Pakistan fast becoming tech hub of region: Masood Khan

WASHINGTON: The tech industry of Pakistan has witnessed an exponential growth during past few years with our IT products and services making their way to the United States and other parts of the developed world, said Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan.

“Pakistani tech startups are being supported by the leading US venture capitalists and our tech savvy youth is making its mark in the global market with its immense entrepreneurial skills.”

“We have become an integral part of the tech ecosystem of the region and are destined to become tech hub of the region in the near future,” he said.

Ambassador Masood Khan made these remarks addressing over thirty CEOs and founders of leading tech startup companies owned by Pakistani-Americans that have now grown into multi-million entities offering technological and IT solutions in almost every field including cyber security, IT, healthcare, education, retail and other critical sectors. 

The companies present in the meeting included among others Breshna.io, American Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Dingman Center Angels, Capitol Technology, SnappRetail, Accenture, Capital One, Beaj Education, Unboxx Technologies, ioSENTRIX, Nurse Next Door, Teach The World Foundation, Zigron, Gepeto, XtremeLabs LLC and others. 

CEO and Founder of renowned Paklaunch (PL) Aly Fahad was also present during the meeting. 

Paklaunch with its vision of ‘help build Pakistan into top 10 tech ecosystem in the world by 2030’, is a platform driving growth in the Pakistani entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem by showcasing accomplishments and achievements of distinguished Pakistanis, helping Pakistani entrepreneurs through advisory, training, or fund raising, enabling discussions on the global investment opportunities including but not limited to stocks, real-estate, startups etc., facilitating networking and collaboration through group discussions and events (virtual and in-person).

Addressing the participants, Aly Fahad said that founded in April 2020 with merely 07 members, Paklaunch has now grown into a community of 350,000 members comprising global community of investors, professionals and startups.

The platform has so far helped 90 startups and has successfully raised over $90 million to support the nascent entities with a vision. He said that Paklaunch would be hosting a conference in San Francisco in September 2024 where they plan to connect top 50 Pakistani founders with 100 investors. It is also planning to launch a television show similar to popular American business reality television series Shark Tank to promote entrepreneurship in Pakistan. 

CEOs and Founders of various companies present on the occasion also shared their experiences. They appreciated the initiative of Ambassador Masood Khan to bring them under one roof for better networking, sharing their experiences and broadening their outreach. 

Terming Paklaunch as momentous and consequential initiative to support budding entrepreneurs, Ambassador Masood Khan lauded efforts of Aly Fahd and wished Paklaunch success in its endeavors. 

“Aly Fahd is a trailblazer who started from scratch and has developed the platform to a strength,” he said.

“The way this initiative has succeeded in supporting tech startups in Pakistan has built our confidence,” observed the Ambassador.

Masood Khan said the Pakistan is a great country with one of the largest human capital. “It is a country with a destination,” observed the Ambassador. 

The Ambassador also highlighted the critical role that Special Investment Facilitation Council was playing in promoting foreign investment especially in IT, agriculture, energy and extractive industries. 

It was decided during the meeting that Embassy of Pakistan would act as nodal point to connect Pak-American entrepreneurs and Tech companies with relevant ministries and departments in Pakistan. 

While urging the CEOs and founders of tech companies to enhance their investments in Pakistan, the Ambassador assured all possible facilitation and support by the Embassy of Pakistan.