Episode 41 - Should we pay closer attention to Pakistan?

Wamda

There has been a sudden spike in investment heading towards Pakistani startups, with Middle East investors leading a significant chunk of this trend. In the eight months to August, startups in Pakistan raised more than $200 million, an astounding amount when compared to the $66 million raised in total in 2020.

Pakistan’s economy has all the right markings of a market with potential. It has a population of 200 million, 64 per cent of whom are below the age of 30. It has a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $1260, internet penetration stands at 54 per cent and startups and SMEs account contribute 40 per cent to the country’s GDP.

The government has made significant strides in enabling the entrepreneurship sector, which has enabled the country to jump from 126th on the Global Entrepreneurship Index back in 2018, to 109 currently, reflecting the growth of the startup and SME sector in the country.

In this podcast we spoke with Saif Ali, general manager at Dastgyr and Ahmad Saeed, founder of Grocerapp about the growth of entrepreneurship in Pakistan and whether the Middle East should be taking greater notice.