{
  "meta": {
    "title": "Pakistan Startup & Entrepreneurship Intelligence Hub",
    "subtitle": "Province-wise data across cities, industries, labour, finance, funding, gender, accelerators, tech zones",
    "version": "v2.0.0",
    "last_updated": "2026-09-29",
    "sources": [
      "StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026 (https://www.startupblink.com)",
      "Pakistan Bureau of Statistics — Labour Force Survey 2024-25 (37th round)",
      "Pakistan Bureau of Statistics — Labour Force Survey 2020-21",
      "World Bank Enterprise Survey Pakistan 2022",
      "Pakistan Bureau of Statistics — Economic Census 2025",
      "State Bank of Pakistan — SME Finance Annual Report 2024",
      "PSEB — 20,711 IT companies registered (May 2025)",
      "STZA — Notified Special Technology Zones",
      "LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship — Women in Startups Fact Sheet (March 2025)",
      "Invest2Innovate (i2i) — Pakistan VC Landscape Reports 2020-2026",
      "GEM Pakistan Country Profile (2019 most recent)",
      "Data Darbar / Paklaunch — Pakistan Tech & VC Landscape 2023-2026"
    ]
  },

  "national": {
    "country": "Pakistan",
    "population_millions": 251.3,
    "total_startups": 1126,
    "ecosystem_value_usd_billions": 7.21,
    "yoy_growth_pct": 62.2,
    "global_rank": 67,
    "global_rank_delta": 5,
    "regional_rank_south_asia": 2,
    "business_environment_rank": 100,
    "cities_in_top_1000": 4,
    "south_asia_share_pct": 5,
    "startups_per_100k_people": 1,
    "total_pseb_registered_it_companies": 20711,
    "total_sme_count_millions": 5.2,
    "smes_women_owned_pct": 8,
    "remittances_fy25_usd_billions": 38.3,
    "stza_zones_notified": 9,
    "stza_total_space_million_sqft": 5.8
  },

  "history": {
    "startupblink_pakistan": [
      {"year": 2022, "global_rank": 79, "startups_tracked": 720, "yoy_growth_pct": null, "south_asia_rank": 3, "cities_in_top_1000": 2},
      {"year": 2023, "global_rank": 76, "startups_tracked": 815, "yoy_growth_pct": 13.2, "south_asia_rank": 3, "cities_in_top_1000": 3},
      {"year": 2024, "global_rank": 74, "startups_tracked": 905, "yoy_growth_pct": 11.0, "south_asia_rank": 2, "cities_in_top_1000": 3},
      {"year": 2025, "global_rank": 72, "startups_tracked": 1014, "yoy_growth_pct": 12.0, "south_asia_rank": 2, "cities_in_top_1000": 3},
      {"year": 2026, "global_rank": 67, "startups_tracked": 1126, "yoy_growth_pct": 62.2, "south_asia_rank": 2, "cities_in_top_1000": 4}
    ],
    "lfs_national": [
      {"year": "2018-19", "total_labour_force_m": 68.75, "lfpr_pct": 46.3, "male_lfpr_pct": 68.7, "female_lfpr_pct": 22.7, "unemployment_pct": 6.9, "self_employed_share_pct": 33},
      {"year": "2020-21", "total_labour_force_m": 71.76, "lfpr_pct": 44.9, "male_lfpr_pct": 67.9, "female_lfpr_pct": 21.4, "unemployment_pct": 6.3, "self_employed_share_pct": 36},
      {"year": "2024-25", "total_labour_force_m": 85.6, "lfpr_pct": 47.7, "male_lfpr_pct": 69.8, "female_lfpr_pct": 24.4, "unemployment_pct": 6.3, "self_employed_share_pct": 38}
    ],
    "lfs_province_lfpr": [
      {"province": "Punjab", "y2020_21": 47.4, "y2024_25": 50.3, "delta": 2.9},
      {"province": "Sindh", "y2020_21": 43.8, "y2024_25": 46.2, "delta": 2.4},
      {"province": "KP", "y2020_21": 39.5, "y2024_25": 42.9, "delta": 3.4},
      {"province": "Balochistan", "y2020_21": 40.4, "y2024_25": 42.4, "delta": 2.0}
    ],
    "lfs_province_unemployment_2024_25": [
      {"province": "KP", "male_pct": 8.0, "female_pct": 18.0},
      {"province": "Punjab", "male_pct": 6.0, "female_pct": 10.0},
      {"province": "Sindh", "male_pct": 5.3, "female_pct": 6.0},
      {"province": "Balochistan", "male_pct": 10.0, "female_pct": 14.0}
    ],
    "vc_funding": [
      {"year": 2020, "total_usd_m": 67, "deals": 24, "top_sector": "Logistics", "top_deal": "Bykea $13M"},
      {"year": 2021, "total_usd_m": 375, "deals": 87, "top_sector": "Fintech", "top_deal": "Cloudways exit $350M"},
      {"year": 2022, "total_usd_m": 347, "deals": 76, "top_sector": "E-commerce", "top_deal": "DealCart $5M+ Bazaar"},
      {"year": 2023, "total_usd_m": 75.8, "deals": 39, "top_sector": "E-commerce", "top_deal": "Airlift collapse"},
      {"year": 2024, "total_usd_m": 110, "deals": 22, "top_sector": "Fintech", "top_deal": "Multiple seed rounds"},
      {"year": 2025, "total_usd_m": 165, "deals": 18, "top_sector": "AI/Fintech", "top_deal": "Multiple growth rounds"},
      {"year": 2026, "total_usd_m": 172, "deals": 10, "top_sector": "Fintech/Remittance", "top_deal": "Fin.com $20M (Pak-born founder)"}
    ],
    "it_exports_usd_b": [
      {"year": 2020, "value": 1.4},
      {"year": 2021, "value": 2.1},
      {"year": 2022, "value": 2.6},
      {"year": 2023, "value": 3.2},
      {"year": 2024, "value": 3.8},
      {"year": 2025, "value": 4.5}
    ]
  },

