Monday, October 1, 2012

US Seeding Venture Capital and Private Equity in Pakistan

US is providing $80 million to create multiple VC and PE funds in Pakistan. These funds will be run by professional fund managers who will be required to manage and raise additional money from other sources to start multiple funds. US Embassy in Islamabad told Express Tribune that they expect that "there will be substantial interest from local, regional and international investors”.

Polish Model:

The initiative is based on the Polish American Enterprise Fund model which was started with $140 million from US government and has now grown to several billion dollars of investable funds, according to Express Tribune.

US AID's Theodore Heisler said that co-investment was essential in bringing the size of each fund to a level where it can cover operating expenses. The funds will focus on investing in small and medium entrepreneurial companies which, the US Silicon Valley experience has demonstrated, are major drivers of innovation, economic growth and job creation. 

History of VC and PE Funds:

 In 2010, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) provided JSPE Private Equity Fund II $50 million with a target capitalization of $150 million.

Venture capital investing is not entirely new in Pakistan, according to Venture Beat. Silicon Valley insiders like Reid Hoffman, Mark Pincus and Joe Kraus, along with Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and EPlanet Ventures have already started. In 2003, Hoffman, Pincus and Kraus invested in Monis Rahman, a Pakistani-American who left Intel for entrepreneurship. Rahman had successfully launched and sold a start-up in the Bay Area, eDaycare.com.

There are several investment firms in Pakistan, such as BMA Capital, Indus Basin Holdings and JS Private Equity, that offer examples of professionally managed funds. In addition, there are Social Entrepreneurial Funds like Acumen Fund, Dawood Foundation and Kashf Foundation which are very active in the SME sector in Pakistan.

Opportunity in Pakistan: 

Pakistan has the world’s sixth largest population, seventh largest diaspora and the ninth largest labor force. With rapidly declining fertility and aging populations in the industrialized world, Pakistan's growing talent pool is likely to play a much bigger role to satisfy global demand for workers in the 21st century and contribute to the well-being of Pakistan as well as other parts of the world.

 With half the population below 20 years and 60 per cent below 30 years, Pakistan is well-positioned to reap what is often described as "demographic dividend", with its workforce growing at a faster rate than total population. This trend is estimated to accelerate over several decades. Contrary to the oft-repeated talk of doom and gloom, average Pakistanis are now taking education more seriously than ever. Youth literacy is about 70% and growing, and young people are spending more time in schools and colleges to graduate at higher rates than their Indian counterparts in 15+ age group, according to a report on educational achievement by Harvard University researchers Robert Barro and Jong-Wha Lee. Vocational training is also getting increased focus since 2006 under National Vocational Training Commission (NAVTEC) with help from Germany, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands.



A 2012 World Bank report titled "More and Better Jobs in South Asia" shows that 63% of Pakistan's workforce is self-employed, including 13% high-end self-employed. Salaried and daily wage earners make up only 37% of the workforce. Even if one chooses to consider just the 13% who are high-end self-employed as entrepreneurs, it's still a significant population willing to take risks who can do better with greater availability of venture and private equity money.
 
A recent Pew Survey of 21 countries reported that 81% of Pakistanis believe in hard work to achieve material success. Americans are the second most optimistic with 77% sharing this belief followed by Tunisians (73%), Brazilians (69%), Indians (67%) and Mexicans (65%).

Conclusion:

Promoting venture capital and private equity investments in Pakistan is a welcome initiative. It has the potential to unleash funding of new profitable ideas in small and medium size entrepreneurial businesses for significant returns to investors while also helping Pakistan achieve much needed economic stimulus with new jobs to lift more people out of poverty.  

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Pakistanis Lead the World in Faith in Hard Work

Entrepreneurial Pakistanis

Financial Services Sector in Pakistan

Venture Capital Investing in Pakistan

Minorities are Majority in Silicon Valley

String Food and Beverage Demand Draws Investments to Pak Agribusiness

Strong Earnings Propel Pak Shares to New Highs

Pakistan's Underground Economy

Tax Evasion Fosters Aid Dependence

Poll Finds Pakistanis Happier Than Neighbors

Pakistan's Rural Economy Booming

Pakistan Car Sales Up 61%

Resilient Pakistan Defies Doomsayers

17 comments:

Hopewins said...

Dr. Haq,

Good article, in its own way.

"To a man with a Hammer, everything looks like a Nail"

I always find this noisy Silicon Valley exuberance a little confusing. I can tolerate the big words; it is just the brash noise that throws me off-balance.

