Articles
Venture Capital and Angel Investing in Developing Countries – Challenges and Opportunities
This is the first post in a series of articles that discuss the challenges and opportunities for venture capital and angel investing primarily in technology companies based in developing countries like Pakistan. There is absolutely no doubt that the internet has leveled the playing field when it comes to reaching out and marketing a consumer internet service […]
Great Investor Pitch Deck Examples
I recently came across a nice post by Greg Muender on Quora that listed some great (at least as far as design is concerned) examples of investor or Venture Capitalist (VC) pitch decks. Although the pitch decks from Everest, CSSPiffle and Speakeasy were very well designed, they lacked some crucial information that investors look for. […]
7 Wrong Reasons to Pursue Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is suddenly the coolest thing around. Even children who once wanted to grow up to be engineers, doctors, pilots and policemen, now want to become entrepreneurs who can “revolutionize” the world with their “innovative” products and services. Students are “pivoting” on their homework assignments and “A/B testing” the sports they want to excel at. My […]
46 drone strikes, 652 bomb blasts, 4 startups, 1 year
A recent WIRED Danger Room article by Spencer Ackerman highlighted the resurgence of U.S. Drone campaign over Pakistan in a continuing War on Terror. While it recounts the recent casualties directly associated with the drone strikes, it leaves a lot to be told of a nation’s story that is as heartening as it is heartrending and as […]
A strategic integrated program to promote IT Entrepreneurship in Punjab
Entrepreneurship is the backbone of any economy and Pakistan’s is no different. We are seemingly a nation of entrepreneurs – from a small-scale farmer in Bhakkar to businessmen like Mian Mansha and Syed Babar Ali – brimming with people who “build capital through risk and initiative” and fit the definition of the term as per […]
Effective Implementation of Decentralized Healthcare System in Pakistan
A few weeks ago, a “naukri pesha mazdoor” named Asad Umar of PTI and ex-CEO of Engro shared an excellent article titled “Policy Brief: Health Systems Governance” through one of his tweets. Unfortunately, the author of the article is not identified – neither in Asad’s tweet nor in the article itself. It was a good read and made […]
Proposal for Effective Implementation of Punjab Internships Program
I made the following presentation to the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif for effective implementation of the Internships program the government had announced earlier. The program is to be implemented with a budget of PKR 1.5 Billion or USD 16 Million to provide the youth of the province with an opportunity to intern […]
A Framework for Providing Capital Access to Startups in Pakistan
One of the action items from the Meet and Greet Session with the Chief Minister of Punjab held on July 11, 2012 for the local technology entrepreneurs was the development of a framework to facilitate access to capital for young start-ups in the province. Two days after the meeting, Mr. Umar Saif, Chairman Punjab Information […]