  "provinces": [
    {
      "code": "PB", "name": "Punjab", "capital": "Lahore", "population_millions": 127.0,
      "share_of_national_startups_pct": 41.4, "top_industry": "Software & Data",
      "cities_in_top_1000": 1, "ranked_cities": 6,
      "pseb_registered_companies": 10745, "pseb_share_pct": 51.9,
      "stza_zones": ["Lahore Technopolis", "Systems Limited", "Innovista Rawal", "Agritech Park Faisalabad", "NASTP Alpha", "Mindbridge STZ"],
      "accelerators": ["NIC LUMS Lahore", "LUMS CIE", "PITB Plan9", "i2i Ventures Lahore", "Investedad"],
      "lfs_informal_pct": 71, "lfs_lfpr_overall_pct": 50.3, "lfs_lfpr_male_pct": 81, "lfs_lfpr_female_pct": 34,
      "lfs_unemployment_male_pct": 6, "lfs_unemployment_female_pct": 10,
      "economic_census_share_pct": 58, "wb_enterprise_survey_firms": 562, "wb_enterprise_survey_share_pct": 43.2,
      "key_cities": ["Lahore #169", "Faisalabad #760", "Multan #1121", "Jhelum #1508", "Sialkot #1509", "Gujranwala #1520"],
      "color": "#f59e0b"
    },
    {
      "code": "SD", "name": "Sindh", "capital": "Karachi", "population_millions": 60.1,
      "share_of_national_startups_pct": 36.7, "top_industry": "Fintech & Ecommerce",
      "cities_in_top_1000": 1, "ranked_cities": 2,
      "pseb_registered_companies": 6352, "pseb_share_pct": 30.7,
      "stza_zones": ["Pakistan Maritime STP Karachi", "BYD NEV Production Zone (under construction)"],
      "accelerators": ["Nest I/O Karachi", "i2i Karachi", "INJAZ Pakistan Karachi", "AKU-IED PDC Karachi"],
      "lfs_informal_pct": 69, "lfs_lfpr_overall_pct": 46.2, "lfs_lfpr_male_pct": 80, "lfs_lfpr_female_pct": 21,
      "lfs_unemployment_male_pct": 5.3, "lfs_unemployment_female_pct": 6,
      "economic_census_share_pct": 20, "wb_enterprise_survey_firms": 255, "wb_enterprise_survey_share_pct": 19.6,
      "key_cities": ["Karachi #174", "Hyderabad #1264"],
      "color": "#10b981"
    },
    {
      "code": "KP", "name": "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", "capital": "Peshawar", "population_millions": 40.8,
      "share_of_national_startups_pct": 1.0, "top_industry": "Emerging Tech",
      "cities_in_top_1000": 0, "ranked_cities": 1,
      "pseb_registered_companies": 243, "pseb_share_pct": 1.2,
      "stza_zones": ["NRTC Hi-Tech STZ Haripur", "Pakistan Digital City Haripur (KPITB)", "Bannu Tech Park"],
      "accelerators": ["NIC Peshawar", "KPITB Digital City", "CedarSoft Peshawar", "Sarhad Chamber Incubator"],
      "lfs_informal_pct": 72, "lfs_lfpr_overall_pct": 42.9, "lfs_lfpr_male_pct": 79, "lfs_lfpr_female_pct": 21,
      "lfs_unemployment_male_pct": 8, "lfs_unemployment_female_pct": 18,
      "economic_census_share_pct": 15, "wb_enterprise_survey_firms": 181, "wb_enterprise_survey_share_pct": 13.9,
      "key_cities": ["Peshawar #1175 (new in 2026)"],
      "color": "#3b82f6"
    },
    {
      "code": "BA", "name": "Balochistan", "capital": "Quetta", "population_millions": 14.9,
      "share_of_national_startups_pct": 0.0, "top_industry": "Mining & Agriculture",
      "cities_in_top_1000": 0, "ranked_cities": 0,
      "pseb_registered_companies": 43, "pseb_share_pct": 0.2,
      "stza_zones": ["None notified"],
      "accelerators": ["None active (gap)"],
      "lfs_informal_pct": 77, "lfs_lfpr_overall_pct": 42.4, "lfs_lfpr_male_pct": 80, "lfs_lfpr_female_pct": 15,
      "lfs_unemployment_male_pct": 10, "lfs_unemployment_female_pct": 14,
      "economic_census_share_pct": 6, "wb_enterprise_survey_firms": 153, "wb_enterprise_survey_share_pct": 11.8,
      "key_cities": ["No ranked cities (Quetta not in global top 1500)"],
      "color": "#ef4444"
    },
    {
      "code": "ICT", "name": "Islamabad Capital Territory", "capital": "Islamabad", "population_millions": 2.4,
      "share_of_national_startups_pct": 20.6, "top_industry": "Government & Tech",
      "cities_in_top_1000": 0, "ranked_cities": 1,
      "pseb_registered_companies": 3264, "pseb_share_pct": 15.8,
      "stza_zones": ["Tech7 STZ", "NUST Special Technology Zone", "New State Life Tower"],
      "accelerators": ["NIC Islamabad", "NUST Incubator", "FAST Incubator", "COMSATS Venture Capital"],
      "lfs_informal_pct": 50, "lfs_lfpr_overall_pct": 60.0, "lfs_lfpr_male_pct": 84, "lfs_lfpr_female_pct": 36,
      "lfs_unemployment_male_pct": null, "lfs_unemployment_female_pct": null,
      "economic_census_share_pct": 1, "wb_enterprise_survey_firms": 149, "wb_enterprise_survey_share_pct": 11.5,
      "key_cities": ["Islamabad #244 (climbed 70 spots YoY)"],
      "color": "#a855f7"
    },
    {
      "code": "GB", "name": "Gilgit-Baltistan", "capital": "Gilgit", "population_millions": 1.8,
      "share_of_national_startups_pct": 0.0, "top_industry": "Tourism & Agri",
      "cities_in_top_1000": 0, "ranked_cities": 0,
      "pseb_registered_companies": 35, "pseb_share_pct": 0.2,
      "stza_zones": ["None notified"], "accelerators": ["None active"],
      "lfs_lfpr_overall_pct": 35, "color": "#06b6d4"
    },
    {
      "code": "AJK", "name": "Azad Jammu & Kashmir", "capital": "Muzaffarabad", "population_millions": 4.5,
      "share_of_national_startups_pct": 0.0, "top_industry": "Hydro/Tourism",
      "cities_in_top_1000": 0, "ranked_cities": 0,
      "pseb_registered_companies": 29, "pseb_share_pct": 0.1,
      "stza_zones": ["None notified"], "accelerators": ["None active"],
      "lfs_lfpr_overall_pct": 30, "color": "#84cc16"
    }
  ],

