Pakistan Establishing $1 Billion Fund to Fuel Startup Growth: Dr. Umar Saif

Recently, a meeting took place between a high-level delegation of the USAID and the Caretaker Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr Umar Saif. During the meeting, the minister urged the Pakistani diaspora to invest in the country and asked for support for the “Investment in Pakistan” conference to be held in the US in November this year. Furthermore, the Minister informed the USAID Mission that a venture capital fund was being set up for global investors with the help of Pakistan’s government. He added that the fund would secure investment of a minimum of $1 billion for startups.

Senior Adviser to the USAID Mission in the Private Sector, Diaspora Engagement and Digital Technology Kanwal Bokharey and ECON Counsellor John Letvin were part of the delegation, which was led by Mission Director Kate Somvongsiri. They talked about the bilateral issues regarding investment by American companies in Pakistan.

As a testament to the strengthening trade ties between Pakistan and the US, the minister highlighted the recent signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) during a conference hosted by USAID and Silicon Valley. These MoUs represent a significant milestone with an overall investment of $40 million.

He stressed that Pakistan’s  ICT sector was making the way for international investment and also underlined the caretaker government’s priorities, which contained boosting investment opportunities and offering all incentives and facilities to international companies.

Speaking on the occasion, USAID Mission Director Kate Somvongsiri remarked,

There is no doubt that Pakistan is a big and attractive market for investors in the IT and telecom sector; we are trying our best to increase collaboration between American investors and Pakistani companies.

Furthermore, she gave a special invitation to the IT minister to take part in the investment conference in the first week of November. The second part of the “Invest in Pakistan” conference is intended to catalyze investment in companies from the Pakistani diaspora.

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