Pakistan is gradually emerging as a digital entrepreneurship hub, with a surge in startup funding and an increase in active tech hubs.
- Between 2016-18, Pakistani start-ups averaged $10 million annually in VC funding, roughly $0.05 per capita, and one-third of a basis point of the GDP. In 2021, Pakistan secured nearly $350 million in VC funding, narrowing the gap with MENA from 80-to-1 to 7-to-1, aligning with GDP ratios. || Source: McKinsey
- As per the Ministry of Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunications, the number of IT companies in Pakistan increased by 33% to reach 2,354 by the end of June 2020, as compared to 1,762 in 2018. || Source: Ministry of Telecommunications
- In 2018, Pakistan (and its three tech ecosystem cities of Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore) saw a 30% increase in the number of active tech hubs (36 vs 26 in 2016), positioning itself as the largest tech ecosystem in the subregion after India. || Source: GSMA
+ The Pakistani government aims to rapidly digitize and transform the country into a knowledge-based economy through innovation. They launched in 2021 a program establishing 5 National Incubation Centers, supporting 440+ startups nationwide. || Source: Ministry of Telecommunications
