Pakistan has a growing technology sector, ambitious AI policies and a generation of entrepreneurs looking beyond their domestic market.

But what does it take for Pakistani startups to attract international investment and compete globally?

In this episode of Emerging Markets Today, I speak with Alexander Piskunov, an investor and advisor who has worked with Pakistani government institutions on AI policy, venture capital and innovation programmes.

We discuss how Pakistan's startup ecosystem compares with India's, the role of government-backed funding and why access to capital is only one part of the challenge.

We also explore opportunities in software, artificial intelligence and fintech, particularly financial inclusion and Islamic banking. Alex shares his perspective on what international investors look for, the challenges Pakistani founders face when expanding abroad and why turning promising technology into a commercially viable business matters more than ever.

Alexander Piskunov is an investor and advisor specialising in venture capital, innovation policy and emerging markets. His work includes advising Pakistan's Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives on AI commercialisation and government-backed venture initiatives.

00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:53 Pakistan vs India
00:06:29 Government and AI
00:10:54 Global investor view
00:15:21 Scaling globally
00:21:40 Fintech and Islamic banking

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This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

A new season of Emerging Markets Today is here. New episodes in October and November 2026.

Expect more stories from across Africa, Latin America, Asia and beyond, covering entrepreneurship, investment, technology, fintech and the forces changing how emerging economies grow.

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Financial inclusion is usually presented as an unquestionable good. More people with access to bank accounts, credit and digital payments should mean more opportunity, greater resilience and stronger economic development.

But the reality is more complicated.

In this episode from the Emerging Markets Today archive, I speak with Emmanuel Daniel, founder of The Asian Banker, about financial inclusion, the evolution of banking and the assumptions behind efforts to bring more people into the formal financial system.

We discuss where financial inclusion has genuinely improved people’s lives, but also where access to financial products can create new risks. The conversation looks at credit, banking infrastructure, technology and the changing role of financial institutions across emerging markets.

Emmanuel also challenges some of the conventional thinking around inclusion, including whether access alone is a useful measure of progress and what happens when financial products are introduced without considering how people actually use them.

Originally published in 2023, this conversation still raises important questions about what meaningful financial inclusion looks like, how technology is reshaping access to money and whether bringing more people into the financial system always produces better outcomes.

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