The International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group has launched a $225 million platform to support startups in Pakistan and other African, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian countries.
According to the sources, the platform will build on IFC’s efforts to build tech ecosystems in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan, which have been announced through initiatives such as the IFC Startup Catalyst Program.
The platform will be supported by an additional $50 million from the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window’s Blended Finance Facility, which assists in de-risking investments in low-income countries like Pakistan. In addition, the IFC will solicit funds from other development institutions and the private sector to assist entrepreneurs and technology firms in those countries.
The IFC’s $225 million funding platform will be available to venture capital firms and companies already addressing development challenges through technological innovations in climate, health care, education, agriculture, e-commerce, and others.
Moreover, the IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop said that the platform would assist innovative technology companies in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan to expand during capital scarcity and create scalable investment opportunities.
“IFC’s Venture Capital Platform will help tech companies and entrepreneurs to expand during a time of capital shortage, creating scalable investment opportunities and backing countries’ efforts to build transformative tech ecosystems. We want to help develop homegrown innovative solutions relevant to emerging countries and can be exported to the rest of the world.”
By 2030, Pakistan could unlock up to $59.7 billion in annual economic value, equivalent to roughly 19% of the country’s GDP. The new IFC platform will support venture capital ecosystems and invest in early-stage enterprises addressing development challenges through innovations in climate, health care, education, agriculture, e-commerce, and others.
Up to now, the institution has made direct investments in Twiga Foods, a Kenyan technology food distribution platform; TradeDepot, a B2B e-commerce startup connecting brands with retailers; and Toters, a Lebanon and Iraq on-demand delivery platform. It intends to use the platform to invest in countries other than Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt, Senegal, and South Africa.