According to the latest data released by Data Darbar, Startup financing in Pakistan had its worst quarter since 2020. The reports claim that investments in this category fell to $5.2 million in April-June 2023. ) are down from $104.1 million and $23.1 million, respectively. In addition, the number of deals was also eight, down 65.2% year-over-year.
FYI, total funding was approximately $28.3 million in the first half of 2023. It appears to be a 60% decrease from the same period last year. The drop, at 98%, was much larger than the $276.9 million raised in the first half of 2022.
Start-up funding in Pakistan shrinks by 95%
The point worth noting is that fundraising has declined globally, especially in Asia where venture capital investment has fallen below pre-COVID levels. Global data for the most recent quarter has yet to be announced, reports claim global startup funding fell 44% year-over-year to $22 billion in May 2023.
The average deal size fell to $743,000 in Q2 2023, down from $4.7 million the previous year and the lowest since Q1 2019. The median value was $500,000. It is the lowest since January-March 2021. As a result, the difference between size and median has narrowed to its lowest level of $243,000. Most of the moves were in an early phase, with four starting rounds and three acceleration rounds. The point worth noting is that only Abhi’s deal with BlueEx was technically categorized as post-IPO. On the other hand, Fintech was declared the most dominant sector in Pakistan as it accounts for half or $4 million of the declared investments.
The number of transactions fell to 16, from 26 in July-December and 46 in January-June last year. It was one of the lowest levels by amount since 2HCY20 and the collectively lowest by number of deals since 2HCY19.
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