Startups in the country raked in $66.24 million of capital across 50 deals in 2020. — Reuters/File
Soon after the pandemic broke out, people from all around the world began calling it a Black Swan event — and with good reason. Equities around the world saw a bloodbath. Our KSE-100 index lost over 12,000 points in less than three weeks during March.
All of this obviously pointed to the impending doom for investments — tech and private markets included. Yet what followed was the exact opposite and, frankly, a little baffling to a sane mind. Venture funding continued unabated globally, along with a record year for initial public offerings (IPOs) since the dot-com bubble. The local technology sector too finally had its moment on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) while the startup ecosystem saw some big rounds taking place.