Pakistan startup ecosystem overview: funding, hubs and trends

Pakistan has one of the world’s youngest populations, cheap mobile data and a large pool of software talent. Those ingredients produced a burst of startup activity in 2021 and 2022, followed by a sharp correction. Today the ecosystem is smaller, more cautious and increasingly funded through debt as well as equity.

This overview explains how much money Pakistani startups raise, which sectors attract it, where founders get support, and how the wider tech economy is growing. It draws on the two main funding trackers, Data Darbar and Invest2Innovate (i2i), government sources and reporting from Dawn, Business Recorder, The Express Tribune and Profit.

A note on the numbers

Data Darbar and i2i count deals differently. Data Darbar tracks disclosed equity rounds only. i2i also includes debt and hybrid deals. So the two often report different totals for the same year. In this article each figure is labelled with its tracker, and the two should not be mixed in one series.

How much funding do Pakistani startups raise?

The table below uses Data Darbar figures for consistency.

The boom. 2021 was the record year. Business Recorder reported Data Darbar’s figure of $365.8 million, and funding stayed above $330 million in 2022. Startups in quick commerce, business-to-business retail and fintech raised large rounds from international investors.

The correction. In 2023 disclosed funding fell 77.2% to $75.6 million, Business Recorder reported. E-commerce was the largest sector that year, and the biggest single deal was Retailo’s $16.5 million bridge round. 2024 was weaker still.

A modest recovery. In 2025 disclosed equity rose to $36.6 million, according to Data Darbar’s own analysis in Dawn. The average deal was about $3.7 million. Fintech led and healthtech came second. Notable rounds included a $6 million Series A for healthtech company MediQ, while digital distribution platform Haball received $47 million of debt financing from Meezan Bank, the largest single deployment of the year.

i2i’s wider count tells a similar story with bigger numbers. Its Capital Landscape Brief, reported by The Express Tribune in February 2026, counted $74 million across 16 deals in 2025, up from $34 million across 8 deals in 2024. Hybrid debt and equity financing made up about $66 million, or 89%, of the 2025 total, showing that investors now prefer structures with less risk.

Over the longer run, i2i estimates that Pakistani startups raised about $1.04 billion between 2015 and early 2025, The Express Tribune reported.

What went wrong after 2022?

Global venture capital tightened sharply in 2022 as interest rates rose, and Pakistan was hit hard. Its own economy faced high inflation and currency weakness at the same time.

The most visible failure was Airlift, a quick-commerce delivery startup. Dawn reported that Airlift raised $85 million in 2021, then the largest round by a Pakistani startup. In July 2022, after closing operations in smaller cities and cutting staff, it shut down entirely. Its collapse made many investors more cautious about fast-growing, cash-hungry business models.

Which sectors are growing?

Based on the funding reports above, the main sectors are:

• Fintech: digital payments, lending, banking apps and business finance tools. Fintech led 2025 funding.
• E-commerce and retail tech: platforms that connect shopkeepers to suppliers and deliver goods.
• Healthtech: online consultations, medicine delivery and diagnostics, second in 2025.
• Software and IT services: the backbone of Pakistan’s tech exports.

Where do founders get support?

National Incubation Centers. The Ministry of IT and Telecom runs a network of National Incubation Centers (NICs) through Ignite, the national technology fund. Its programme page lists eight centers and reports more than 1,300 startups incubated, more than 660 graduated and more than 126,000 jobs linked to them. Centers operate in major cities including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta.

Rawalpindi and Islamabad. NIC Islamabad is one of the longest-running centers. In Rawalpindi, Business Recorder reported that Ignite’s eighth incubator, focused on aerospace and deep tech, would be built at the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park with Aviation City Pakistan. The twin cities also host universities, software firms and co-working spaces, making them one of the country’s main tech hubs.

University and private programmes. Many universities run incubators, and private accelerators and angel networks support early-stage founders, though most funding still comes from a small number of active investors.

The bigger picture: IT exports and freelancing

Startup funding is only one part of Pakistan’s tech economy. IT and IT-enabled services exports have grown steadily. Profit reported, using Topline data, that IT exports reached a record $4.6 billion in FY2025-26, up 21% on the year before. The government’s target under its Uraan Pakistan plan is $10 billion by FY2028-29.

Freelancers and small software companies earn a growing share of this. For many young Pakistanis, including young Christians, freelancing and remote work offer a first step into the digital economy, often before they start a company.

What this means for founders

The current market rewards startups that earn revenue early, keep costs low and solve clear problems for businesses or households. Large rounds are rare, so founders often start with savings, family support, small grants, incubator programmes or revenue-based finance.

In practice, many successful Pakistani founders follow a similar path:

1. Start with a real problem they or their community face, and talk to potential customers before building anything.
2. Build a simple first version cheaply, often using freelancing income or savings.
3. Join an incubator or accelerator for mentoring, workspace and introductions.
4. Register the business once it has paying customers, so it can open bank accounts, sign contracts and raise money.
5. Raise outside funding only when there is evidence the model works.

Some groups face bigger hurdles than others. Female-led startups raised about a quarter of disclosed equity in 2025, as we explain in our article on women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. Founders from minority communities often lack the networks, mentors and early capital that help others get started.

Where CSIF fits in

CSIF works to open this ecosystem to Christian founders in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Through the Future Founders Club and the Christian Youth Startup Fund, young people learn to test ideas, build digital skills and pitch their ventures. Our planned CSIF Incubation Centers aim to give founders workspace, ongoing mentoring and introductions to investors.

Investors, mentors, churches and foundations who want to back the next generation of Pakistani founders can partner with us. For context on employment options beyond startups, see our guide to the 5% minority job quota.