JS Group, a financial services behemoth in Pakistan, and 500 Global, a US-based venture capital firm, have teamed together to deliver startup and investor education programs to the Asian nation and seek for top founders and digital firms there.
According to analytics provider Magnitt, the number of VC-backed deals in Pakistan, the world’s fifth most populated nation, increased to 86 in 2021, roughly quadrupling the number in 2018. The amount of money given to startups in the nation as a whole increased more than twenty-fold over the same time period, reaching US $332 million.
Pakistan garnered US $304 million in financing in the first nine months of 2022, 92% more than in the same period the previous year. This led 500 Global and JS Group to declare that Pakistan was at “a turning point” for international venture capital agreements.
With US$2.7 billion in assets under management, 500 Global, which made its first investment in Pakistan six years ago, has made investments in more than 2,700 businesses worldwide, including 49 unicorns. The Silicon Valley-based company has a crew that is dispersed across 27 countries and has run more than 80 accelerator programs globally.
According to Salaal Hasan, executive director of the financial services company, JS Group will assist local companies in obtaining early-stage finance with the assistance of 500 Global.
The Pakistani company, which has been around for five decades, operates in more than eight nations and engages in commercial banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, insurance, securities trading, asset management, and private equity.
