Aly Fahd

founder and CEO of PakLaunch

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Aly Fahd is the founder and CEO of PakLaunch. According to Fahd, PakLaunch began as a small WhatsApp group that helped startups raise money and reach markets. He has said it has held two events each in Palo Alto, Riyadh and Dubai, one in London and one in Islamabad.

PakLaunch

Fahd has said PakLaunch decided to hold in-person events in 2020, when COVID made most activity virtual. He has said it held its first in-person event in Palo Alto in 2022. He has also said PakLaunch holds an event every six months, and that the edition he described is its ninth. [1]

Fahd has said PakLaunch expects almost 10 unicorn founders from around the world and that about 10,000 people have filled in a form. He has said 20 to 25 people from Pakistan are coming, including some of the top startups, such as Abhi and Bookme. He has said the goal is to put attendees in front of international investors. He has described the event as a networking event where people talk and build relationships instead of pitching, and said that investment follows from that. [1]

Fahd has said PakLaunch's mission is for Pakistan to be a top 10 tech ecosystem in the world. He has said PakLaunch has more than 100 student chapters at top universities and promotes Pakistani startups on social media. He has also said it has helped at least 10 non-Pakistanis get visas and travel to Pakistan this year, and that it had earlier announced one of its investments. [1]

Fahd has said PakLaunch holds many events with family offices, including in Karachi. He has said a family office from Multan invested in a New York fund through PakLaunch. He has also said a family office based in Pakistan has invested in an AI fund based in San Francisco. [1]

Fahd has said a session on Pakistan's semiconductor policy started from the PakLaunch group. He has said PakLaunch has held events in Hong Kong but not yet in China, and that it is planning a first meetup in Korea in November. He has said PakLaunch runs some of its events alongside large conferences, for example a fintech festival in Singapore. [1]

Views on investment and startups

Fahd has said there is a lot of capital in Pakistan, pointing to houses in Islamabad. He has said he feels Pakistanis historically do not trust other Pakistanis. He has said many people do not know how to invest and do not know that investing is an opportunity available to them. He has said another issue is knowing who to trust, how to do due diligence and who is bringing the deals. He has also said there is still capital available and that some funds have a mandate to invest in emerging markets to diversify risk. [1]

Fahd has said many people in Pakistan could easily fund early-stage companies raising a million dollars. He has said a few-billion-dollar fund could easily invest 50 million dollars in Pakistan. [1]

Fahd has said Pakistani startups have become more mature and focus more on profitability. He has said the successful ones are more often those going after the international market. He has said many startups raised a lot of money and focused on showing growth and top-line revenue, whether or not they made a profit. He has also said investment in emerging-market startups has changed, partly because of AI, and that AI adoption in Pakistan is speeding up and new products are being built. [1]

Fahd has said investors now ask Pakistani startups for monthly and quarterly updates and audited reports, and that investors ask for board seats, updates and independent auditors. He has said founders can no longer rely on high burn or a focus on top-line growth and need proper systems, and that startups without proper processes and systems will fail. He has said Pakistan's systems are somewhat weak and that people do not trust the legal system. [1]

Fahd has said the startup ecosystem in Pakistan has really taken off in the last five to seven years, and that Pakistan's maturation cycle is starting at the top of the funnel and trickling down. He has said most universities in Pakistan now have accelerator programs, and that co-working spaces, accelerators and universities in big Pakistani cities are running startup programs. He has said NICs deserve credit for raising awareness, and that a government body is looking to set up its own fund. He has also said a larger Pakistani fashion-tech company has raised money from US investors. [1]

Views on Pakistan's outlook

Fahd has said Pakistan is now considered by many people as an emerging ecosystem, and that Pakistan as a brand is doing very well. He has said people now see Pakistan as a thought leader in blockchain. He has said his outlook for Pakistan is phenomenal, and that he thinks Pakistan's outlook is very positive. He has also said Pakistan has strong talent and hunger that needs to be channelled. [1]

Fahd has said Pakistan probably will not reach a top 10 tech ecosystem ranking by 2030, and that it can absolutely be a top 10 tech ecosystem by 2035. He has said Pakistan needs to stick to its plan and keep policy consistent. [1]

Fahd has said the ministers and ambassadors he speaks with have targets around bringing in money and connecting with the diaspora. He has said US-Pakistan relations are better than at any time in his lifetime, and that Pakistan's relations with Saudi Arabia, China and the US are better than in his lifetime. He has said international investors are starting to go back to Pakistan more often, and that he thinks the Pakistani diaspora has grown closer to Pakistan. He has also said Pakistani Gen Z in the US is much more nationalistic, and that Gen Z Pakistanis are more Pakistani than his own generation was. [1]

Views on China

Fahd has said China is a very large market, and that Pakistan can design products and sell them into China. He has said labour costs in China for designing and assembling some products are rising. He has said an average engineer in China costs about $60,000 a year and Pakistan would likely be much lower. He has also said many of those economies are very protectionist: importing from them is easy, while exporting to Japan or setting up something there or in China faces very tough regulations. [1]

Personal life

Fahd has said he lives in the United States and travels widely. He has said he was speaking from the Bay Area. [1]

Timeline

2020
PakLaunch decided to hold in-person events, when COVID made most activity virtual[1]
2022
PakLaunch held its first in-person event, in Palo Alto[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2026-10-12 Pakistan has the capital. It does not yet trust itself to invest it. Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Aly Fahd?

