VC investors urges govt to restore mobile broadband

May 12, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan-focused investors at the Venture Capital Association of Pakistan (VCAP) on Thursday requested the government to reconsider their decision to suspend mobile broadband services across the country and immediately lift these restrictions to allow uninterrupted commerce and startup activity.

In a letter to the concerned authorities, the founding members of VCAP expressed their concern pertaining to the recent and "indefinite- suspension of mobile broadband usage by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), as well as the restriction and blocking of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

 “These restrictions have an immediate and adverse impact on Pakistan's startups, which are reliant on such platforms for new user acquisition and growth. The suspension of mobile broadband also greatly impacts Pakistani citizens, who are mobile-first, and use these digital solutions for financial services, mobility, food, commerce, and more,” the letter read.

In 2021 and 2022, Pakistani startups raised over 5700 million in funding, attracting international venture capital dollars to the country and improving the Pakistan narrative on a global scale, it added.

These startups also created hundreds of thousands of jobs. and positively disrupted traditional industries. In the past year, however, Pakistan's political and economic instability has contributed to a slowdown in international investor activity, and startups have only raised $25 million in funding this year so far, 15% of what was raised in 01 2022.

This week's platform restrictions and mobile broadband suspension will only add to these negative investor perceptions, and will dramatically impact Pakistani startups' ability to raise capital, grow their businesses, and create jobs, it noted.

“As Pakistan-focused investors at VCAP, we continue our work and commitment to startups in the country, but often invest collaboratively with international investors and act as ambassadors and evangelists for the Pakistani startup ecosystem as a whole,” it further noted.

Copyright Mettis Link News