Lakson Investments Venture Capital Pakistan

Meet the Team

Our team is comprised of a diverse set of investors, operators, and entrepreneurs with
a successful track record of bringing big ideas to fruition.

Investment Focus

LIVC invests in Pakistan based opportunities, concentrating on investments where technology can be leveraged to enable, enhance and disrupt existing business models or create new ones. Our investment focus is at the stage in the start-up lifecycle where the company is less than 36-48 months away from a successful Series A round or potential exit.

Fund Overview 

  • Lakson Investments Venture Capital (LIVC) invests in Pakistan based opportunities. We concentrate on investments where technology can be leveraged to enable, enhance and disrupt existing business models or create new ones
  • Investment focus is at the stage in the start-up lifecycle where the company is less than 36-48 months away from a successful Series A round or potential exit. We also invest in select Seed rounds through our Incubation and Accelerator ecosystem relationships as well as overseas partners in Silicon Valley and Europe where we seek to bring proven foreign technology to Pakistan
  • 5-year Investment period, 5-year Distribution period with a target 3-5X cash multiple

Investment Team

  • A team comprised of a diverse set of investors, domain experts, operators, and entrepreneurs with a successful track record of bringing big ideas to fruition
  • Senior and experienced investment professionals with a track record in early and mid stage ventures. A seasoned equity research team of 6 analysts with 20+ years of experience supports the investment team

Our Approach 

  • Value creation and maximising future equity valuation is at the core of our investment philosophy
  • Invest in innovative technologies that fundamentally change the dynamics of markets and the lives of their users
  • Focus less about being a source of capital to our portfolio companies, and more about being their strategic partner
  • Lakson has an unblemished track record in creating value through business partnerships and JVs e.g. Philip Morris, Colgate, McDonald’s

Venture Capital Opportunity in Pakistan 

  • Pakistan is entering a high growth phase of the investment cycle; economic expansion and high GDP growth will improve FDI, employment and investor confidence, leading to reduced risk premiums and multiples expansion
  • Pakistan is globally the most exciting market for digital adoption. It is the  fastest growing market for internet adoption globally with more than 1m people getting  connected via mobile broadband every month
  • Internet penetration has increased from 133,000 in 2000 to over 51m by the end of 2017. Another 50m users to move to 4G over the next 36-48 months
  • This shift to the digital economy will lead to transformational changes in sectors such as retail, financial services, healthcare, education and logistics.
  • Pakistan has a large, young and growing middle class with more than 70% of the population below the age of 30
  • With 82m people in Pakistan considered Middle Class, this sub-group is is greater than the entire population of either Italy, Germany, the UK or Turkey
  • A significant opportunity exists to provide growth venture capital to innovative ideas and to help businesses execute their expansion plans

Investment Committee



Market Strategy

  • Focus: Pakistan based ventures capital that can leverage technology to enable, enhance and disrupt existing business models or create new ones
  • Investment Stage: Invest in the market gap: First Stage Capital (Pre-Series A) for ventures that offer a strong probability of achieving the next round of funding or potential for strategic acquisition within 36-48 months
  • Seasoned Team: A combined history of 85+ years of successful and active investing in local and international ventures across industry sectors with a demonstrated track record
  • Local Expertise: Lakson Group’s extensive local presence and numerous relationships. Investment team’s extensive local network and investment experience
  • Global Network: Lakson Group’s overseas experience, in-house corporate and deep global relationships. Investment team and Advisory Board’s extensive international network and experience
  • Deal-Flow: LIVC leverages its high quality network of human capital, Incubators, Accelerators and Academia to generate the highest quality deal-flow

Selection Filters

We look for seasoned founders with previous experience in successful businesses and ventures, who are able to take advantage of the large population and capitalize on the changing nature of the Pakistani consumer.