Where does this new US Government effort with "angels", "VCs" and "private equity" fit into the exhaustive-list shown below?

Is it in 4(b)? Is it in 6(c)? Or is it in 7(a)? Or perhaps in 7(b)(i)(B)?

Would you please explain?

Thank you.

------

1) Gross Domestic Production (GDP)
2) Final Consumption
(a) Household Consumption
(b) Government Consumption
3) Gross Domestic Savings
4) Net Current Tranfers
(a) Remittances
(b) Foreign Aid
5) Gross Savings
6) Current (Trade) Account
(a) Net Bal in Trade of Goods
(b) Net Balance on Trade of G&S
(c) Net Balance on Current A/C
7) Capital (Financial) Account
(a) Change in Forex Reserves
(b) Net Balance on Capital A/C
(i) Net Foreign Investments
(A) FDI
(B) Portfolio Equity
(ii) Change in External Debt
(A) Public Long-Term
(B) Private Long-Term
(C) Private Short-term
8) Gross Capital Formation
9) Inventory Levels
10) Gross Fixed Capital Formation
11) Net Fixed Capital Formation
12) Incr Cap to O/P Ratio (ICOR)
13) Trend GDP Growth Rate
14) RETURN to (1) for Next Year

Riaz Haq said...

HWJ: "Would you please explain?"

There is no one silver bullet, but increased investment in entrepreneurs in SME sector is a good thing for economic growth and job creation in any economy.

Riaz Haq said...

Here are excerpts of an ET article on private equity and debt markets as propellers of economic growth:

Let’s start by asking why are most investors in financial assets only interested in stock and bond markets, to the extent that even the premier CFA institute examinations and most university programmes almost solely focus on these two.

Here is why. These are the only two saving vehicles (asset classes) that are large, liquid and have visible prices. World public equity market capitalisation at $50 trillion (Bloomberg) and bond market debt outstanding at $95 trillion (CityUK), provides decent saving depth for global GDP (annual income) of $65 trillion.

The tangible asset market, mostly real estate (but including under/over-ground commodities and personal property), is even larger at $150 trillion, but is illiquid, due to relatively large ticket deal sizes and non-standardisation and hence is called an ‘alternative asset class’.

Private equity or shares of unlisted companies are interesting. They are grouped as alternatives due to liquidity constraints and big deal sizes, but otherwise seem the same securities, ie equity.

Before I elaborate, let’s try to ascertain the total size of private equity market. According to Credit Suisse 2011 Global Wealth Report, total net wealth in the world is $231 trillion. From this, we minus the value of ‘real’ assets, stock markets and $5 trillion in cash and demand deposits. The size of bond market is not included in the calculation as one person’s bond asset is another’s liability and it cancels out. Hence, estimated value of private companies comes to $30 trillion, which is smaller than the public equity market but still huge.
--------
Conclusion: Private equity presents a huge universe of opportunities and can certainly add value to High Net Worth (HNW) portfolios containing only stocks and bonds, by both increasing return and lowering true volatility at the same time. It is certainly an alternative investment class, but not only because of low liquidity, but rather because it marries management science with pure investment.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/444765/private-equitya-big-propeller-for-economic-growth/

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a Gulf Daily story on Pakistan's new rules for sukuk:

SYDNEY: Pakistan's regulator has issued new draft rules for the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, as part of a range of initiatives to boost the Islamic banking sector in the country.

Under the rules, sukuk will have to be structured to comply with standards of the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Finance Institutions(AAOIFI), as well as those set by the local regulator.

The draft rules also include requirements for disclosure of information about the issuers and for the issuers to appoint Islamic scholars who vet the sukuk structures.

There is a consultation period on the draft until October 15.

The number of individual sukuk issues in Pakistan has shrunk in recent years, despite the rapid growth of issuance globally, which is projected by Commerzbank to exceed $100 billion this year.

Last year, the Pakistani sukuk market was led by three sovereign sukuk which raised a combined 163.6bn rupees ($1.72bn), according to securities commission data.

Three corporate sukuk raised a combined 5.4bn rupees. This compares with 21 sukuk in 2007, most of which were corporate, raising a combined 49.3bn rupees. In 2008 there were 18 sukuk which raised 31.9bn rupees.

AAOIFI standards indicate how Islamic financial products should be structured; following the standards could increase the interest of foreign investors in investing in Pakistani sukuk.

