Caretaker IT Minister Dr. Umar Saif officially inaugurated the Rs. 2 billion Pakistan Startup Fund today during a ceremony attended by domestic and international venture capitalists, diplomats, and leading tech companies.
Alongside the federal minister, Secretary IT Hasan Nasir Jami and CEO of Ignite Asim Shehryar attended the launch ceremony.
Dr. Umar Saif highlighted that the primary objective of the Pakistan Startup Fund (PSF) is to expedite venture investment in the country, emphasizing its pivotal role in the economic development of Pakistan.
The fund aims to provide critical financial support to startups, with each venture receiving 30 percent support from the PSF, while the remaining 70 percent will come from venture capitalists.
IT minister said the government wants to facilitate and accelerate the growth of innovative ventures in Pakistan through PSF. This initiative will not only provide financial backing but also create a conducive environment for startups to flourish, he added.
He further explained that the IT Ministry is actively working towards providing facilities and support to IT startups, as part of its broader strategy to boost the local tech ecosystem. Over the past four years, Dr. Umar Saif remarked that Pakistani startups have attracted approximately $800 million in foreign investments which shows the growing global interest in the country’s entrepreneurial landscape.
Later in a tweet, the caretaker minister said on X, “If you are a startup in Pakistan and a foreign VC is evaluating your startup for a $1 million investment, the VC only needs to invest $700k — the Pakistan Startup Fund will give you a grant of $300k to help close the round. We won’t take any equity/shares in your startup or a board position etc. PSF is designed to lower the risk for international investors to invest in Pakistani startups; once we have written you a cheque, we won’t hassle you at all .. betting on you and your VC investors to drive your success”.
Today we launched the Pakistan Startup Fund (PSF) which will invest up to Rs 2 Billion every year in Pakistani startups. The fund is structured as an equity-free capital to help close a VC round for a startup. PSF is designed to help a startup raise its first external investment.… pic.twitter.com/I0CGdZ9Js1
— Umar Saif (@umarsaif) January 9, 2024
“With PSF we hope to create a value of at least Rs 50 Billion per year in the startup ecosystem in Pakistan,” he added.
At the PSF launch ceremony, the minister revealed that 8 National Incubation Centers across the nation are supporting more than 4,000 startups. He expressed the government’s commitment to aiding startups in securing funding, with an annual allocation of Rs. 2 billion earmarked to help startups raise a substantial Rs. 50 billion.
The fund is set to commence disbursing financial support to startups from March 1, providing policy guidelines for venture funds, ensuring investment protection for foreign investors, and enabling big corporations to invest in Pakistani startups.