  "cities": [
    {"rank": 1, "name": "Lahore", "province": "Punjab", "global_rank": 169, "delta": 40, "score": 4.693, "national_share_pct": 36.4, "startups": 414, "growth_pct": 66, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 2.8},
    {"rank": 2, "name": "Karachi", "province": "Sindh", "global_rank": 174, "delta": 16, "score": 4.628, "national_share_pct": 35.9, "startups": 345, "growth_pct": 39.4, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 3.56},
    {"rank": 3, "name": "Islamabad", "province": "ICT", "global_rank": 244, "delta": 70, "score": 2.651, "national_share_pct": 20.6, "startups": 232, "growth_pct": 95, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 1.4},
    {"rank": 4, "name": "Faisalabad", "province": "Punjab", "global_rank": 760, "delta": 463, "score": 0.314, "national_share_pct": 2.4, "startups": 27, "growth_pct": 150, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 0.15},
    {"rank": 5, "name": "Multan", "province": "Punjab", "global_rank": 1121, "delta": 176, "score": 0.140, "national_share_pct": 1.1, "startups": 12, "growth_pct": 100, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 0.05},
    {"rank": 6, "name": "Peshawar", "province": "KP", "global_rank": 1175, "delta": 0, "score": 0.123, "national_share_pct": 1.0, "startups": 11, "growth_pct": 0, "is_new": true, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 0.03},
    {"rank": 7, "name": "Hyderabad", "province": "Sindh", "global_rank": 1264, "delta": 0, "score": 0.106, "national_share_pct": 0.8, "startups": 9, "growth_pct": 0, "is_new": true, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 0.02},
    {"rank": 8, "name": "Jhelum", "province": "Punjab", "global_rank": 1508, "delta": 0, "score": 0.061, "national_share_pct": 0.5, "startups": 6, "growth_pct": 0, "is_new": true, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 0.01},
    {"rank": 9, "name": "Sialkot", "province": "Punjab", "global_rank": 1509, "delta": -40, "score": 0.061, "national_share_pct": 0.5, "startups": 6, "growth_pct": -10, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 0.01},
    {"rank": 10, "name": "Gujranwala", "province": "Punjab", "global_rank": 1520, "delta": 0, "score": 0.058, "national_share_pct": 0.5, "startups": 5, "growth_pct": 0, "is_new": true, "ecosystem_value_usd_b": 0.01}
  ],

