Investment in Pakistani startups has increased by 30%

On the eve of GITEX Global 2022 in Dubai on Thursday, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque met with several delegations of tech corporations, including Huawei, and successful startups.

The minister paid a visit to the Ignite Pavilion and expressed his gratitude to the startups for attending GITEX. Speaking at the event, he claimed that during the previous four years, investment in Pakistani companies had increased by 30%. The evidence of confidence in government policy, he continued, is investment in Pakistani startups.

On Tuesday, the minister opened the Pakistan Pavilion at the biggest technology expo in the Middle East. The Pakistan Software Export Board provided assistance in erecting the pavilion (PSEB).

Pakistan Software House Association (P@SHA) Chairman Zohaib Khan said in a statement that Pakistani IT companies operating under the P@SHA umbrella showcased their wide range of capabilities to key figures in the global IT sector at GITEX.

The P@SHA chairman emphasised the fact that, in terms of generating hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of business, GITEX 2022 has proven to be the most successful exhibition for Pakistani IT companies.

In terms of export orders, investment proposals, skill development partnerships, single-country follow-up meetings, B2B alliances, or ground-breaking discussions on joint ventures, he expressed optimism that real progress had been made during the exhibition.

It is important to remember that GITEX is the largest event for IT, ITeS, and other related technologies in the entire Middle East and GCC region. 29 P@SHA member firms are taking part in GITEX this year in association with PSEB.

According to Ignite, a government-owned non-profit organisation in Pakistan, the startup ecosystem there has seen significant growth this year, with local firms receiving over $228 million in funding in just the first eight months of 2021, up from $77 million in 2020.

Several emerging firms have recently made prominent fundraising announcements.

Last month, the business-to-business (B2B) venture Bazaar announced a record $30 million Series A deal, while the quick-commerce firm Airlift announced a record $85 million Series B round. The highest seed financing round in Pakistan was completed last month by Tag, a one-year-old Pakistani startup that provides banking and financial services, and Oraan raised $3 million, making them the largest seed financing rounds closed by women-led startups in the nation.