Karachi, 21 February 2023 (TDI): A new co-working space called Founders 2.0 opened its first location in Karachi, Pakistan, bringing the total number of seats available in the market to more than 15,000 in total.
The Provincial IT Minister, Tanzila Umi Habiba attended an exclusive dinner hosted by Founders 2.0 to commemorate its vision.
The Provincial Minister of Information Technology and a member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly as well as the head of the standing committee on technical education and research in Sindh frequently praised Founders 2.0.
They laud it for establishing a cutting-edge facility for tech startups to grow and thrive while significantly enhancing Pakistan’s startup ecosystem.
In this regard, Tanzila Umi Habiba enunciated that “Founders 2.0 seems to be a dynamic and promising project. Pakistan needs more progressive facilities such as this one to facilitate the young entrepreneurs& thriving tech startups of Pakistan.”
She went on to state that “I hope they succeed in their vision by enabling synergies and growth across the tech sector, especially during these tumultuous economic times. We will continue to support their initiatives.”
The event was attended by notable political figures & leaders including Pir Muhammad Sadiq, Chairman of the Luari Pak Group, Pir Noorullah, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Sindh, as well as Habib Paracha & Asmar Naim, Director at K-Electric.
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One of the few unicorn founders in the nation right now, Jonas Deizun, the former co-founder of the Razor Group, which went on to raise more than USD 1 billion, also attended the event.
Jonas & his team are currently working on a generative AI-based tech startup, Beam. So and occupy private offices in Pakistan at Founders 2.0’s Facility.
Several members of the startup community and corporate world are among the other attendees at the launch. These include RabeelWarraich, Founder & CEO of Sarmayacar, and Jamil Mughal, CEO of Mcdonalds & Director at Lakson group.
Likewise, Hassan Khan, Founder of Trax, Rafay Sheikh, CEO of Dunkin, Akbar Jaffer, CEO of ASSL and Jaffer Group, Owais Shaikh of Hubpay, Raza Afzal, co-founder of Truck it in, Kassim Shroff and Ahsan Kidwai, founders of Krave Mart were also present.
In addition to the above, Muneeb Maayr, founder of Bykea, Adeel Rashid, Co-Founder of Snapp retail & Chairman of the Supervisory Board, AIESEC, Haider Raza, Co-founder of Dealcart, Ahmed Ayub, Co-founder of Airlift also graced the event.
Also, Muzaffar Manghi, Co-founder of farmdar, Talha Khan of Orko, Taha Iqbal Teli & Ahsen Ali Khan of Zaraye, Khurram Shroff, President of imining Technologies, Ali Ladubhai of Abhi, & Usama Nini, co-founder of quroes & CEO of Affinity were also in attendance.
Furthermore, it was also attended by Usman Khan & Pir Saleh Qureshi; Director at Stylight textiles. The event was also attended by the co-founders of Swich; Shah Aun Hussan and Syed Aoon Shah who is also the Investing partner at Founders 2.0.
With their first location opening on the top floors of the iconic Bahria Town Tower in Karachi, Founders 2.0, despite being a new player in the market, claim to transform the coworking landscape of Pakistan.
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They provide beautifully designed offices with a carefully cultivated environment of creativity and collaboration for all types of professionals and tech communities.
Fully furnished and serviced private office suites, high-speed internet, bookable meeting rooms, soundproof calling pods, gaming areas, reception areas, trained staff, pantry areas, an exclusive café on the 23rd floor of the smart building, and free-flow of endless hot beverages exclusively for its clients are among the amenities offered.
They currently have 144 seats available, of which 70% have been reserved in advance, sold out, or are being discussed with various tech startups based in Canada, the United States, and Pakistan.
Shehr Bano Hussain, the Co-Founder of Founders 2.0. stated “We will not get into the race of multiplying seats, that’s not our area of focus.
The objective is to add significant value to our clients who pay a premium owing to the quality of service being offered and the value-add in terms of connect and social network.”
While Aman, partner at Sarmayacar reiterated that “We’re thrilled to witness the benchmark Founders 2.0 is establishing for the coworking ecosystem of the country. This will certainly help start-ups remain laser-focused on their high-impact domains”,
Moreover, according to Shehr Bano, Founders 2.0 will launch chapters in a number of Pakistani cities before branching out to the UAE.
Once the company succeeds in hitting its initial set of goals, it says it will use technology to scale the shared office space market.
It is noteworthy that Pakistani startups received more than $347 million in VC funding in 2022 alone, according to data darbar, and they need office space to operate.
In the midst of a turbulent economic crisis, this most recent expansion of the nation’s coworking community is encouraging.
Innovation, growth, and a sociable environment are what the nation needs in these trying times in order for businesses to flourish and for the tech sector to recover. That and more will be provided by Founders 2.0.
