According to a report published by Germany’s Deutsche Welle, Pakistan may be Asia’s next big tech startup market. Pakistan’s young generation and the increased local capital are collectively creating new opportunities for tech entrepreneurs to explore the country’s market.
McKinsey & Co’s latest report on the Pakistani ecosystem named Pakistan one of the fast-growing economies of Asia. As per statistics, almost 720 tech startups have been initiated in the country since 2010 and 67% of them are currently operational.
The DW article said, “Egyptian ride-hailing company, SWVL, has recently disclosed plans to invest $25 million in Pakistan’s tech sector over the next two years to fund pre-seed startups and create 10,000 jobs.”
In the second half of 2019, Pakistan approved six reforms focused on developing a better environment for tech-based businesses in the country. The report said that these reforms seem to be effective as “Pakistan’s position in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report jumped from 136th place in 2018 to 108th place in 2019”.
Deutsche Welle highlighted that Pakistan raised $18.8 million in funding in 2019 and the capital is expected to flow into startups from overseas in the coming years.
The founder of London-based communications startup Hina Hussain said, “Pakistan’s tech ecosystem has been slowly gaining momentum in the last few years. It’s home to a strong tech talent base and it’s still competitively affordable, which makes it ideal for early-stage founders like myself.”
The DW article predicted that overseas Pakistanis are starting to hope that new opportunities are opening up back home.