Aly Fahd is the founder and CEO of PakLaunch. According to Fahd, PakLaunch began as a small WhatsApp group that helped startups raise money and reach markets. He has said he lives in the United States.[1]

What does Aly Fahd do?

Aly Fahd is the founder and CEO of PakLaunch. He has said PakLaunch promotes Pakistani startups on social media and holds many events with family offices, including in Karachi.[1]

What company did Aly Fahd found?

Aly Fahd is the founder and CEO of PakLaunch. He has said PakLaunch has more than 100 student chapters at top universities. He has also said it has held two events each in Palo Alto, Riyadh and Dubai, one in London and one in Islamabad.[1]

What is PakLaunch?

PakLaunch is the venture of which Aly Fahd is founder and CEO. According to Fahd, it began as a small WhatsApp group, decided to hold in-person events in 2020 and held its first in Palo Alto in 2022. He has said its mission is for Pakistan to be a top 10 tech ecosystem in the world.[1]

Where has PakLaunch held events?

According to Aly Fahd, PakLaunch has held two events each in Palo Alto, Riyadh and Dubai, one in London and one in Islamabad. He has also said it has held events in Hong Kong but not yet in China. He has said PakLaunch is planning a first meetup in Korea in November.[1]

Where does Aly Fahd live?

Aly Fahd has said he lives in the United States and travels widely. He has also said he was speaking from the Bay Area.[1]

What does Aly Fahd think about Pakistan's future?

