digitally empowered Pakistan. By equipping our youth with future-ready skills and supporting innovation-led industries, we aim to create new opportunities for economic growth and position Pakistan as a regional leader in technology and AI.” 

 

“We’re excited to deepen our investments in people, skills, and innovation to unlock the country’s vast potential and help build an inclusive digital future in this AI-powered economy. As our work deepens in Pakistan, we are working towards a stronger local presence in Pakistan, one that will serve as a node for innovation, partnerships, and economic opportunity”, added Farhan. 

 

Building on Google’s digital skilling initiatives in Pakistan 

Today’s commitments build on our established programs in Pakistan, which to date have empowered over 1 million teachers, students, developers, and creators with digital skills. These programs include:

• Providing over 200,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships since 2022—with nearly half going to women—to build a more inclusive workforce.
• Training 350,000 students and teachers in online safety, resilience, and confidence through our Digital Safar program.
• Reaching over 370,000 developers since 2021 to support the country's tech talent.

Other notable attendees at the event included Mr. Umar Farooq, CEO, Tech Valley Pakistan & MENA; Mr. Aron Saether-Jackson, CEO, Allied Australia; and Brigadier Azmat Shabbir, Managing Director, NRTC. All speakers commended the collaboration as a milestone toward strengthening Pakistan’s local technology ecosystem, promoting digital inclusion, and advancing a Future Forward Pakistan.