On the 2nd of March, NIC Karachi kicked off Pakistan Investor Summit 2021 with a roundtable discussion on the topic ‘Surfing the Tide: What Accepting VC Funding Means’.
A key highlight of Pakistan Investor Summit 2021, the purpose of the roundtable discussion was to give startups an understanding of what goes through the mind of the investor when they decide to commit their funds.
The panel for the roundtable consisted of six of Pakistan’s most well-known figures in startup investment; Omar Parvez Khan (Venture Partner – High Output Ventures), Misbah Naqvi (Co-founder & General Partner – i2i Ventures), Arshad Ashraf (Private Investor), Rabeel Warraich (Founder & CEO – Sarmayacar), Ali Mukhtar (Founder & General Partner – Fatima Gobi Ventures) and Aatif Awan (Founder & Managing Partner – Indus Valley Capital). The discussion was moderated by Syed Azfar Hussain (Program Manager – NIC Karachi) and Aqsa Tariq (Editor in Chief – CXO Exchange | Demo Ventures).
A pertinent takeaway from the session which was raised by Ms. Misbah Naqvi was that startups should analyze their options for funding according to their needs and the market, for which VC funding may not be the right solution for all startups.