Pakistan aims to lift Islamic finance's share of its banking sector through a series of reforms. Last month the central bank said it was developing a five-year plan for Islamic banking.

The country is introducing new rules for takaful (Islamic insurance) designed to increase competition.


http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=339152

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an Express Tribune list of Pakistani companies with over a billion in revenue:

The Billion Dollar Club

1. Pakistan State Oil Company

Revenues: $11.57 billion

Joined club: Before 1986

2. Pak-Arab Refinery

Revenues: $3.00 billion

Joined club: 2000

3. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines

Revenues: $2.52 billion

Joined club: 2004

4. Shell Pakistan

Revenues: $2.38 billion

Joined club: 2000


5. Oil & Gas Development Company

Revenues: $2.23 billion

Joined club: 2005

6. National Refinery

Revenues: $1.97 billion

Joined club: 2005

7. Hub Power Company

Revenues: $1.97 billion

Joined club: 2009



8. Karachi Electric Supply Company

Revenues: $1.84 billion

Joined club: 2008


9. Attock Refinery

Revenues: $1.74 billion

Joined club: 2008


10. Attock Petroleum

Revenues: $1.72 billion

Joined club: 2010


11. Lahore Electric Supply Company

Revenues: $1.49 billion

Joined club: 2006

12. Pakistan Refinery

Revenues: $1.44 billion

Joined club: 2011


13. Sui Southern Gas Company

Revenues: $1.38 billion

Joined club: 2005

14. Pakistan International Airlines

Revenues: $1.36 billion

Joined club: 2005

15. Engro Corporation

Revenues: $1.29 billion

Joined club: 2011


16. Pakistan Telecommunications Company

Revenues: $1.25 billion

Joined club: 2000

17. Kot Addu Power Company

Revenues: $1.14 billion

Joined club: 2012

18. Mobilink

Revenues: $1.11 billion

Joined club: 2006

19. Pakistan Petroleum

Revenues: $1.09 billion

Joined club: 2012

.


http://tribune.com.pk/story/483287/corporate-revenues-the-growth-of-the-billion-dollar-club-in-pakistan/

Riaz Haq said...

Here's PakObserver on US support for entrepreneurship in Pakistan:

Friday, January 11, 2013 - Islamabad—US Ambassador Richard Olson affirmed that the United States will continue to support the development of Pakistan’s entrepreneurs, including through the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund, during a visit to the National University of Sciences and Technology’s (NUST) Technology Incubation Center on Thursday.

“We all know that societies thrive when their people have ample opportunity, and this is why the United States supports young entrepreneurs in Pakistan,” said Ambassador Olson during a tour of NUST’s state-of-the-art Technology Incubation Center.

While at NUST, Ambassador Olson announced that the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund, which supports small-scale, high-impact programs for communities throughout Pakistan, will now also focus on support to Pakistan’s entrepreneurs. The U.S. Embassy also recently unveiled an entrepreneurship program called Khushhali Ka Safar (Journey to Prosperity), which provides support to innovative Pakistani entrepreneurs by connecting them with American investors and mentors, particularly from the Pakistani-American diaspora and academic institutions.

Ambassador Olson highlighted NUST’s future Center for Advanced Studies, which will focus on Pakistan’s energy needs, and is being established together by the Governments of Pakistan and the United States. Three Centers will eventually be established across the country. “These Centers, a five-year, $127 million program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, will promote the development of Pakistan’s water, energy, and agriculture sectors through applied research, training, university linkages, and contributions towards policy formation. We look forward to promoting entrepreneurship and innovation through the strong links each center will have with the private sector,” said the Ambassador.

In addition, the United States recently launched the multi-year Pakistan Private Investment Initiative. Drawing on public-private partnerships, this initiative will spur job growth and economic development by expanding access to capital for Pakistan’s small- to medium-sized companies.Another U.S. program, the Pakistan Firms Project, helps to increase the profitability and incomes of small and medium-sized businesses in vulnerable areas by identifying and removing constraints to private-sector job growth in key areas such as agriculture, livestock, minerals, and tourism.


http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=191116

Riaz Haq said...

Here's Daily Times on US-Pak cooperation in human capital development:

* Grant to help researchers turn their research into commercially viable projects with private sector partners

* Symposium on ‘Economic Growth through Technology Transfer’ kicks off

ISLAMABAD: US Ambassador Richard Olson has announced new funding for Pakistani researchers during the first Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Programme Symposium on “Economic Growth through Technology Transfer”, which started at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) on Thursday.