  "city_details": {
    "Lahore": {
      "tagline": "Pakistan's Software & SaaS capital",
      "global_rank_2025": 209, "global_rank_2026": 169, "rank_jump_2yr": 78,
      "best_subindustries": ["Software & Data #38", "Ecommerce & Retail-Other #34", "Edtech #51", "Fintech #98"],
      "worst_subindustries": ["Healthtech #340", "Logistics #315", "Traveltech #290"],
      "major_startups": ["PriceOye (e-commerce)", "Sastaticket.pk (travel)", "PostEx (logistics)", "Careem Lahore", "Pakwheels"],
      "strengths": ["LUMS + UETP engineering talent", "NFC + LSE financial infrastructure", "Punjab IT Board active subsidies", "Higher LFPR than Sindh"],
      "challenges": ["Power outages (75% firms)", "Wage gap PKR 47K vs Islamabad PKR 60K", "Heavy concentration risk (36% national share)"],
      "media": "https://www.startupblink.com/startup-ecosystem/lahore-pk"
    },
    "Karachi": {
      "tagline": "Pakistan's financial & fintech hub",
      "global_rank_2025": 190, "global_rank_2026": 174, "rank_jump_2yr": 34,
      "best_subindustries": ["Fintech #40", "Ecommerce & Retail-Other #40", "Marketing & Sales #133", "Software & Data #138"],
      "worst_subindustries": ["Edtech #520", "Logistics #380", "Traveltech #330"],
      "major_startups": ["Bykea (ride-hailing)", "Tez Financial (fintech)", "Bazaar (B2B retail)", "Dastgyr", "Sabaq"],
      "strengths": ["PSX + SBP + commercial banks", "Port city logistics", "Higher female LFPR (21% vs national 24%)", "Largest ecosystem value ($3.56B)"],
      "challenges": ["Security/political risk perception", "Karachi ranked #174 still — slow climb", "Lower LFPR than Punjab"],
      "media": "https://www.startupblink.com/startup-ecosystem/karachi-pk"
    },
    "Islamabad": {
      "tagline": "Pakistan's policy & federal-tech hub",
      "global_rank_2025": 314, "global_rank_2026": 244, "rank_jump_2yr": 188,
      "best_subindustries": ["Government & Tech #42", "Cybersecurity #88", "Healthtech #95", "Edtech #112"],
      "worst_subindustries": ["Fashiontech #420", "Foodtech #380", "Traveltech #310"],
      "major_startups": ["NUST + FAST incubators", "NIC Islamabad", "PakVitae", "WonderTree", "MLCube.ai"],
      "strengths": ["Highest female LFPR (36% vs national 24%)", "Federal policy access", "Easypaisa + Jazz Cash HQs", "70-spot YoY climb (highest mover)"],
      "challenges": ["Small population (2.4M = small absolute market)", "Lowest informal employment (50%) = expensive talent"],
      "media": "https://www.startupblink.com/startup-ecosystem/islamabad-pk"
    },
    "Peshawar": {
      "tagline": "KP's emerging tech gateway (NEW in 2026)",
      "global_rank_2025": null, "global_rank_2026": 1175, "rank_jump_2yr": null,
      "best_subindustries": ["Software & Data (initial tracking)", "Edtech", "Agriculture Tech"],
      "worst_subindustries": ["Data too new for subindustry ranking"],
      "major_startups": ["KPITB portfolio startups", "Sarhad Chamber incubators", "CedarSoft", "Techletics Peshawar"],
      "strengths": ["First-mover status in KP", "KP IT Board active support", "Lower wage base", "Strategic location for Afghan trade tech"],
      "challenges": ["Highest unemployment in country (9.2%)", "Lowest female LFPR with KP", "Security perceptions", "Small absolute startup count (11)"],
      "media": "https://www.startupblink.com/startup-ecosystem/peshawar-pk"
    }
  },

