USAID Mission delegates meet minister: ‘Venture capital fund being set up for global investors

ISLAMABAD: “A venture capital fund is being set up for global investors with government assistance, which will ensure at least one billion dollar investment for startups.”

This was shared by Caretaker Minister for IT and Telecommunications Dr Umar Saif during a meeting with a high-level delegation of the USAID Mission here on Thursday.

Senior Advisor to the Mission in the Private Sector, Diaspora Engagement and Digital Technology Kanwal Bokharey and ECON Counselor John Letvin, were part of the delegation led by Mission Director Kate Somvongsiri.

During the meeting, bilateral issues related to investment of American companies in Pakistan were discussed.

Dr Saif offered the diaspora to come and unlock Pakistan’s investment potential and extended all his support for “Investment in Pakistan” conference to be held in the USA in November this year.

He told the USAID Mission that a venture capital fund is being set up for global investors with government assistance, the fund will ensure at least one billion dollar investment for startups.

Dr Saif further said that on the way of Pak-US trade relations, the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the investment of USD 44 million at investment conference on last Saturday organised by US-AID and Silicon Valley was a big milestone.

He said Pakistan’s information and communication sector is paving the way for global investment, adding that the priorities of the caretaker government include maximising investment opportunities and providing all related incentives and facilities to global companies.

USAID Mission Director Kate Somvongsiri said, “There is no doubt that Pakistan is a big and attractive market for investors in IT and Telecom sector, we are trying our best to increase the collaboration between American investors and Pakistani companies.” She extended a special invitation to caretaker IT Minister Dr Saif to attend the investment conference to be held in the United States in the first week of November this year.

The 2nd part of “Invest in Pakistan” conference in collaboration with USAID and the Organisation of Pakistani-American Entrepreneurs North America (Silicon Valley) aimed to catalyse investment between US and Pakistani diaspora and Pakistani companies.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023