The two-day symposium is being jointly organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), US Department of State, US Agency for International Development and US National Academy of Sciences. The main objective of this academic activity was to introduce concepts of technology transfer and foster new interactions between research projects and the private sector, enhancing translation of research across these domains.

The participants included principal investigators, private sector, government representatives and universities. Delivering the keynote address, Ambassador Olson said that international science and technology cooperation is essential in addressing global challenges. Examples of research cooperation that can improve lives include more efficient water treatment to conserve and reuse wastewater; systems that rapidly detect deadly, drug-resistant tuberculosis; and solar water-heating systems for remote, rural areas, he said.

Ambassador Olson explained several other ways that the United States promotes scientific cooperation with Pakistan. He also announced new funding for Pakistani researchers to turn their research into commercially viable projects with private sector partners. This year’s Pakistan-US Science and Technology Symposium mark the 10-year anniversary of the Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement and highlights a new focus on economic growth through scientific cooperation.

The two-day symposium brings together American and Pakistani researchers, universities, research institutions, government officials, and entrepreneurs to help build partnerships between researchers and private sector. The sessions include hands-on workshops on establishing private sector partnerships, intellectual property, and how to “sell” a business idea to potential investors. Earlier in the inauguration session, HEC Member Dr Nasser Ali Khan informed that over the last decade, the United States and Pakistan have jointly contributed $38 million to fund 73 Pakistani-US scientist-led research projects among 40 different institutes and universities in both countries. He also shed light over the decade-long achievements of higher education sector.

The Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Programme will sponsor two competitive seed grant programmes in 2013: “Innovate! and Collaborate”. Under these programmes, researchers can apply for seed grants of up to $15,000 starting in summer 2013. Application details will be available in summer 2013. HEC chairperson Dr Javaid R Laghari, Ministry of Science and Technology Secretary Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar, National University of Science and Technology Islamabad Rector Engr Muhammad Asghar and University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan were also present on the occasion.


http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\02\01\story_1-2-2013_pg11_1

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a PakistanToday report of a Silicon-Valley based Pakistani-American VC Faysal Suhail's Pak visit:

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has great opportunity to tap the true potential of Venture Capital for job creation and acceleration of economic growth on sustainable grounds. “Pakistan is having potential as well as talent to promote venture capital to strengthen its economy,” Faysal Sohail, Managing Director of CMEA Capital in San Francisco USA told APP in an interview.
The American experts was accompanied by Matthew Boland, Deputy Press Officer-Deputy Spokesman of US Embassy in Islamabad and Ambassador Shahid Kamal and Advisor Science, Technology and Innovation Organization (STIO).
It is pertinent to mention here that Faysal Sohail is currently visiting Pakistan to explore venture capital potential in various fields of economy with special focus on energy sector.
He was of the view that although venture capital was a new idea for Pakistan but it has the potential to boost the country’s economy by utilizing the vast talent of its young generation.
He said that complying with Islamic ideology, Venture Capital is risk-based capital for entrepreneurship with prospects of good returns on investments.
Faysal Sohail said the venture capital sector was investment-friendly as risk was shared by both investor and owner of the project. It provides an opportunity of sharing capital and skills through a mutual venture, he added. Replying to a question, Faysal said in Pakistan the energy sectors, including solar and other alternative energies, web, software and commerce, including e-commerce, and third generation mobile technologies were the major sectors which could boost national economy and create job opportunities.
He said during the last 20 years, 100 per cent new jobs created in the United States were through venture capital, so this sector had great potential for Pakistan also.
“Venture capital is like life-blood for various companies”, he remarked.
Replying to another question, he said Pakistan and the United States have a lot of potential for collaboration in the field of venture capital and in this regard Pak-US Business Council and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) could play an important role.
The venture capital expert stressed the need for highlighting the new idea of venture capital in Pakistan so that people as well as the entrepreneurs take optimum benefit of the important sector.
“Since the economic growth is driven by small and medium size enterprises, the venture capital can play an important role to boost the economy on sustainable grounds,” he added.


http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/02/23/news/profit/pakistan-urged-to-tap-potential-of-venture-capital-for-sustainable-growth/

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a Gulf News report on new tech training center in FATA's Bajaur agency in Pakistan:

Islamabad: In keeping with the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to provide assistance to the people of Pakistan and to support technical and vocational educational there, the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan (UPAP) has announced completion of the project to build a technical college at Bajaur in Pakistan at a total cost of $3.4 million (Dh12.4 million). The project was delivered to the local government in Bajaur following completion.