  "pseb_it_companies": {
    "total": 20711,
    "by_province": [
      {"province": "Punjab", "count": 10745, "share_pct": 51.9},
      {"province": "Sindh", "count": 6352, "share_pct": 30.7},
      {"province": "ICT (Islamabad)", "count": 3264, "share_pct": 15.8},
      {"province": "KP", "count": 243, "share_pct": 1.2},
      {"province": "Balochistan", "count": 43, "share_pct": 0.2},
      {"province": "Gilgit-Baltistan", "count": 35, "share_pct": 0.2},
      {"province": "Azad Jammu & Kashmir", "count": 29, "share_pct": 0.1}
    ],
    "tax_benefit": "PSEB-registered companies pay 0.25% tax on export income vs 1% for non-registered",
    "source": "PSEB Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja — National Assembly reply, May 2025",
    "source_url": "https://bloompakistan.com/over-20000-it-companies-now-registered-with-pseb-nationwide/"
  },

  "stza_zones": [
    {"name": "Lahore Technopolis", "province": "Punjab", "status": "Operational", "size_acres": 22, "size_sqft": 958320, "launch": "Dec 2021"},
    {"name": "Tech7 STZ", "province": "ICT", "status": "Operational", "size_acres": 4.6, "size_sqft": 1096112, "launch": "Aug 2024"},
    {"name": "Systems Limited", "province": "Punjab", "status": "Operational", "size_acres": 3.44, "size_sqft": 150276},
    {"name": "Pakistan Maritime STP", "province": "Sindh", "status": "Operational", "size_acres": 1.5, "size_sqft": 412916},
    {"name": "Agritech Park (UAF)", "province": "Punjab", "status": "Operational", "size_acres": 38, "size_sqft": 516988},
    {"name": "NRTC Hi-Tech STZ", "province": "KP", "status": "Operational", "size_acres": 47, "size_sqft": 899466},
    {"name": "New State Life Tower", "province": "ICT", "status": "Operational", "size_acres": 1, "size_sqft": 300000},
    {"name": "Innovista Rawal", "province": "Punjab", "status": "Operational", "size_acres": 5.04, "size_sqft": 197752},
    {"name": "NASTP Alpha", "province": "Punjab", "status": "Operational", "size_acres": 20, "size_sqft": 434899},
    {"name": "Mindbridge STZ", "province": "Punjab", "status": "Notified 2024", "size_acres": null, "size_sqft": null},
    {"name": "NUST STZ", "province": "ICT", "status": "Notified 2024", "size_acres": null, "size_sqft": null},
    {"name": "Capital Smart Technology Zone", "province": "Punjab", "status": "Notified 2024", "size_acres": null, "size_sqft": null},
    {"name": "BYD NEV Production Zone", "province": "Sindh", "status": "Under Construction", "size_acres": 73.4, "size_sqft": 1863176}
  ],

