Afiniti's expansion plans in Pakistan take center stage in meeting

March 18, 2025 (MLN): The expansion of Afiniti's business operations in Pakistan, talent recruitment, and taxation challenges were discussed in a meeting between Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb and a visiting delegation from Afiniti, a leading AI technology firm, at the Finance Division.

During the meeting, Mr. Kapelus shared details about Afiniti’s operations, noting that nearly 80% of its operational support team is based in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.

He highlighted the company's growth over the years, with its customer base now spanning North America, Europe, and other regions globally.

Mr. Kapelus also commended the talent pool in Pakistan, particularly engineers, computer scientists, and technologists, stating that Afiniti’s experience in recruiting high-quality human resources in the country had been exceptional.

He emphasized that Afiniti was "thrilled" with the caliber of talent available in Pakistan, which has contributed significantly to the company’s success, as per the press release.

The delegation was led by Mr. Jerome Vaughan Kapelus, CEO of Afiniti Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, and included Wedley Howard Fink, CFO of Afiniti, Osman Asghar Khan, MD & GM of Afiniti Pakistan, and Fakhar Ejaz, Senior Vice President of Global HR at Afiniti.

Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb welcomed the delegation and expressed appreciation for Afiniti’s growth and continued investment in Pakistan.

He pointed out that information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services, along with agriculture, represent major growth sectors for Pakistan, with the advantage that much of the input for these sectors remains local.

He assured the delegation that the government is committed to creating an enabling ecosystem for both IT and agriculture to thrive.

The Finance Minister briefed the delegation on taxation reforms aimed at modernizing the tax system through the use of people-processed technology and end-to-end digitalization.

He stressed the government's goal of broadening the tax base, including bringing previously non-compliant sectors into the tax net.

This, he explained, would provide greater space for sectors that are over-taxed, such as the salaried class and manufacturing sectors.

Additionally, Minister Aurangzeb provided an update on the government’s efforts to simplify the tax return process.

He highlighted the reduction in the number of fields in the tax return forms for the salaried class, which is expected to encourage greater participation in the tax system.

He mentioned that the new simplified tax return system would be operational by September, ahead of the next tax filing season.

The Minister also briefed the delegation about the launch of the Pakistan Crypto Council, a new initiative aimed at regulating and integrating blockchain technology and digital assets into the country’s financial landscape.

This initiative, he explained, will help Pakistan keep pace with global trends in digital finance and provide a regulatory framework for emerging technologies.

The meeting concluded with a reaffirmation of the government’s commitment to supporting businesses like Afiniti and the importance of continued collaboration between the public and private sectors to foster growth and development in Pakistan.

Copyright Mettis Link News