What Is PMNTP?
The Prime Minister's National Technology Park (PMNTP) is an initiative of the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) to build a nationwide network of co-working spaces for freelancers and digital entrepreneurs. The program was formerly known as the National Co-Working Space Program (NCSP), and you'll still see that older name on some of PSEB's own tender documents.
According to PSEB's official PMNTP site, the program's stated purpose is "supporting digital careers for freelancers and entrepreneurs" — connecting talent to opportunities, backing IT startups and specialized IT training, and giving freelancers and digital entrepreneurs a professional seat to work from, in cities where that kind of space is otherwise hard to find or afford.
The 250-Center Target — and What's Actually Confirmed
PSEB's PMNTP site states the program is "aiming for 250 Prime Minister's National Technology Park Centers across Pakistan." That is a rollout target, not a confirmed current count of centers already open — it's worth being precise about that distinction, since it's easy to read "250 centers" as something that already exists today.
The official site gives a province-by-province breakdown of how those 250 centers are meant to be distributed:
- Punjab: 104 centers
- Sindh: 58 centers
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 40 centers
- Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT): 23 centers
- Balochistan: 17 centers
- Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK): 5 centers
- Gilgit-Baltistan (GB): 3 centers
For the current, up-to-date status of individual centers — which ones are open, which are still being onboarded — PAKIT recommends checking the interactive centers map on PSEB's own PMNTP site directly, since that figure can change as the rollout continues.
How the Program Is Funded
Rather than building and owning every center itself, PSEB partners with public and private building owners who already have co-working or under-utilized space. According to the official site, PSEB provides 10 million PKR in interest-free loans to these partners to help fit out a center.
To qualify as a space partner, a building must offer at least 3,600 sq. ft. and 100 seats in major cities, or 1,800 sq. ft. and 50 seats in smaller cities, along with civic amenities, accessibility, a litigation-free title, power backup, parking, and availability for at least five years. Interested property owners can apply through the "Become a Partner" form on the PMNTP site.
How Freelancers Apply for a Seat
Freelancers and digital entrepreneurs can register for a seat directly on the PMNTP website by providing personal details, their seat and shift preference, their area of expertise, and their preferred center during sign-up, through the site's "Apply for Seat" option.
PAKIT could not confirm an exact seat fee or subsidy structure from the public pages of the official site at the time of writing — if you're applying, check the specific terms shown for your chosen center before committing.
Why This Program Matters: Pakistan's Freelance Economy in Numbers
PMNTP isn't happening in a vacuum — Pakistan's freelance and IT-outsourcing sector has been growing quickly, and the real, sourced figures make the case for why co-working infrastructure matters:
- $1.76 billion in freelancer export earnings for fiscal year 2025–26, up 78% year-on-year, according to Khurram Schehzad, adviser to the finance minister (reported by Arab News, July 2026).
- In June 2026 alone, freelancers earned $164 million, up 69% year-on-year.
- Pakistan has an estimated 2.5–3 million freelancers, with average earnings per freelancer rising from roughly $12/month in 2021 to roughly $53/month in 2026 — about a 4.4x increase over five years.
- On the 2026 Global Outsourcing Talent Index (a 193-country ranking by research firm Ataraxis, weighing talent availability, labour cost, digital infrastructure, English proficiency and business stability), Pakistan ranks 16th out of 193 countries — ahead of the UK, Germany, France and China on that specific index. Pakistan's weakest component on that index is digital infrastructure; co-working spaces with reliable power and connectivity, like PMNTP centers aim to provide, directly target that gap.
- Pakistan has a young population — widely cited figures put around 60% of the population under the age of 30, and UNDP has described it as the largest youth population in the country's history — which is the demographic PMNTP is squarely aimed at.
A note on a figure you may have seen elsewhere: some sources claim Pakistan is "ranked #2 globally" for IT outsourcing. PAKIT could not verify that specific claim against any current, named index, so we're not repeating it here. The figure we can verify and cite is the 16th-of-193 ranking above.
How PMNTP Compares to Similar Programs
PMNTP sits alongside a few other PITB- and PSEB-backed initiatives covered elsewhere on PAKIT, including the PITB e-Earn Program (freelancer training and earning centers in Punjab) and the MakerSpace Punjab innovation labs. If you're exploring where to find a seat or training as a freelancer, it's worth comparing all three against your own city and goals — see the full Government IT & Skills Programs directory for the complete list.
Conclusion
PMNTP is a real, PSEB-run program with a specific, named target — 250 co-working centers distributed across all four provinces plus ICT, AJK and GB — and a concrete funding mechanism behind it. What's still unclear from the public-facing site is exactly how many of those 250 are open today versus still in the pipeline. PAKIT will keep checking the official centers map and update this page as that becomes clearer.