Global venture capital heads down a rocky recovery road

For the better part of the last 15 years, Pakistan has faced serious economic troubles. Even during the supposedly good times, the alarm bells were quite clear. Lately, we have truly learned the meaning of rock bottom through a series of ‘firsts’. Be it the highest inflation in our history, interest payments exceeding federal revenues or another indicator of your choice. Briefly, the startup ecosystem appeared to be immune from the entire mess — at least to the flag bearers — as capital was pouring in regardless. Once that stopped, everyone became an expert on monetary economics and asset allocation. Nevertheless, rounds were still being announced, albeit far less frequently. However, we have found a new rock bottom: in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, Pakistani startups raised a grand sum of zero dollars. It goes without saying that this was the lowest total in over five years, at minimum, possibly even 10.