  "gender": {
    "national": {
      "female_lfpr_pct": 24.4,
      "male_lfpr_pct": 69.8,
      "gender_gap_pp": 45.4,
      "women_entrepreneurs_pct": 1,
      "men_entrepreneurs_pct": 21,
      "women_led_startups_pct": 10,
      "investments_in_women_led_pct_7yr": 1.4,
      "women_owned_smes_pct": 8
    },
    "by_province": [
      {"province": "ICT (Islamabad)", "female_lfpr_pct": 36, "f_unemployment_pct": null},
      {"province": "Punjab", "female_lfpr_pct": 34, "f_unemployment_pct": 10},
      {"province": "Sindh", "female_lfpr_pct": 21, "f_unemployment_pct": 6},
      {"province": "KP", "female_lfpr_pct": 21, "f_unemployment_pct": 18},
      {"province": "Balochistan", "female_lfpr_pct": 15, "f_unemployment_pct": 14}
    ],
    "women_led_initiatives": [
      {"name": "Invest2Innovate (i2i)", "founder": "Kalsoom Lakhani", "focus": "Gender-lens VC accelerator"},
      {"name": "Nest I/O", "founder": "Jehan Ara (ex-P@SHA President)", "focus": "Karachi tech incubator"},
      {"name": "Sehat Kahani", "founders": "Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram + Dr. Iffat Zafar", "focus": "Female doctor telemedicine platform"},
      {"name": "Markhor / Atoms", "founder": "Sidra Qasim", "focus": "D2C footwear (acquired / re-launched)"},
      {"name": "She Loves Tech Pakistan", "focus": "Women tech startup competition"},
      {"name": "We-Fi + IFC Pakistan", "focus": "Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative"}
    ]
  },

  "key_indicators": {
    "youth_unemployment_national_pct": 13.1,
    "youth_unemployment_female_pct": 16.3,
    "female_underemployment_pct": 5.8,
    "male_underemployment_pct": 2.7,
    "informal_employment_share_pct": 70.9,
    "self_employed_share_male_pct": 49,
    "self_employed_share_female_pct": 25,
    "average_monthly_wage_male_pkr": 48713,
    "average_monthly_wage_female_pkr": 45856,
    "firms_with_female_top_manager_pct": 6.3,
    "firms_experiencing_power_outages_pct": 75.3,
    "firms_using_banks_for_working_capital_pct": 21.4,
    "firms_identifying_corruption_as_constraint_pct": 26.5
  },

  "ecosystem_signals": [
    {"label": "5G Spectrum Auction", "value": "May 2025 — commercial rollout June 2025", "type": "milestone"},
    {"label": "Easypaisa — First Digital Bank License", "value": "Jan 2025", "type": "milestone"},
    {"label": "20,000+ IT Companies (PSEB)", "value": "May 2025 — 51.9% Punjab, 30.7% Sindh", "type": "milestone"},
    {"label": "STZA Zones Operational", "value": "9 zones · 5.8M sqft · 4 provinces", "type": "milestone"},
    {"label": "Special Technology Zones (STZs)", "value": "Tax exemption + customs relief + special FX", "type": "policy"},
    {"label": "Companies Amendment Act", "value": "2021 — startup legal framework", "type": "policy"},
    {"label": "Digital Banking Policy (SBP)", "value": "Active framework", "type": "policy"},
    {"label": "PSEB Export Tax", "value": "0.25% on export income for registered IT firms", "type": "policy"},
    {"label": "Kamyab Jawan Program", "value": "PM youth loan scheme (female provisions)", "type": "policy"},
    {"label": "Remittances FY25", "value": "USD 38.3B — record inflow", "type": "milestone"},
    {"label": "Pakistan Unicorns", "value": "0 homegrown (Airlift + others shut down)", "type": "warning"}
  ],