Aly Fahd has said he thinks Pakistan's outlook is very positive. He has said Pakistan probably will not reach a top 10 tech ecosystem ranking by 2030, but can absolutely be a top 10 tech ecosystem by 2035.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan has the capital. It does not yet trust itself to invest it. . Thought Behind Things , 2026-10-12.
Show the source passages (69 statements)
  1. Aly Fahd is the founder and CEO of PakLaunch. I sit down with Aly Fahd, Founder and CEO of PakLaunch
  2. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch started as a small WhatsApp group that helped startups raise money and reach markets. it was a small WhatsApp group, and we were helping startups raise money and giving them access to different markets
  3. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch decided to hold in-person events in 2020, when COVID made most activity virtual. We started in 2020, toh COVID tha us zamane mein, toh har cheez virtual hoti thi, toh humne socha ke in-person karna chahiye.
  4. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch held its first in-person event in Palo Alto in 2022. Toh hum logon ne 2022 mein pehli Palo Alto mein ki, which is the hub of all the VC.
  5. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch has held two events each in Palo Alto, Riyadh and Dubai, one in London and one in Islamabad. So we have done now two in Palo Alto, two in Riyadh, two in Dubai, one in London, abhi humne Islamabad mein kiya tha.
  6. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch holds an event every six months and that the one he was discussing is its ninth edition. yeh hum har chhe mahine ke baad karte hain, humara nawwa edition hai
  7. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch expects almost 10 unicorn founders from around the world and that about 10,000 people have filled in a form. we are expecting almost 10 unicorn founders poori duniya se aa rahe hain, koi 10,000 logon ne form fill kiya hua hai.
  8. Aly Fahd has said 20 to 25 people from Pakistan are coming, including some of the top startups, such as Abhi and Bookme. Pakistan se koi 20-25 log aa rahe hain, some of the top startups, Abhi, Juggir, you know, Bookme, and all of these guys will be there, BusKaro.
  9. Aly Fahd has said the goal is to put attendees in front of international investors. the goal is to put them in front of international global investors
  10. Aly Fahd has said the event is a networking event where people talk and build relationships instead of pitching, and that investment follows from that. it's a networking event ke log baat-cheet karein, instead of pitching, build a relationship, and that's how the investment happens
  11. Aly Fahd has said Pakistani startups have become more mature and focus more on profitability. they are more mature and focused a lot more on profitability
  12. Aly Fahd has said many startups raised a lot of money and focused on showing growth and top-line revenue, whether or not they made a profit. There were a lot of startups that raised a lot of money. Focus yeh tha ke ji growth dikhao, top line dikhao, chahe profit ho na ho.
  13. Aly Fahd has said investment in emerging-market startups has changed, partly because of AI. I think because of AI, aur investment baaki jagahon pe opportunity cost, I think emerging market mein abhi bhi startups ke andar investment has changed
  14. Aly Fahd has said AI adoption in Pakistan is speeding up and new products are being built. the speed with which, Pakistan ke andar, you know, AI enablement ho rahi hai, naye naye products ban rahe hain
  15. Aly Fahd has said the ministers and ambassadors he speaks with have targets around bringing in money and connecting with the diaspora. Every minister, everyone, every ambassador I speak with, I think their KPIs around ke paise lekar aao, aur you know, how can we connect with diaspora and everything else.
  16. Aly Fahd has said US-Pakistan relations are better than at any time in his lifetime. I don't think ke US ke saath itna achha relationship at least meri lifetime mein raha hai
  17. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch has helped at least 10 non-Pakistanis get visas and travel to Pakistan this year. Humne is saal ke andar kam as kam bhi 10 logon ko, non-Pakistanis ko, visa laga ke, they have gone to Pakistan through Paklaunch
  18. Aly Fahd has said international investors are starting to go back to Pakistan more often. I think they are starting to go back to Pakistan more often.
  19. Aly Fahd has said he thinks the Pakistani diaspora has grown closer to Pakistan. even Pakistani diaspora, I think they want to, they've gotten closer to Pakistan
  20. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch has more than 100 student chapters at top universities. Humare koi 100 se uper student chapters hain in some of the top universities
  21. Aly Fahd has said Pakistani Gen Z in the US is much more nationalistic. humari jo Gen Z hai, they are much more nationalistic, even in the US.
  22. Aly Fahd has said Gen Z Pakistanis are more Pakistani than his own generation was. When I go there and I look at the Gen Z, like it, it like literally, you know, makes me so proud of them. They're, they're more Pakistani than even my generation was.
  23. Aly Fahd has said his outlook for Pakistan is phenomenal. So I do think ke Pakistan mein the outlook is, is phenomenal.
  24. Aly Fahd has said a family office from Multan invested in a New York fund through PakLaunch. a Multani family office through Paklaunch has invested in a gora fund in New York
  25. Aly Fahd has said a family office based in Pakistan has invested in an AI fund based in San Francisco. I also know of a family office out of Pakistan that has invested in a San Francisco fund, ah, you know, in AI fund based out of San Francisco.
  26. Aly Fahd has said he feels Pakistanis historically do not trust other Pakistanis. historically, I feel Pakistanis don't trust other Pakistanis
  27. Aly Fahd has said many people do not know how to invest and do not know that investing is an opportunity available to them. I think one is they don't know how to do it, frankly speaking. Ah, they don't even know this is an opportunity available to them, frankly speaking.
  28. Aly Fahd has said there is a lot of capital in Pakistan, pointing to houses in Islamabad. Cos there's a lot of capital, right? You go to Islamabad, you look at the houses, matlab, you know, karodon ke ghar hain.
  29. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch had earlier announced one of its investments. abhi hum logon ne pehle apni ek investment announce ki thi, and as soon as we announce it
  30. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch holds many events with family offices, including in Karachi. So we do a lot of events with family offices, Karachi wagerah mein.
  31. Aly Fahd has said another issue is knowing who to trust, how to do due diligence and who is bringing the deals. And the second one is, who to trust and how can they do the due diligence, and you know, and and who's bringing the deals.
  32. Aly Fahd has said there is still capital available and that some funds have a mandate to invest in emerging markets to diversify risk. I think there's still capital available and there're funds jinka mandate hota hai to invest in emerging markets to diversify risk
