Pakistan’s Tech & VC Landscape 2024: A Market Reset, Not a Meltdown

The Tech & VC Landscape 2024 report by Data Darbar paints a complex picture of Pakistan’s startup ecosystem. While the funding headlines seem grim—equity investments dropped over 70% year-on-year—it’s not all doom and gloom. Underneath the surface, key shifts are redefining what resilience and recovery might look like for one of South Asia’s most promising but volatile tech hubs.

Here’s a deep dive into the numbers, signals, and standout insights from the report.

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Venture Capital: A Brutal Year by the Numbers

In 2024, Pakistan’s total disclosed equity funding fell to just $22.5 million, down from $75.8 million in 2023—a staggering 70.4% drop and the lowest since 2018 (p. 08). Only 15 equity deals were announced, and of those, 9 didn’t disclose amounts, which means the actual capital raised might be understated.

Quarter-wise:

 

• • Q1 and Q2 were near stagnant.

• • Q3 brought $15M across 7 deals, offering a glimmer of hope.

• • Q4 added $7.5M, lower than Q4 2023’s $38.8M but still steady (p. 09).

Ticket sizes rebounded, with average deal size rising 68% YoY to $3.8M, and the median deal size up 158% to $3.1M—signaling fewer deals, but more concentrated bets (p. 10).

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Startup Stages: Pre-Series A Leads the Pack

A significant shift emerged in the stage of investments:

 

• • Pre-Series A deals commanded 48% of all disclosed capital—up from almost negligible in previous years.

• • Seed-stage deals held 38%, while Series A shrank to just 14%, from 25% last year.

• • No Series B rounds were recorded in 2024 (p. 11–12).

This highlights investor preference for traction-backed bets over early ideas.

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Business Models: B2B > B2C

 

• • B2B startups received 48% of the capital, continuing a multi-year dominance.

• • B2C ventures shrank to 28%, reflecting reduced appetite for consumer-facing plays in a slow-growth economy.

• • Hybrid models made a comeback with 24% of funding (p. 13).

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Gender Diversity: Troubling Regression

Gender diversity in funding took a massive hit:

 

• • All-women founding teams received $0—a complete wipeout from 2023’s $10.48M.

• • Mixed-gender teams raised $5.5M, half of 2023’s total (p. 15).

• • Only 2 of 15 deals involved mixed-gender teams; none were women-only (p. 16).

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Beyond Equity: Debt Rises as a Lifeline

As equity dried up, some founders turned to debt financing:

 

• • Abhi, Neem, and KalPay raised undisclosed amounts in venture debt, continuing a quiet trend toward non-dilutive funding.

• • Accelerate Prosperity issued 96 small-ticket loans totaling $3.2M over five years (p. 18).

Yet Pakistan’s broader debt ecosystem remains underdeveloped, with private sector credit-to-GDP falling to 10% in 2024 (p. 19).

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Sector Snapshots: E-Commerce and Fintech in Decline

E-Commerce:

 

• • Once the darling of the ecosystem, e-commerce funding plunged to $8.5M, down from $26.1M in 2023 and $174M+ at its 2021–22 peak (p. 37).

• • Despite this, company registrations rose to 942, suggesting continued entrepreneurial interest (p. 42).

• • Prepaid e-commerce transactions hit a record 43.1M, even as value growth lagged (p. 43).

Fintech:

 

• • 2024 funding dropped to $10.5M, the lowest in five years (p. 45).

• • But average deal size surged to $5.25M, signaling quality over quantity (p. 46).

• • Credit & Financing startups secured 41% of all fintech funding (p. 48).

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Investment Activity: VCs Dominate, Angels Retreat

 

• • 75% of investors were VCs, a dramatic shift from 2021’s more diversified investor base (p. 29).

• • Angel and accelerator participation shrank to just 6%, reflecting a more risk-averse environment.

• • Local investor count and participation remained historically low, with only 2 local VCs active in Q1 (p. 30).

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Pakistan in Global Context

Pakistan significantly trails its regional peers:

 

• • $22.5M VC funding in 2024, vs:
    

     

    • • $245M in Bangladesh
    • • $520M in Egypt
    • • $323M in Indonesia
    • • $329M in the Philippines (p. 53)

This sharp contrast reflects both global investor caution and Pakistan’s unique economic challenges.

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The Bright Side: Tech, Talent & Exports

 

• • The ICT sector grew 8.5%, far outpacing the national GDP growth of 1.73% (p. 62).

• • ICT exports hit $3.6B, up 33.7%, led by computer services ($3.1B) (p. 65).

• • 672,000 people now work in tech, yet only ~30K graduate annually—pointing to a growing talent supply gap (p. 70).

• • Tech deposits and financing also surged by 25% and 51.7% respectively (p. 66–67).

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M&A Activity: Shrinking, But Strategic

 

• • Only 5 M&A deals occurred in 2024, down from a peak of 17 in 2022 (p. 21).

• • However, domestic buyers made up 80% of 2024 deals, suggesting more consolidation within the country (p. 22).

• • Notable moves include Truck It In acquiring Rider, and Finja selling its license to OPay (p. 24).

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Conclusion: A Market Reset in Motion

2024 may go down as the toughest year for Pakistan’s startup scene since it began maturing—but it also marks a reset. Investors are moving cautiously, founders are shifting toward sustainable models, and alternative funding channels are starting to take root.

If anything, the trends in tech adoption, exports, and workforce growth hint that this ecosystem is far from done—it’s just getting smarter.

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Download the full report here: https://insights.datadarbar.io/tech-and-vc-landscape-2024-report

 Source:

 

• • VC & Equity Trends – Pages 5–14

• • Debt & Alternative Financing – Pages 18–20

• • E-commerce & Fintech Sector Deep Dives – Pages 36–50

• • Tech Exports, ICT Growth & Workforce – Pages 61–70

• • Investor Breakdown – Pages 25–30

• • M&A Activity – Pages 21–24

• • Regional Comparison & Global Context – Pages 51–60