Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT) and its tech innovation arm, Ignite (National Technology Fund), on Tuesday launched PakImpactInvest, Pakistan’s first national investment platform.
The platform was launched at a ceremony attended by the Federal Minister for IT and Telecom, Syed Amin Ul Haque, Federal Secretary of IT & Telecom, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, CEO Ignite, Asim Shahryar Husain, senior officials of the IT Ministry, Ignite and Accelerate Prosperity.
Accelerate Prosperity (AP) is a joint initiative of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and Industrial Promotion Services (IPS). As a part of the MoU between AP and Ignite, AP will assist MoITT and Ignite as the technical advisory partner for co-designing and launching Pak Impact Invest.
It will be the first national investment platform in the country to give tech startups access to early-stage and growth funding. This platform will open up new avenues for investment in startups graduating from Ignite Funded National Incubation Centers (NICs) and other startups of Pakistan in the future.
AP raises investments from public sector programs, private sector groups, investment houses, venture funds, and philanthropists.
While speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister of IT and Telecom, Syed Amin ul Haque, said that one of the crucial challenges of our new technology-based startups is access to early-stage and growth-stage capital.
“I am sure that this initiative will bridge the gap in an efficient manner. This Ignite – AP partnership looks promising to solve the financing challenges faced by our startups,” he added.
He further added that country’s overall environment is being changed. Bykea, one of the startups accelerated at NIC Karachi, has raised $21 million of Series B Funding. From 2015 to 2020, nearly 122 deals worth $178 million were made that includes another 19 deals, with undisclosed amounts. This brings the total deals to count up 141.
The Federal Ministry of IT also appreciated the joint efforts of Ignite and AP for entering into a meaningful partnership as it can create opportunities for young tech companies to scale up.
