Shorooq Partners, a leading VC firm headquartered in the UAE and with offices across Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain, has been granted approval by Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) for a Zone Enterprise license and will be opening its first office in Pakistan in the Islamabad Special Technology Zone (STZ).
Shorooq Partners is the leading technology investor across emerging markets, partnering with startups, and building enduring businesses through seed-stage equity and debt funding with a focus on the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan (MENAP).
Earlier this year, Shorooq Partners signed an MoU with the STZA to support efforts to build Pakistan’s technology ecosystem in the presence of the Honorable President of Pakistan Dr.Arif Alvi. Shorooq Partners was keen to establish a physical presence in Pakistan to support local founders and other local investors through a series of ecosystem initiatives.
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As part of its new office, Shorooq Partners intends to invest and extend its one-of-a-kind value-creation arm to its portfolio companies in Pakistan and give them a real competitive advantage in the market.
Shorooq Partners was early in investing in Pakistan and has done more than 10 investments in companies such as Airlift, PostEx, DigiKhata, Retailo, KTrade Securities, and Tazah Technologies.
Chairman of STZA, Mr. Amer Hashmi, reinforced the government’s commitment to facilitating global venture capital firms in the Special Technology Zones. “The presence of a VC firm like Shorooq Partners will be significant for Pakistan as it will bring global best practices that will enable Pakistani tech entrepreneurs and investors to forge connections on a global level, tap into other markets, and learn from top-tier founders and investors.”
Shorooq Partners, a leading VC firm headquartered in the UAE and with offices across Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain, has been granted approval by Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) for a Zone Enterprise license and will be opening its first office in #Pakistan.
— Special Technology Zones Authority – Pakistan (@STZAOfficial) December 23, 2021
Shorooq Partners to revamp Pakistan’s digital ecosystem
Shorooq Partners already has five offices across the region and has planned for its sixth office to open in Pakistan in the Islamabad Technopolis STZ to deepen its commitment to significantly building Pakistan’s ecosystem and to further support its portfolio companies with its value-creation arm. Shorooq Partners has also appointed a Country Manager lead for Pakistan who will soon join to lead the practice in Pakistan.
“At Shorooq Partners we’ve had a long-standing thesis on the growing importance of Pakistan and of Pakistani start-ups in the global tech space. As we spend more time meeting local founders and understanding the Pakistani ecosystem our conviction grows that Pakistani start-ups have the ability to be a major disruptive force on a global level” said Shane Shin, Co-Founding Partner at Shorooq Partners.
“We expect Pakistan’s first home-grown unicorn to emerge in the next few months, and the momentum from this will push the Pakistani tech ecosystem to the next stage of growth,” Shane Shin further added.
STZA will work closely with Shorooq Partners as it expands its footprint across Pakistan as part of its mandate to facilitate inclusive growth and innovation in STZs across the country. This partnership will see a significant impact on the startup ecosystem by enabling technology growth companies to become leading players on both a regional and global level.
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