  33. Aly Fahd has said the successful ones are more often those going after the international market. ziada log woh successful hain who are going after the international market.
  34. Aly Fahd has said a larger Pakistani fashion-tech company has raised money from US investors. I know a company in Pakistan which is working on one of the larger fashion tech, and they have raised money from the US
  35. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan's systems are somewhat weak and that people do not trust the legal system. Ek toh humare systems thode se weak hain, aur also the legal system, right? People don't trust it.
  36. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan's maturation cycle is starting at the top of the funnel and trickling down. I think maturation cycle is starting from the top of the funnel. I think it's trickling down.
  37. Aly Fahd has said most universities in Pakistan now have accelerator programs. I think now we have most universities have accelerator programs, there's a big push on the entrepreneurship
  38. Aly Fahd has said a government body is looking to set up its own fund. MoITT wale apna fund banana chah rahe hain
  39. Aly Fahd has said NICs deserve credit for raising awareness. I think NICs, you have to give them credit, at least they're raising the awareness.
  40. Aly Fahd has said the startup ecosystem in Pakistan has really taken off in the last five to seven years. I think it has really taken off in the last 5-7 years
  41. Aly Fahd has said co-working spaces, accelerators and universities in big Pakistani cities are running startup programs. Har bade shahron ke andar you see, you know, the co-workings, accelerators, har university kar rahi hain.
  42. Aly Fahd has said investors now ask Pakistani startups for monthly and quarterly updates and audited reports. We need to get like monthly, quarterly updates from you, how the business is doing. You need to show us audited reports.
  43. Aly Fahd has said investors ask for board seats, updates and independent auditors. Humein board seat chahiye, humein updates chahiye, humein auditors chahiye jo independent hon.
  44. Aly Fahd has said founders can no longer rely on high burn or a focus on top-line growth and need proper systems. you can't have that burn, you can't just focus on the top line, you need to have proper systems.
  45. Aly Fahd has said startups without proper processes and systems will fail. Startups will start, that don't have the processes and systems, they will die.
  46. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch promotes Pakistani startups on social media. jitna hum Paklaunch mein Pakistani startups ko promote karte hain, I I think, ah, you know, on all the social media and everything else.
  47. Aly Fahd has said he lives in the United States and travels widely. at least living in the US and I travel all over the globe
  48. Aly Fahd said he was speaking from the Bay Area. sitting in Bay Area, I'm just telling you is
  49. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan is now considered by many people as an emerging ecosystem. sitting in Bay Area, I'm just telling you is, ke Pakistan is considered by a lot of people now, ke, you know, it's emerging.
  50. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan probably will not reach a top 10 tech ecosystem ranking by 2030. Would it get there in 2030? Obviously you have to set aspirational goals, right? Probably not.
  51. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan can absolutely be a top 10 tech ecosystem by 2035. By 2035 it could be there? I think it absolutely can be.
  52. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch's mission is for Pakistan to be a top 10 tech ecosystem in the world. mission statement within Park Launch that we set up was, we want to see it in the top 10 tech ecosystem in the world.
  53. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan has strong talent and hunger that needs to be channelled. the kind of talent we have, I think the kind of hunger we have. I think it just needs to be channelized
  54. Aly Fahd has said he thinks Pakistan's outlook is very positive. mujhe lagta hai Pakistan ka is very positive
  55. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan's relations with Saudi Arabia, China and the US are better than in his lifetime. in my lifetime, I don't think hamara itna acha relationship Saudi and, you know, and China and US ke sath raha hua hai, West ke sath.
  56. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan as a brand is doing very well. I think Pakistan as a brand is doing very well.
  57. Aly Fahd has said people now see Pakistan as a thought leader in blockchain. blockchain wala mein Pakistan ka naam kabhi hota na, now people are thinking of us as a thought leader in it
  58. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan needs to stick to its plan and keep policy consistent. I think we just need to stick to the plan and we need consistency in the policy.
  59. Aly Fahd has said many of those economies are very protectionist: importing from them is easy, while exporting to Japan or setting up something there or in China faces very tough regulations. So I can tell you that much, ke a lot of these are very protectionist economies. So it's easy to import from them, exporting to Japan or setting up something there or in China, they're like regulations are very, very tough.
  60. Aly Fahd has said China is a very large market. China is such a huge market, right? Just the sheer size of it.
  61. Aly Fahd has said Pakistan can design products and sell them into China. I think Pakistan can design those things and sell into China.
  62. Aly Fahd has said labour costs in China for designing and assembling some products are rising. China mein jo labor cost hai of designing and assembling some of the thing is getting higher.
  63. Aly Fahd has said an average engineer in China costs about $60,000 a year and Pakistan would likely be much lower. an average engineer in China would cost you $60,000 a year. Matlab, you know, $5,000, yaani ke 15 lakh rupaye. Pakistan mein shayad it would be a lot lower.
  64. Aly Fahd has said a session on Pakistan's semiconductor policy started from the PakLaunch group. session about the semiconductor policy in Pakistan, if you remember, when we were doing it that started from Park Launch Group.
  65. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch has held events in Hong Kong but not yet in China. I think we have not yet done event in China. We have done it in Hong Kong.
  66. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch is planning a first meetup in Korea in November. now we are planning in November, hopefully do our first meetup in Korea as well.
  67. Aly Fahd has said PakLaunch runs some of its events alongside large conferences, for example a fintech festival in Singapore. some of our events hum karte hain badi conferences ke sath, Muzamil. So for example, there is a Singapore Fintech Festival.
  68. Aly Fahd has said many people in Pakistan could easily fund early-stage companies raising a million dollars. think about some of the early stage investment jo million dollar raise kar rahe hain, it's not koi bason baahar wali baat nahi hai, I think a lot of people can fund it easily.
  69. Aly Fahd has said a few-billion-dollar fund could easily invest 50 million dollars in Pakistan. I think for, you know, 50 million dollars to invest in Pakistan for a few billion dollar fund is not, you know, they can easily do it, right?