The official inauguration of the college was attended by Chief of Pakistan Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Eisa Abdullah Al Basha Al Nuaimi, Abdullah Khalifa Al Gafli, Director of the UPAP, and senior Pakistani officials.

The college is built on a 34,000 square foot area. It will provide diploma-level technical education for up to 450 students in various disciplines of engineering such as electrical, mechanical, civil and mining.


http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/government/emirati-charity-project-in-pakistan-completed-1.1172873

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a ET report on USAID helping lunch a private equity fund in Pakistan:

The United States and the government of Pakistan hosted the ‘US-Pakistan Business Opportunities Conference’ in Dubai, where USAID in association with the Abraaj Group and JS Private Equity Management (JSPE) announced the creation of the ‘Pakistan Private Investment Initiative’ which will launch two new private equity funds focused solely on Pakistan’s dynamic and fast-growing small- and medium-sized businesses.
USAID Administrator Dr Rajiv Shah announced that USAID will provide a seed investment to capitalise the funds which will be matched by Abraaj Group and JSPE with investments of their own, as well as private funds raised from other limited investors.
“We are seeding individual funds with $24 million each. The Abraaj Group and JSPE will match or exceed our commitment. We fully expect them to exceed that contribution,” said Dr Rajiv Shah. “Pooled funds will initially be $100 million which we expect will grow many fold into hundreds of millions of dollars in investment for small and medium businesses.”
The announcement came at the end of the first day of the conference. “By partnering with Abraaj and JS Private Equity Management, USAID capitalises on these companies’ expertise to make smart investment decisions that will grow the Pakistani economy, create jobs, and generate profits for investors who seize the economic opportunities that Pakistan presents,” Shah said.
Speaking at the conference US Ambassador Richard Olson said, “The United States is one of the largest investors in Pakistan, and the US government supports Pakistani business leaders by offering access to finance, facilitating business deals, and strengthening business education.”
“With 190 million potential customers, Pakistan is a huge emerging market opportunity for US companies,” Ambassador Olson observed.
The conference, sponsored by the US government, was attended by 200 American, Pakistani and Emirati businesses including Gillette, Citibank, General Electric, Procter and Gamble, Abraaj Group, Big Bird Group, Coca-Cola, Conoco Phillips, Engro, Estee Lauder, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Monsanto, Nishat Group, and the Saif Group.


http://tribune.com.pk/story/568796/access-to-finance-usaid-launches-private-equity-fund-for-pakistan/

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an Express Tribune report on a new private equity fund in Pakistan:

Private equity is poised to take off in Pakistan, with contrarian investors betting that the country is endowed with far greater potential than news reports chronicling Taliban bombings, the war in neighbouring Afghanistan or an evolving democracy’s frequent bouts of political drama might imply.
While Pakistan is undoubtedly a high risk play, investor sentiment has improved following a smooth transition at general elections in May and pledges by the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to tackle a stubborn power crisis that has stifled manufacturing.
“I feel like being a kid in a candy store,” said Shaharyar Ahmed, 32, who started his career as an equity researcher at Goldman Sachs in New York, but who returned to his native Pakistan last year. “So many companies, amazing returns, growing in leaps and bounds – it’s a buyers’ market.”

Ahmed and his collaborator Isfandiyar Shaheen, 30, are at the vanguard. As co-managers of Cyan Capital, a $50 million private equity fund set up by the Dawood Hercules Group, one of Pakistan’s biggest conglomerates, they must prove that they can find finance-starved companies ready for rapid expansion.
But the risk-hungry duo have now forsaken budding careers in the United States financial industry in the belief that somewhere in Pakistan’s ranks of unglamorous, overlooked family businesses lie hidden the seeds of future corporate giants.
“There’s a new wave of interest in private equity,” said Chairman of JS Private Equity Ali Jehangir Siddiqui while talking to Reuters. “There are certainly some funds that are stepping up to the plate, we hope that there will be more.”
Wild west
The new funds all aim to introduce the private equity model that is now familiar in rich and poor countries alike: groups of investors buy stakes in privately owned companies in return for a say in how they are run.
The theory is that an injection of capital and management savvy will turbo-charge the best of Pakistan’s family-run enterprises, creating jobs for a restive, youthful population and lucrative returns for the funds when they sell their stakes.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how much you can do in this country, it’s absolutely green,” said Cyan’s Shaheen, a Pakistani who began his career in US investment banking but now lives in Karachi. “It’s like the Wild West.”
Cyan’s confidence in Pakistan’s prospects stems in part from the sheer size of the market in a country of 180 million people, where many conservatively run companies have shied away from scaling up their businesses into nationwide operations.
Companies listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange have grown their profits by at least 13-15% annually since 2009, according to one market analyst. With 49% returns in 2012, the market was among the world’s top performers....