Business Models 

  • Business To Consumer (B2C): a business or transactions conducted directly between a company and consumers who are the end-users of its products or services
  • Business To Business (B2B): a type of transaction that exists between businesses, such as one involving a manufacturer and wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer
  • Software As A Service (SaaS): a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted

Our broad investment filters include an array of sectors:

  • Enterprise & Small to Medium Business platforms
  • Digital Payments
  • E-commerce
  • Retail
  • Cybersecurity
  • Consumer/Social Apps & Services
  • IT & Software Development Cloud Infrastructure
  • Data Analytics
  • Media Tech
  • Ad Tech
  • Agriculture Tech
  • Solar
  • Water
  • Energy Storage
  • Micro Grids

We also have keen interest in emerging themes such as Blockchain, FinTech, Artificial Intelligence/Algorithms, and Internet of Things. Moreover, we actively seek out other technologies and investment opportunities where our investor capital can make market history.

And last, we expect the market to continue to evolve. LIVC is in the perfect position to identify emerging sectors and technologies, because our team is looking at companies that are not too early (pre-seed), and not too late (Series A round), and can identify clusters of companies that are passionate about a promising new technology, with a market demand, and an interested community and investors. The most recent example is technologies relating to the Blockchain, where as recently as two years ago, most people outside the space could not predict when (or if) it would break out.

Lakson Investment and The Group

  • Lakson Investments platform is built on the philosophy of “we manage your money, as we manage our own”
  • Over PKR 30 billion in discretionary assets with one of the most experienced local investment teams – 50+ professionals
  • Benefit from their preferred relationships with corporates, brokers, banks and lawyers for a broad range of access
  • Leverage the Lakson Group for insight into industries, businesses and access to a network of families and deals
  • Utilize the group’s track record in corporate strategy and business methods to create value for portfolio companies
Economy

Pakistan is entering a high growth phase of the investment cycle; economic expansion and high GDP growth will improve FDI, employment and investor confidence. Among the leading emerging markets, Pakistan offers tremendous value arbitrage and a robust case for Venture Capital Pakistan investment.

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Opportunity

A significant opportunity exists to provide growth venture capital Pakistan to innovative ideas and to help businesses execute their expansion plans. Pakistan is globally the most exciting market for digital adoption. It is the fastest growing market for internet adoption globally with more than 1m people getting connected via mobile broadband every month.

Market

Pakistan has a population of 207 million with 111 million adults. 82 million Pakistanis are considered Middle Class, making this sub-group  greater than the entire population of either Italy, Germany, the UK or Turkey. Pakistan is home to over 50 million smart-phone users and close to 60 million broadband users.

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Demography

Pakistan has a large, young and growing middle class with more than 70% of the population below the age of 30. Digital adoption is therefore rapid as younger people are more adept at picking up and making use of digital solutions in various markets. The demography of Pakistan is primed to enter the high growth phase of digital adoption.

Digitization

Pakistan is globally the most exciting market for digitization. It is among the fastest growing markets for internet penetration, which has increased from 133,000 in the year 2000 to over 51 million in 2017. With another 50 million users expected to move to 4G in the coming years, Pakistan is ready to enter the High Growth Phase of the Investment Cycle and emerge as a digital powerhouse by 2025.

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Transformation

This shift to the digital economy will lead to transformational changes in sectors such as retail, financial services, healthcare, education and logistics, driven by 135 million Millenials. During FY17, 1.2 million transactions were processed through e-commerce. Pakistan’s e-commerce market surpassed $600 million in 2017 and is projected to exceed $1 billion by 2020.

Our Relationship with Portfolio Companies

We don’t write a cheque and hope for the best; we get in the trenches with our portfolio companies and ensure their success.
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Strategy Development

Act as a soundboard and help our portfolio companies build a business plan that works.

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Network Connections

Connect our portfolio companies with our vast network of business partners, advisors and investors.

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Operational Support

Provide support to our portfolio companies in any area of the business that they need.

Our Relationship with Investors

Our investors’ interests always come before our own. Our commitment, integrity,
professional excellence, entrepreneurial spirit and
teamwork is what sets us apart.
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Collaboration

Investors can participate in aiding deal-flow and due-diligence process.

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Co – Investment

Investors can co-invest in their favorite companies when opportunities arise.

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Communication

Investors can engage in open dialogue with us as well as portfolio companies.

Disclaimer

All investments in Mutual Funds are subject to market risks. The NAV of units may go up or down based on the market conditions. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The investors are advised in their own interest to carefully read the Offering Document in particular the investment policies in Clause 2.2 and risk disclosures and warning statements in contained in Clause 2.11 and part 11 in the respective Offering Documents.