Pakistan to approach Saudi Arabia for partnership in JADA fund

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to explore the possibility of collaborating with the JADA fund, a Saudi-based fund that invests in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom.

Sources said that the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has directed the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom (MoITT) to initiate discussions with JADA and seek potential areas of cooperation.

The JADA fund was established in 2019 by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia with an investment capital of approximately $1 billion.

The fund aims to stimulate the Saudi Arabian private equity and venture capital ecosystem by partnering with regional and international funds that invest in SMEs within the Kingdom.

The creation of JADA is a critical component of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s comprehensive economic and social development plan.

Sources also informed HUM News English that the MoITT, on the direction of SIFC, has launched a venture capital fund for local early-stage startups, seeking to attract global investors to the South Asian country.

The government is planning to allocate $10 million annually to the fund, which will back companies that manage to raise most of the round from other sources, targeting startups seeking $2 million to $3 million.

The SIFC has also given direction to the MoITT to expand the E-Rozgar initiative, which provides interest-free loans and training to young entrepreneurs, and to collaborate with the Higher Education Commission for setting up centers.

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Sources also said that the MoITT is planning to set up co-working spaces in different cities to facilitate the growth of the startup ecosystem.

Besides this, the MoITT is also finalizing the plan with other government departments for establishing cloud infrastructure in Pakistan. It is pertinent to note that the government has already approved the National Cloud First Policy and SIFC has directed the MoITT to implement the approved cloud policy.