http://tribune.com.pk/story/585766/new-private-equity-fund-exposes-lucrative-prospects-in-pakistan/

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan’s 2nd Annual Start-Up Cup competition launched

To promote and assist the local entrepreneurships across the country, the 2015 Pakistan Start-Up Cup, an intensive, nationwide business competition launched here on Saturday.

The Start-Up Cup is locally driven business model competition open to any idea. This innovative community-based approach is designed to increase the quality and quality of entrepreneurs in the community.
The US Embassy in Islamabad and the Islamabad Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Chapter, in collaboration with the US Pakistan Women’s Council, launched the 2015 Pakistan Start-Up Cup, an intensive, nationwide business competition. Entrepreneurs selected to participate in Start-Up Cup will receive coaching through multi-day “Build-a-Business” workshops and regular mentoring to help turn their ideas into a commercial reality. Prize money of $10,000, $7,500, and $5,000 will be awarded to the winner and two runners-ups with the best Start Up concept.
At the opening ceremony, Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Islamabad Thomas E Williams, said, “Programs like Start Up Cup foster greater inclusiveness in Pakistan’s economy, particularly for women. The entrepreneurial solutions that arise from competitions such as Start-Up Cup foster inclusiveness, grow economies, promote stability, expand the international supply chain, and spread the exchange of ideas.”
Over the course of the seven-month programe, aspiring Pakistani entrepreneurs will learn to design viable business models, develop customers, and launch their start-up business concepts in the marketplace.
This year’s programme will build on the success of last year’s Start-Up Cup, which saw over 400 entrepreneurs compete for one of the top three prizes. Last year’s winning team went on to defeat 170 other entrepreneurs to win the first-ever World Start-Up Cup competition in Yerevan, Armenia.
The 2015 Start-Up Cup in Pakistan will introduce new partnerships with entrepreneurship centres across Pakistan, including the world’s first Women’s Entrepreneurial Centre of resources, education, access, and training for Economic Empowerment (WECREATE) in Islamabad sponsored by the US Department of State in collaboration with the US Pakistan Women’s Council; the Lahore University for Management Science (LUMS) Centre for Entrepreneurship; and Karachi-based technology incubator “The Nest I/O.”
The partnerships between Start-Up Cup and these centres will ensure that newly established businesses receive sustained support and mentoring, essential tools for long-term success. Numerous US Embassy programmes assist Pakistan’s entrepreneurs by increasing their access to financial resources, supporting opportunities for entrepreneurship education, and nurturing an entrepreneurial culture.
There are four base stations for this program, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi with overall prize money of Rs22.5 million.
During the opening ceremony esteemed businessman and Islamabad TiE Board member Imtiaz Rastgar said, “StartUp Cup has only came to Pakistan two years ago and already tremendous feats have been achieved as new voices and ingenious minds have been brought to the fore. One can only imagine how much advantage this competition will bring as the years progress”.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/islamabad/22-Feb-2015/pakistan-s-2nd-annual-start-up-cup-competition-launched

Riaz Haq said...

Private equity firms Abraaj and JS Private Equity Management have teamed up with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to launch two private private funds focused on Pakistan.

The two funds launched under the Pakistan Private Investment Initiative will invest in Pakistani SMEs. USAID will provide a seed investment of $24m for each of the two funds, which will be matched or exceeded by Abraaj and JS.

USAID said it “fully expected” the firms to exceed that contribution.

USAID administrator Rajiv Shah said, “Pooled funds will initially be $100m which we expect will grow many fold into hundreds of millions of dollars in investment for small and medium businesses.”

Pooled funds will initially be $100 million which we expect will grow many fold into hundreds of millions of dollars in investment for small and medium businesses

Abraaj Group CEO Arif Naqvi said, “As one of the most experienced investors in growth markets, we are pleased to partner with USAID on this initiative and help bring greater opportunities to small and mid-cap businesses in Pakistan.”

The Pakistan Private Investment Initiative is expected to “demonstrate that investing in growth-focused enterprises can generate real profits for investors,” USAID and the firms said in the statement.

