Pakistan forms $10mn fund for startups

According to Business Recorder, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, the federal minister for IT and Telecom, announced on Friday a $10 million allocation for phase two of the Pakistan Startup Fund. She made the announcement while meeting State Bank of Pakistan officials and Sindh government representatives in Karachi. Her remarks came at the Fintech Roundtable 2026 at the Sindh Governor House, where she also outlined steps to strengthen startups and accelerate digitalisation.

The minister said the government wants to lift PSF funding to $25 to 50 million over the coming years with the support of the World Bank, IFC and the Asian Development Bank. She added that the plan is to build a larger fund, offer it as a strong guarantee for international investors, and hand its management to an international fund manager selected through an RFP process. She said the talks are at an advanced stage.

On digitalisation, she said G2G payments across federal ministries and departments are 100 per cent digitised, and that the economy is heading towards cashless transactions. She said formalising 25 per cent of the informal economy would add about $100 billion to GDP. Around 825,000 women receiving Benazir Income Support Programme BISP payments have created digital wallets, she said.