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Pakistan Innovation Fund – A Concept Note
A few weeks ago, the Vice Chair of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Knowledge Economy asked me to put together a concept note for a fund in which the governments of Pakistan and Qatar can potentially collaborate to support the science and technology sector of Pakistan. This note was put together in a few […]
Pakistani Investors: Invest in Local Technology Startups NOW!
I believe that the technology entrepreneurship ecosystem in Pakistan is at a tipping point! There are a number of factors at play that make Pakistan so ripe for both local and international investors looking to invest in the tech space: Quickly growing internet adoption currently estimated to be 25 million internet users and 15 million mobile […]
Sizing up Pakistan IT Industry Exports and Domestic Spend
I recently came across an Associated Press of Pakistan story in a leading national newspaper which was based on a document sourced from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoIT&T). The title was Pakistan IT services exports rose 97.34% in the last five years. It further claimed that the Ministry claimed in the National […]
Technology Business Valuations – A Hurdle to VC Deals in the Developing Markets
This article is a follow-on installment of one of my previous posts: Venture Capital and Angel Investing in Developing Countries – Challenges and Opportunities. If you haven’t read that one yet, please do so for additional context and background. Ask prospective local investors for a $200K investment at $800K pre-money valuation and see the jaws […]
Citizen Relationship Management – Proactively Engaging Citizens in Public Governance
Last year, I had put together an outline for a proactive model to engage citizens for public governance using information technology while ensuring the model doesn’t ruffle too many feathers in the pragmatic public administration that generally loves status quo. The presentation, linked below from this article, was put together at the request of senior […]
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 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 […]