Earlier this month Abraaj bought West Africa-focused dairy products and juices maker Fan Milk International (FMI), bringing its total African investments to $2.2bn across sixty nine companies.

https://www.altassets.net/private-equity-news/by-news-type/fund-news/usaid-abraaj-and-js-launch-two-private-equity-funds-in-pakistan.html

Riaz Haq said...

A perennial outsider, Naqvi was born in Pakistan and built his career in the Middle East, no easy feat in a region where Arab prejudice against Pakistanis is common. The fourth child of a plastics manufacturer in Karachi, Naqvi graduated from the London School of Economics. After four years at Arthur Andersen and a short stint at a Saudi conglomerate, he used $50,000 in savings to start an investment advisory firm, Cupola, in Dubai in 1994. In his first deal he raised $8 million for a duty-free-kiosk business and received an $800,000 advisory fee. Five years later, in 1999, he pulled off a complex deal that involved purchasing another business-services company, Inchcape Middle East, for $102 million, with $4.1 million in equity. Naqvi then sold off pieces of the company for a total of $173 million. With the proceeds of that transaction he founded Abraaj in Dubai in 2002.

------------

In summer 2012 Abraaj acquired London-based Aureos Capital, which gave it a global network of offices. Now the combined company does deals in the range of $20 million to $100 million. It has majority stakes in nearly half its portfolio companies, such as the Colombia-based D1 supermarket chain, which grew from 18 stores in 2010 to more than 280 today; Ghana-based ice cream maker Fan Milk International, a coinvestment with Paris’ Danone; and Pakistan’s Karachi Electric Supply, into which Abraaj invested $360 million in 2008.

-----------
Arif Naqvi, chief executive of Dubai’s Abraaj Group, hates the way Westerners speak about his part of the world. His private equity firm, he says, does not operate in emerging markets or, worse, frontier markets.

“We have taken the risk out of investing in what the West mistakenly calls ‘emerging markets,’ ” he says in elegant, Pakistani-accented English from a Madison Avenue outpost. “ They’re growth markets,” he insists.

While his remarks contain a healthy dose of marketing, Naqvi has a point. His $9 billion private equity firm–currently the largest investor in emerging markets outside of Brazil, Russia, India and China–has a track record many developed-world money managers would kill for. Despite operating in places where the rule of law often comes into question, limited partners report an impressive 17% annual return since inception in 2002.

Naqvi, 55, considers the notion of risky emerging markets a myth–part of what he calls “universally practiced hypocrisies.” He reminds a visitor that in 2008 the biggest risk on the planet came not from the developing world but from the financial capital of the modern era, New York City. Why, he asks pointedly, “have you not attached a risk premium to doing business with Wall Street banks?”

In a clubby world of global dealmakers, Blackstone, KKR and Carlyle get most of the headlines, but Abraaj is the undisputed private equity king of investing in the seemingly dangerous markets of Asia, Africa and Latin America. There is no shortage of big investors wanting to get into its newest funds. So far in 2015 the firm has sucked in $1.4 billion in fresh capital, giving Abraaj the largest pool of institutional money now pointed at sub-Saharan Africa in the world.

The firm currently has 300 limited partners, including the Gates and Skoll foundations, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Investment Bank.

“I view them as having more depth and breadth [in emerging markets] than the bigger players,” says Jin-Yong Cai, CEO of the IFC, which has invested $200 million in Abraaj funds and $70 million directly with Abraaj in deals, including an electric company in Karachi and a home loans company in Ghana.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethmacbride/2015/11/04/the-story-behind-abraajs-stunning-rise/#69bcdb005be3

Riaz Haq said...

#SaudiArabia, #Japan's #SoftBank plan $100 billion #technology fund ─ one of the world's biggest. #VentureCapital

http://www.dawn.com/news/1289957/saudi-arabia-softbank-plan-100-billion-tech-fund-one-of-the-worlds-biggest

Saudi Arabia and Japan's SoftBank Group (9984.T) said they will create a technology investment fund that could grow as large as $100 billion, aiming to create one of the world's largest private equity funds.

The plan is part of a series of dramatic business initiatives launched by Riyadh this year as Saudi Arabia, its economy hurt by low oil prices, deploys huge financial reserves in an effort to move into non-oil industries.

SoftBank's founder and chairman Masayoshi Son, who has built his company into a $68bn telecommunications and tech investment behemoth from a $50,000 start-up, has been seeking to expand in new areas.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's top sovereign wealth fund, is set to be the lead investment partner and may invest up to $45bn over the next five years while SoftBank expects to invest at least $25bn, the Japanese company said in a statement.

