“Sometimes the government just needs to get out of the way,” says Misbah Naqvi, co-founder of invest2innovate (i2i) Ventures, at the launch of Pakistan Startup Ecosystem Report (PSER) 2024. Her sentiments have been echoed by similar successful sectors, maize and sports goods, to name a couple. Pakistani startups have only reported $37 million till November 2024, a far cry from the peak of $355m
The bull run in Pakistan’s capital market is encouraging, but the outlook for critical long-term investments appears less optimistic. For instance, the multi-billion-dollar copper and gold project at Reko Diq in Balochistan’s Chagi district may face delays in materialising, despite the active involvement of Canadian giant Barrick Gold, which holds commanding 50 per cent stake in the venture. Th
Pakistan’s energy sector is a pertinent example of a systemic issue that extends beyond mere implementation challenges. This sector grapples with persistent policy inconsistencies and ambiguities, an obsolete governance model influenced by vested interests, and unprofessional management. There is a notable lack of coordination along energy supply chains and among various energy subsectors — a fail
Pakistan’s challenges to political stability and economic revival are enormous and not very dissimilar. The repeated use of protests as a tool by the PTI to achieve its political goals over the last couple of years has hardly helped the cause of the economy. The political tumult has compounded these economic challenges as the country is ranked amongst the politically most volatile economies global
The Federal Board of Revenue has imposed hefty fines on 10 sugar mills for tax violations as part of a campaign to improve compliance and similar action against 10 other mills is nearing completion, Dawn has learnt from official sources. After start of the sugarcane crushing season for 2024-25, the Federal Board of Revenue launched an improved production monitoring system for sugar. As a result