The Pakistan Story

Pakistan is on the verge of a new digital era.

A young population, low unemployment and a growing middle class position Pakistan to become one of the most promising economies for investors in the coming decade.

Pakistan has over 180m mobile connections and 100m broadband users, with a rapidly growing digital eco-system. Startups in Pakistan have raised over $200m since 2015 – with $77m in 2020 alone, despite the global pandemic. The country is rising in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, most recently by 28 places, and over 700 startups have been launched in the last few years.

Pakistan’s $300bn+ cash dominant economy is quickly shifting towards digital financial documentation, supported actively by new government policies and the creation of multiple digital financial services companies.

e-Commerce recorded a 105% growth from the previous year, with the industry closing at $4bn in 2020 and a forecast growth to $5.4bn in 2021.

Rapid changes are arising as pandemic recovery begins, with widespread adoption of remote work policies, brick & mortar companies shifting operations to digital mediums, increased reliance and resulting growth in logistics companies, a shift to e-Learning, and increased adoption of digital payment methods.

There are more companies in the pipeline to go public on the Pakistan Stock Exchange this fiscal year than the total number of companies listed over the preceding 4 years. As of January 2021, 540 companies were listed, and the total market value was $52bn and is expected to grow exponentially.