Startups raise $366m in 2021

Startups showed a stellar performance during 2021 as they raised a collective investment of $366 million, said Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood.

On his official Twitter handle, the adviser announced that he had accompanied a group of young startups on Thursday to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and the delegation had a very fruitful interactive session with the premier.

“Issues related to creating an environment to accelerate their growth were discussed in the meeting,” he said.

“We will soon organise a meeting of another group of startups in this regard.”

The Ministry of Commerce conducts periodic analysis of the degree of diversification by comparing exports during the current fiscal year with exports of preceding years, he stated.

According to the analysis for July-December 2021, exports of non-traditional products to traditional markets increased 81%, or $1.4 billion, against the corresponding period of 2017-18, he said.

Apart from that, shipments of such goods to the non-traditional markets registered a jump of 100%, or $491 million, compared to the same period of fiscal year 2017-18.

The adviser said that in terms of market diversification, exports of traditional products increased 4%, or $79 million, during the period under review.

He said that out of the total increase of $4.2 billion, the share of product and market diversification was 40%, or $2 billion.

“This is a healthy development and our diversification policy is on track,” he said.

“Product and market diversification is the key pillar of Ministry of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF).”