{
  "id": 4008073,
  "title": "Pakistan forms $10mn fund for startups",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/pakistan-forms-10mn-fund-for-startups",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-28T17:53:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40436895/pakistan-forms-10mn-fund-for-startups"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Federal Minister for IT and Telecom, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, revealed plans for a $10 million fund to support Pakistani startups as part of the second phase of the Pakistan Startup Fund (PSF). The announcement came during a meeting with senior officials from the State Bank of Pakistan and the Sindh government at the Fintech Roundtable 2026. Khawaja expressed the government's ambition to grow the PSF's funding to $25–50 million over the next few years by collaborating with global financial institutions such as the World Bank, IFC, and ADB.\n\nThe minister also highlighted that 100% of government-to-government payments have been digitized, indicating a shift towards a cashless economy. She emphasized that formalizing 25% of the informal economy could add approximately $100 billion to Pakistan's GDP. During her visit to Karachi, Khawaja discussed the importance of digitizing various sectors, including the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), where 825,000 women had been provided with digital wallets. This initiative has resulted in trillions of rupees worth of transactions being conducted digitally, thereby enhancing financial inclusion.",
  "summary": "Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Friday announced a $10 million fund under the second phase of the Pakistan Startup Fund (PSF), as she met senior officials of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Sindh government in the day to discuss measures to strengthen the country’s startup ecosystem and accelerate digitalisation of the national economy. Speaking at the Fintech…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}