Lahore, Pakistan, July 27th — Under Google’s flagship Grow with Google initiative, Tech Valley, Pakistan’s leading digital transformation partner, signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Human Rights & Minorities Affairs Department (HR&MA), Government of Punjab, to extend 1,000 fully funded Google Career Certificate scholarships to youth from religious minority communities and marginalized backgrounds across the province. The initiative is a step towards treating digital access and employability in high demand fields including AI, Project Management, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing and more, as a matter of rights and equal citizenship, extending HR&MA’s human rights mandate into the economic sphere.
The signing ceremony took place at the HR&MA Department office, attended by key leadership from both organizations, including Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tech Valley, Umar Farooq.
Through this partnership, the HR&MA Department will leverage its provincial footprint and digital infrastructure to identify eligible candidates, with a special emphasis on empowering young women and socio-economically disadvantaged youth. Tech Valley will manage the end-to-end program delivery, offering onboarding, progress tracking, and mentorship support to ensure high completion rates.
Highlighting the vision behind this initiative, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs, stated: “Human rights are fundamentally linked to economic dignity and equal opportunity. Through this partnership with Tech Valley, we are moving beyond traditional welfare models toward sustainable empowerment for our youth. Providing 1,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships allows young people from minority communities to gain skills, secure high-paying digital jobs, and participate meaningfully in Pakistan’s growing tech economy. Equitable development for every citizen, regardless of faith, remains our primary commitment.”
This strategic collaboration aligns with Tech Valley’s broader social impact agenda of bringing flexible, industry-aligned learning directly to underrepresented segments of society, no matter what their background is.
Emphasizing Tech Valley’s commitment, Umar Farooq, CEO of Tech Valley, shared: “At Tech Valley, our goal is to ensure that technology serves as a great equalizer. No individual should be left behind due to social or economic barriers. Partnering with the HR&MA Department allows us to deliver world-class training directly to youth who need it most. Equipping these 1,000 young men and women with Google Career Certificates gives them flexible, future-ready skills that can transform their lives, support their families, and strengthen Pakistan’s digital ecosystem.”
Beyond immediate skill acquisition, this partnership establishes a sustainable model for digital equity across Punjab. By pairing the HR&MA Department’s grassroots community reach with Google’s global credentialing framework, the initiative is designed to create a ripple effect; transforming individual career trajectories while uplifting entire households and underrepresented communities.
