Asset management firm Lakson Investments has secured a licence to conduct venture capital activity in Pakistan, the firm announced recently.
The new venture capital arm of the company, Lakson Investments Venture Capital (LI VC), will invest seed capital in Pakistani startups and local businesses.
“We are actively seeking to build another high-calibre investment team for LI VC combining local knowledge with international experience,” CEO Babar Lakhani said in a statement he published on Linkedin.
“LI VC will work with LI’s team of over 50 experienced professionals while, at the same time, leverage the operational experience of the Lakson Group,” he added.
Lakhani also announced that the VC will work with Sybrid, which will be its key partner to review both the IT capabilities of the firms that the Funds invest in and also evaluate how IT will create scalable opportunities. Teams and offices will be based in Pakistan in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
Over 14,000 people are employed by Lakson in Pakistan in sectors such as tech, media, FMCG, insurance, and QSR.
Lakson Investments, which belongs to the Lakson Group, is one of the largest private sector asset managers in Pakistan, managing over $300 million of assets.
Late last year, the firm launched a private equity entity that is led by “a senior team of partners” who were previously Directors at Goldman Sachs and Abraaj. This PE fund is currently in pre-launch and expects to be investing by the fall of 2017.
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