ISLAMABAD: The World Bank will help Pakistan mobilise private investment and broaden access to risk capital for innovative, high-growth firms.
The “Pakistan Entrepreneurship and Private Investment Catalyst Project”, expected to be approved by the World Bank Executive Board in early 2027, will help the government establish and capitalise a $50 million Fund of Funds (FoF) to catalyse Pakistan’s nascent innovation and venture capital ecosystem.
The FoF will invest in professionally managed venture capital funds, helping expand the supply of early-stage and growth capital for innovative, high-growth firms, according to the project document made available to Dawn on Wednesday.
By crowding in domestic and international private investors, the operation will address a long-standing market gap in innovation financing and strengthen the foundation of the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Over time, the document says increased access to private capital is expected to support firm growth, innovation, productivity, and the creation of more and better-quality jobs.
The operation has a national scope and, at the concept stage, no fixed geographic footprint. Pakistan’s environmental and social context is therefore relevant to the anticipated FoF investment portfolio.
Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2026
