A one-day conference was held at the NUST University, under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology on Dec 16, 2021. The purpose of the conference was to think through promotional measures for the establishment of venture capital companies so as to generate technological development and growth.
A policy framework was developed as part of the Performance Agreement FY 2021-22 and 2022-23, directing the venture capital companies. Senator Shibli Faraz graced the occasion as the chief guest. Other guest stakeholders included the Federal Board of Revenue, Securities and Exchanges Commission of Pakistan, the State Bank, Intellectual Property Organization, the Ministries of Commerce, various startups, incubation centers, and venture capital companies.
The 1973 Rules of Business of the Ministry of Science and Technology states, ‘Initiate promotional measures for Establishment of venture capital companies for Technological Development and Growth.’ The framework devised was as according to the aforementioned statement.
Rector National University of Sciences and Technology Lt. General (Rtd) Javed Mehmood Bukhari, MD Zayn Capital Mr. Faisal Aftab and Secretary MoST Akhtar Nazir addressed the conference as well. Senator Shibli Faraz added that the startup culture in Pakistan is a newborn phenomenon, wherein the major trouble revolves around finances. ‘We need to identify those sectors for investment by venture capital companies which can lead to the technological development and growth’, said the Senator.
Rector NUST pointed out the fact that Pakistani startups have had an investment of over $300 million in the ongoing year as yet, which he said was more than that of the previous 6 years combined.
Rector NUST further added ‘We at NUST firmly believe that something remarkable is happening with respect to the viability and credibility of the Pakistani market which is drawing the interest of international investors. The inclusivity of NSTP in bringing together academia and the industry is evident from the fact that there are as many as 100+ companies housed at NSTP owned by Pakistanis, foreigners, and ex-pats’,
