The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has made a significant investment in Pakistan’s entrepreneurial landscape, committing $3 million to i2i Ventures, the nation’s first women-led venture capital fund. This investment comes under IFC’s Startup Catalyst Programme, which aims to support innovative early-stage startups in developing markets.
The IFC, a key player in advancing economic development in developing countries, focuses on creating jobs and improving lives through private sector investments. Their recent move to support i2i Ventures aligns with this mission, targeting pre-seed and seed-stage startups.
Founded in 2019 by Kalsoom Lakhani and Misbah Naqvi, i2i Ventures has carved a niche for itself by providing crucial early-stage funding and hands-on support to budding entrepreneurs in Pakistan. “We saw firsthand both how hard it was to build businesses in Pakistan, and how resilient Pakistani founders were as a result,” Naqvi shared. “i2i Ventures was born from that experience of seeing up close the potential of startups in the market, and the need for founder-centric investors who understood business and market challenges and could support their growth at the early stage.”
The IFC’s investment includes up to $2 million from their own funds, supplemented by up to $1 million from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi). We-Fi specifically supports women-owned and led firms, helping build their capacity to manage high-growth businesses.
Zeeshan Sheikh, IFC’s country manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan, highlighted the importance of this investment. “There is tremendous potential in Pakistan for startups to develop and scale up new technologies and tech-enabled business models that address issues such as climate change or help increase access to quality education, health care, and financial services, among others,” Sheikh explained. “But early-stage entrepreneurs, and particularly women, face significant challenges in accessing the resources they need to launch and grow their businesses. Tackling this is critical to build ecosystems that boost innovation and entrepreneurship.”
The IFC’s Startup Catalyst Programme, established in 2016, has supported 22 accelerators and seed funds, investing in over 1,180 startups across 24 emerging markets to date. This initiative continues to empower entrepreneurs in underserved markets, reinforcing the importance of early-stage support for startup ecosystems.
In a related development, DealCart, a Pakistani e-commerce startup, recently secured $3 million in a funding round led by Shorooq Partners, a prominent Middle Eastern investment fund. This success story underscores the growing potential and investor interest in Pakistan’s startup scene.
In Summary
The $3 million investment by IFC into i2i Ventures marks a pivotal moment for Pakistan’s startup ecosystem, especially for women-led initiatives. By providing essential early-stage funding and support, IFC and i2i Ventures are paving the way for innovative and resilient entrepreneurs to thrive in the challenging business landscape of Pakistan.