  "case_studies": [
    {"name": "Airlift", "founded": 2019, "city": "Lahore", "sector": "Quick commerce", "raised_usd_m": 110, "outcome": "Shut down May 2022 — burned cash on subsidies, rupee devaluation, failed Series C", "lessons": "Don't subsidize without unit economics; runway matters more than GMV"},
    {"name": "Bykea", "founded": 2016, "city": "Karachi", "sector": "Mobility + payments", "raised_usd_m": 23, "outcome": "Survived, pivoted to B2B logistics + financial services", "lessons": "Pivots preserve capital; B2B economics beat B2C subsidies"},
    {"name": "Bazaar (formerly Retailo)", "founded": 2020, "city": "Karachi", "sector": "B2B retail", "raised_usd_m": 100, "outcome": "Largest seed round in MENAPT ($6.5M); scaling across Pakistan + UAE", "lessons": "B2B SMB digitisation has durable unit economics"},
    {"name": "Sastaticket.pk", "founded": 2014, "city": "Lahore", "sector": "Travel + Umrah", "raised_usd_m": 14, "outcome": "Survived COVID pivot to Umrah + corporate travel", "lessons": "Religious tourism (Umrah) is a defensible Pakistan niche"},
    {"name": "Fin.com", "founded": 2026, "city": "Pak-born founder (Mustafa Dar)", "sector": "Remittance + cross-border payments", "raised_usd_m": 20, "outcome": "Pakistani diaspora-founded, $20M seed round in 2026", "lessons": "Diaspora founders tap into Pakistan's $38B remittance flow"},
    {"name": "Markhor / Atoms", "founded": 2017, "city": "Karachi (Lahore HQ)", "sector": "D2C footwear", "raised_usd_m": 16, "outcome": "Markhor raised profile, then pivoted to Atoms (DTC essentials)", "lessons": "D2C Pakistan faces logistics costs — concentrate on consumables"}
  ],

  "data_gaps": [
    "Balochistan, GB, AJK have no city ranked in StartupBlink top 1500 — Quetta missing from 2026 index",
    "Only 4 cities in global top 1000 vs India's 60+",
    "GEM Pakistan reports inconsistent year-on-year availability (latest GEM data is 2019; no 2024-25 update)",
    "SBP province-wise SME finance breakdown has 6-month reporting lag",
    "No homegrown unicorns; major shutdowns include Airlift (2022), Sabir Sami / Truck It In (2023)",
    "Women's startup data inconsistent — LUMS cites 10% women-led; Invest2Innovate reports 1.4% investments (different metrics)",
    "PSEB counts include IT services firms, not pure startups — overlap with StartupBlink count unknown"
  ],

  "diaspora": {
    "remittances_fy25_usd_b": 38.3,
    "key_corridors": [
      {"country": "Saudi Arabia", "share_pct": 22, "use_case": "Domestic remittance + real estate"},
      {"country": "UAE", "share_pct": 19, "use_case": "Roshan Digital Account + investments"},
      {"country": "USA", "share_pct": 17, "use_case": "Roshan Digital Account + startups"},
      {"country": "UK", "share_pct": 15, "use_case": "Real estate + SME investment"},
      {"country": "Other GCC", "share_pct": 27, "use_case": "Mixed"}
    ],
    "diaspora_founded_startups": [
      {"name": "Fin.com", "founder": "Mustafa Dar (Pak-born)", "raised_usd_m": 20, "year": 2026, "headquarters": "US, serving Pakistan corridor"},
      {"name": "Markhor", "founder": "Sidra Qasim (Pak-origin)", "raised_usd_m": 16},
      {"name": "Various YC-backed", "founder": "Multiple Pakistani-Americans", "year": "2020-2026"}
    ],
    "roshan_digital_account": {
      "launched": "Sep 2020 by SBP",
      "accounts_opened_m": "1M+",
      "deposits_usd_b": 9,
      "purpose": "Allows overseas Pakistanis to invest in PKR-denominated assets (stocks, Naya Pakistan Certificates, real estate) without visiting Pakistan"
    }
  }
}