If you have got a startup idea and are looking for ways to fund your startup project then there are different ways available by which you can get funding for your startup project in Pakistan. There is no shortage of entrepreneurs in Pakistan who have brilliant ideas, be it fresh graduates, or young adults.
The problems in the way of entrepreneurs are many because the road to startup success isn’t and it is full of all sorts of obstacles. The biggest problem is gathering funds because getting seed capital in Pakistan is not easy, even though there has been an increase in startup funding in Pakistan. Let’s have a look at some of the ways in which you can get funding for startups in Pakistan:
Crowdfunding
The first way by which you can raise funding for your startup in Pakistan is Crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a venture by which funding is collected from multiple investors to fund a project. Nowadays, crowdfunding platforms in Pakistan and in the whole world bring investors and entrepreneurs under the same platform. Entrepreneurs can tell the investors about their unique idea(s) who can then decide to fund the project or not.
An example of a crowdfunding platform is Indiegogo which enables individuals to show their business idea to a community of investors who can then support their ideas and fund them or not. To be able to succeed in generating funds through crowdfunding, you will need to create a campaign and describe the important details and the amount you need to generate in detail along with your business models so that everything is clear to the investors.
Angel Investment
Another viable option to get funding for your startup idea in Pakistan is through Angel Investments. Angel Investors are people who have huge amounts of capital and are looking to invest their capital into promising business ideas in order to get greater returns. Numerous startups in Pakistan have got their funding through angel investors and were able to scale their business to full scale.
There aren’t many angel investment platforms in Pakistan but a popular name is Dot Zero Ventures which consists of a board of investors who are looking to invest in promising business ideas. Popular companies like Google, Yahoo, Chatroulette, Alibaba, etc were all a result of angel investments.
Microfinance Loans
Microfinance is also a viable option for startup businesses that cannot afford or access conventional banking capital. We have the FINCA Microfinance Karobari Karza which offers short-term loan facilities to young entrepreneurs. Loans up to PKR 150,000 are offered to entrepreneurs with tenures of 6 months to 2 years.
Getting Loans From Banks
Getting a loan from banks is also an option through which you get funding for your startup. In Pakistan, many banking institutions provide loans to entrepreneurs who have promising business ideas.
National Bank Of Pakistan’s Credit Guarantee Scheme
The National Bank Of Pakistan’s Credit Guarantee Scheme provides loans to startups and rural enterprises. The maximum financing amount that the NBP provides to entrepreneurs is PKR 1.5 Million with a tenure of up to 5 years.
Small Business Finance By HBL
Apart from the National Bank Of Pakistan, we also have Small Business Finance loans from the largest private sector commercial bank in Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited. HBL provides loans of up to PKR 15 million to small businesses with a tenure period of up to 3 years.
Government Financing Schemes
The Government of Pakistan has also launched different schemes and initiatives to help young entrepreneurs with promising business ideas.
Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme
We have the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme that provides interest-free loans to young entrepreneurs in three tiers; Up to PKR 1 Million in Tier 1, Up to PKR 10 Million in Tier 2, and Up to PKR 25 Million in Tier 3.
Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loans
Another scheme by the Government of Pakistan is the Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loans which provides loans up to PKR 2 Million to young entrepreneurs with promising startup ideas.
If nothing seems viable and you have the funds then you try Bootstrapping. You can build a business from scratch without relying on any external source for funding. We have examples of so many companies and even online businesses like Omegle that were all self-funded.
If you cannot afford to get money from external sources or you exhausted all the aforementioned options and still couldn’t get funding then you should consider financing your own startup without any external support except financing from friends and family members.