Several other large investors are in talks on their possible participation and could bring the total size of the new fund up to $100bn. The investors were not identified.

"With the establishment of the SoftBank Vision Fund, we will be able to step up investments in technology companies globally. Over the next decade, the SoftBank Vision Fund will be the biggest investor in the technology sector," SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son said.

The fund would be managed in Britain by a subsidiary of SoftBank.

Investment power
Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, leading an economic reform drive in the kingdom, has revealed a string of high-profile investment plans this year.

He has said he aims to expand the PIF, founded in 1971 to finance development projects in the kingdom and until this year little known abroad, from $160bn to about $2 trillion, making it the world's largest sovereign fund.

In June, the PIF departed from Saudi Arabia's traditional strategy of low-risk investments and took a step into the tech world by announcing the $3.5bn purchase of a stake in United States ride-hailing firm Uber.

The deal illustrated how Riyadh now hopes to use its investments to develop the economy: Uber is a popular form of transport for Saudi women, who are banned from driving, and is creating badly needed non-oil jobs for Saudi citizens.

SoftBank's tech and telecommunications portfolio ranges from U.S. carrier Sprint (S.N) to a stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA.N).

Its $32bn purchase of British company ARM in July established its first major presence in chip making, driven by expectations for a shift to the so-called "internet of things" – networks of connected devices, vehicles and sensors.

Son said earlier this year that he wanted to "cement SoftBank 2.0" by working on unconventional ideas.

Riaz Haq said...

#Pakistan-based lockscreen app #startup closes $3.6m series A from #SouthKorean #VC bringing total raised to $4.6m
https://www.techinasia.com/slide-series-a-funding

Pakistan-based Slide, an Android lockscreen app that rewards users for clicking on ads or reading content, today announced that it’s closed a series A funding round worth US$3.6 million. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The round was led by Songhyun Investment, a South Korean VC firm. Slide has raised a total of US$4.6 million to date.

Slide launched roughly a year ago and claims to have 5 million downloads already. CEO Junaid Malik says the funds will be used to further strengthen the company’s presence in Pakistan and develop more products.

He adds that they’re now live in India and in the midst of closing deals to expand to the Middle Eastern market.

Slide is similar to apps like Candy and Popslide. It incentivizes users to read content that pops up every time they unlock their phones. Readers accumulate points for each click which they can then exchange for mobile phone top-ups.

The team’s blown past an internal target of 1 million downloads in the first year, so it’s clear that the concept is catching on.

“A year ago when I was quitting my job, most people said I shouldn’t do it and even today, I’m not sure where this journey will end but to me what matters the most is that I started from scratch,” beams Junaid.

Riaz Haq said...

#US-based 1839 Ventures partners with #PTIB to launch $20m #Pakistan-focused #VC fund. #Punjab #Lahore #Technology

https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/1839-ventures-partners-with-ptib-to-launch-20m-fund-84321/

Punjab Information and Technology Board (PITB) of Pakistan has partnered with US-based investment firm 1839 Ventures to launch a $20 million venture capital fund for the technology startups in Pakistan. “1839 Ventures announces its international expansion and the start of a $20-million venture capital fund that will be dedicated to investing in technology-oriented startups operated by exceptional entrepreneurs who are based across Pakistan,” the company said, in a social media post. Austin-based 1839 Ventures specialises in Series A, early stage and growth capital investments in technology oriented companies working in commerce, communication and business intelligence. It invests primarily in Texas-based companies. The announcement was made last week by the venture capital firm at the Atx+Pak Launch Entrepreneurship Program launch ceremony in Austin city. Pakistan has been trying to boost its local entrepreneurship base. Earlier in May, Pakistan’s federal government announced that it will set up a $20 million venture capital fund for local startups. The startup programme was to be open to all startups – not just in IT – since Pakistan needs innovative startups in all sectors such as agri, textiles, logistics, and manufacturing, Pakistan’s Planning Commission Member Athar Osama had said in a blog post at the time. In June, Lakson Investment was granted Pakistan’s first venture capital licence in the South Asian nation. Its application for a private equity and venture capital fund had been approved by Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan last year. Lakson had set up Lakson Investment Private Equity (LI PE) in the end of 2014 and is still in its pre-launch phase. It had proposed to start making investments by late 2017.

Read more at: https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/1839-ventures-partners-with-ptib-to-launch-20m-fund-84321/