Seed fund on the cards to expand women-led startups

PESHAWAR: Minister for Information Technology Atif Khan on Wednesday said seed fund component of digital jobs would be launched soon to integrate women into the digital economy.

He added that the seed funds would provide financial support ranging from 5,000 dollars to 15,000 dollars to expand “female-led startups” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the first phase of digital jobs, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB) took measures to ensure that the incubation centres (Durshals) established by it the districts remained inclusive spaces for women and other marginalized communities, and thrive as community centres, he added.

By establishing a seed fund primarily targeting the early-stage start-up women-led businesses, KPITB has taken a step further to accelerate the growth of these start-ups. This sub-component of digital jobs in KP is outsourced to a specialist fund management firm.

He said the firm would be required to determine a fund structure that is aligned with global best practices and has the ability to sustain through the returns on investments made. The minister said the specialist firm would define the selection criteria of the tech start-ups for the award of seed fund, fund management, investment model and value of maximum and minimum investments, disbursement mechanisms and monitoring methodology.

According to the seed fund, initially, 30 women-led start-ups would be granted 5000 to 15000 US dollars, according to their potential, for widening their start-ups for creating more opportunities and revenue.

Atif Khan said typically a competitive process will be followed to select the beneficiaries through an open call for evidence-based proposals. He said seed fund allocations would be made depending on the individual requirements of the start-up.

After the funds are allocated to successful start-ups, the firm will be required to coach the start-ups and transform their products into commercially viable ones, eventually generating revenue. However, the fund allotment mechanism could change on the recommendations of the consulting firm.