South Asia Investor Review

Last week I attended a Silicon Valley fundraiser by  iCodeGuru , a Pakistani-American group focusing on arranging training and guiding young men and women from underprivileged backgrounds to get full scholarships for advanced STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) degrees at universities in America. The well-attended event held at Chandni restaurant raised over $180,000. It featured  iCodeGruru alumni  who shared their success stories.  iCodeGuru Alumna Afsheen Ghuman Speaking at Silicon Valley Fundraiser.  The story of Afsheen Ghuman from Gujranwala shows how a poor girl from a small town can succeed in defying the odds with a little help from iCodeGuru team headed by Dr. Zafar Shahid. She was able to take advantage of the online platform remotely from her home.  She is now studying at an American university with a fully funded scholarship. iCodeGuru uses its online platform to offer advice, training and financial assistance to get advanc...

The year 2021 is turning out to be a banner year for  Pakistani tech startups . At the end of the third quarter of the current year, technology startups have already raised $278 million, twice the funding raised in the previous 5 years combined. In per capita terms, this is still just over $1 per person, a lot less compared to neighboring India where startups attracted  $20 per person .  Venture Capital Investment in Pakistan. Source: Kalsoom Lakhani, i2i Ventures The third quarter (July-Sept 2021) alone has seen startup companies raise $172.6 in 17 deals closed in the three-month period, according to data compiled by Kalsoom Lakhani of i2i ventures. The top deals closed in the third quarter were: 1. Airlift $85 million series B 2. Bazaar $30 million in series A and 3. QisstPay $15 million seed round.  Source: Kalsoom Lakhani, i2i Ventures The lion's share of the ,money ($117 million) went to E-commerce startups followed by Fintech ($35 million) and trucking platform...

Pakistan's technology sector is in the midst of an unprecedented boom. It is being fueled by the country's growing human capital and rising investments in technology startups. A recent  tweet  by Swedish fund manager Mattias Martinsson captured it well when he wrote, "Have followed Pakistan for 15 years. Can't recall any time time when VC activity was anywhere near we've seen in the last few months. Impact of reforms kicking in?".  New laws have made it easier to create startups and offered greater protection to investors.  Digital infrastructure has expanded with over 100 million smartphones and an equal number of broadband subscriptions.  Source: Twitter Pakistan is churning out more than 30,000 information technology graduates every year. Over three-quarters of Pakistanis in the top three metros of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad are regularly using the internet. Technology startups are on track to attract more than $230 million in venture capital investments...

Pakistan's  human capital  has doubled from three years of learning in 1990 to six years of learning in 2016, according to a human capital study of 195 countries recently published in the journal The Lancet.  However, Pakistan still ranks a poor 164th in the first-ever scientific study ranking countries for their levels of human capital. India has also more than doubled its human capital from 3 years to 7 years but Bangladesh stands out by tripling its human capital from two years to six years of learning since 1990.  In 2016, the Lancet study shows that 44 countries achieved more than 20 years of expected human capital while 68 countries had expected human capital of less than 10 years. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan have less than 10 years of learning, putting them in the category of low human capital countries. Learning is based on average student scores on internationally comparable tests. What is Human Capital? Dictionary defines human capital as "the collec...

The scribe was interviewed live on Facebook for Day Dreamers Show by its host Dr. Aijaz Qureshi Canadawalla on August 24, 2018. The discussion began with introductions. It focused on the following topics: Riaz Haq 1.  Riaz  Haq's  background, education and 37 years experience in Silicon Valley: Graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Karachi's NED University in 1974. Completed Master's degree in EE from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1981. Worked at Intel Corporation for 15 years and led microprocessor design teams. Recognized by PC Magazine as Person of the Year for contribution to Intel 80386 processor. Started two high tech companies. 2.  Silicon Valley Pakistanis: Over 50,000  Pakistanis in Silicon Valley . Many successful tech entrepreneurs. Some have taken companies public while others have sold companies to big tech giants like Cisco and Intel. Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs in active in Silicon Valley and...

Pakistan has announced plans to develop and produce 5th generation fighter plane, according to media reports. It's part of Pakistan Air Force's highly ambitious Project Azm that includes building Kamra Aviation City dedicated to education, research and development and manufacturing of advanced fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and weapon systems. Pakistan's JF-17 Jet Fighter Human Capital: Development of a new advanced fighter is a wide-ranging effort that will encompass building  human capital  in a variety of fields including material science, physics, electronics, computer science, computer software, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, avionics, weapons design, etc etc. Air University: Pakistan Air Force's Air University, established in 2002 in Islamabad, will add a new campus in Kamra Aviation City. The university already offers bachelor's master's and doctoral degrees in several subjects. Pakistan A...

A 12-year-old Pakistani girl is taking advance online classes offered by Stanford University. The youngest Microsoft certified professional is a Pakistani. Young Pakistanis are setting records with straight A's on O level and A level Cambridge courses. These frequent reports offer anecdotal evidence of Pakistan's growing human capital. Such evidence is also supported by data reported by various researchers and organizations. With nearly 16% of its population in 25-34 years age group having college degrees, Pakistan is well ahead of India and Indonesia, according to Global Education Digest 2009 published by UNESCO Institute of Statistics. UNESCO data also shows that Pakistan's lead is growing with younger age groups. Source: Global Education Digest By comparison, a little over 12% of Indians and 9% of Indonesians in 25-34 years age group have completed tertiary education. In 35-44 years age group, 11% of Pakistanis, 9% of Indians and 8% of Indonesians have com...