Pakistan at a venture crossroads ( Part – II )

People work at their stations at the National Incubation Centre (NIC), a start-up incubator, in Lahore. — AFP/File Pakistan's startup and venture landscape is very much in its infancy. Only in the last decade have networks of formal early-stage investors started to form. The most active VC firms in Pakistan, including Fatima Gobi Ventures, Indus Valley Capital, Zayn VC and Sarmyacar, were all founded in the last five years. Between 2018 and 2021, total VC funding in Pakistan increased more than 20-fold to reach an all-time high of $350M, according to Magnitt, an emerging market data platform. The majority of…