Pakistan could receive a $50 million startup investment fund under a World Bank proposal aimed at attracting private capital into innovative businesses.
The proposed Pakistan Entrepreneurship and Private Investment Catalyst Project would expand access to venture capital for companies with strong growth potential. The World Bank’s Executive Board could consider it for approval in early 2027, according to ProPakistani’s report citing a project document.
The initiative remains at the proposal stage. Board consideration would represent a further step towards approval, rather than an immediate release of money to startups.
Under the proposed structure, the World Bank would help the government establish and capitalise a Fund of Funds. This investment vehicle would commit money to professionally managed venture capital funds.
Those funds would then provide early-stage and growth financing to Pakistani companies. Professional fund managers would therefore serve as the channel connecting the proposed financing with individual businesses.
The initiative aims to attract both domestic and international private investors into Pakistan’s developing venture capital market. Its central objective is to address a longstanding financing shortage for startups and other businesses seeking capital to expand.
According to the report, the project document links better access to private investment with innovation, higher productivity and business expansion. It also identifies the potential to create more jobs and improve employment quality over time.
The proposal has a national scope, with no fixed geographic focus identified at the concept stage. Pakistan’s broader environmental and social conditions would consequently shape the context for its eventual investment portfolio.
The financing plan comes as Pakistan’s startup sector continues to navigate a changing investment market.
In February, Business Recorder reported figures from Invest2Innovate showing that Pakistani startups raised approximately $74.2 million in reported funding during 2025. Hybrid equity-and-debt transactions accounted for about $66 million, while pure equity funding totalled around $8.2 million.
Those figures highlight the limited volume of pure equity investment available to businesses seeking venture financing. However, they describe the wider funding market, rather than commitments to the proposed World Bank project.
Employment provides another important backdrop. World Bank President Ajay Banga told Reuters in February that Pakistan needs 25 million to 30 million additional jobs over the next decade.
He identified better financing access for small businesses and farmers as one pillar of the country’s employment strategy. Infrastructure investment and business-friendly regulatory reforms formed the other two.
The proposal also comes amid a broader World Bank Group push to attract private investment into developing economies. In September, the institution reported mobilising $112 billion in private capital during fiscal year 2026, compared with $35 billion in fiscal 2022.
For Pakistan’s entrepreneurs, the next milestone would be the proposed project’s consideration by the Executive Board. The reported early-2027 timetable remains an expectation, with approval still pending.
