''Pakistan 25'' creates 12,000 jobs since 2007: 81 percent/year growth achieved

''Pakistan 25'', the fast growth companies have grown an average of 81 percent a year for the past three years, and created 12,000 jobs since inception, showing great potential for small and medium businesses to grow in a situation when Pakistan is facing huge challenges like terrorism and serious law and order problem, say Pakistan''s 25 partnering with AllWorld Network of United States'' report.
The report said that notwithstanding the challenging political and economic context, Pakistan is home to growing private companies, creating a significant number of competitive jobs. Leading Pakistan''s 25 growth rankings are companies in hi-tech and telecommunications, agriculture and mining. Many of these rising Pakistan 25 companies are not just serving local markets, but are competing globally.
As a group, the Pakistan 25 broke AllWorld records for entrepreneurial intensity. From August announcement of the application process by JS Bank for the Pakistan 25, AllWorld received the most number of qualified applications in the shortest amount of time. The top performers who made the Pakistan 25 posted a blistering 81 percent annual growth rate between 2007 and 2009 with an average size of 350 employees per company, and since inception they created 12,000 jobs.
Contrary to what many might assume, Pakistan 25 grew by investing in their employees, providing a significant amount of on-the-job training, giving financial bonuses for performance to incentivise employees, and offering other benefits such as flexible work schedules, the report said. The combination of application numbers, growth rates and job generated exceed those of the eight AllWorld country rankings in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. These results demonstrate that Pakistan has many of the conditions of a leading entrepreneurial economy.
The Pakistan 25 report their major constraint to growth is finding qualified manager and employees. This is the Number One growth constraint experienced universally by growth companies, and there is an opportunity for job training programs and HR recruiting firms to serve the specific needs of these companies. Perhaps reflecting the unique context of Pakistan, the second major constraint to growth is red tape, the report said.
Companies competed for a spot on the Pakistan 25 based on strenuous international standards including completing a detailed survey of business strategy and operations and providing audited statements or an audit letter to verify revenues. The Pakistan 25 is divided into 24 ranked companies and 6 companies to watch.
The 24 ranked companies are at least three years old, and meet AllWorld''s international criteria of size, age and performance, and are ranked based on their sales growth between 2007 and 2009. There are 6 companies-to-watch - companies which show all characteristics of a fast growth company but are too small, or too young. "These are companies we believe will become future contenders," the report said.