LAHORE/SAN FRANCISCO, MAR 9 /DNA/ – Pakistani technology startup RemoteBase, has raised almost 220 million rupees funding in its seed round of investment so that it can enable Pakistani software engineers and developers to get international exposure. RemoteBase finds, hires, trains and places Pakistani software engineers and developers in Silicon Valley startups. Famous Silicon Valley startups include Google, Facebook and Apple.
This investment by Pakistan based Indus Valley Capital and US Billionaire Tim Draper in RemoteBase are considered to be a huge boost in Pakistan’s tech ecosystem since it reflects a growing trend of Pakistani tech startups raising millions of dollars.
Dr Umar Saif, former chairman of Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and founder of Plan9, a tech incubator that gave Pakistani startups exposure to investors in Silicon Valley said: “I am super proud of Qasim and his team on the fundraising. Having seen him work in the past, I can see Remotebase playing a pivotal role in placing Pakistan on the global map.” “As companies go remote, they are looking to hire software engineers from all over the world and Pakistan can benefit from this immensely.
Pakistani engineers are some of the most talented engineers I have worked with in the past. All they require is good training and direction, and I can see Remotebase doing that.” The founder of RemoteBase, Qasim Asad Salam who has also worked closely with Umar Saif and Plan9 said that his only goal is to help Pakistani engineers compete internationally and that remote working during COVID-19 made it possible.
Qasim further added, “Pakistani talent has always amazed me. Engineers from Pakistan are on par with the best engineers in the world. They just don’t have the right direction or the right opportunities. With Remotebase, we want to change that.” “Remotebase is all set to completely disrupt how work is done. Being a remote worker for most of my life I was always passionate about enabling people to build companies entirely in the cloud and giving them access to top talent from all around the globe. Where better to start the company from than Pakistan, a country where I have personally witnessed an immense amount of talent, and super hungry individuals just looking for opportunities to learn and grow,” Qasim said. RemoteBase currently has 40 software engineers but the company plans to hire 150+ Pakistan engineers by the end of 2021 after gaining this investment.
US billionaire Tim Draper, who has invested in Skype, Twitter and Hotmail has backed this Pakistani startup and believes that it has the potential to significantly disrupt the tech ecosystem of the world. Tim Draper said, “Remotebase’s mission is to create a world with no physical boundaries and help engineers in emerging markets have the same access to working with innovative companies as those in developed nations.”
Tim Draper further said that: “Knowing Qasim and having seen him work right outside my office, I can say that he and his team are going to take Remotebase to the moon. We are so proud of what they have achieved so far and are looking forward to helping him and his team on this incredible journey.” The Co-founder of RemoteBase, Talha Masood said, “No individual should be discriminated against in terms of race, colour, nationality or gender and the world should be made more inclusive as a whole.”
“Working remotely my entire life with Silicon Valley companies has been an incredible ride. I had immense freedom, meaningful work and I got to learn from the best companies in the world. One went on to become a multi-billion dollar startup. I want other Pakistani engineers to have the same experiences and opportunities I had,” Talha said. With this fresh round of funding, Remotebase aims to hire more engineers, power Remotebase hackathons, and encourage women to get into tech through Remotebase for Women.
A former senior executive at popular business networking app, Linkedin, Aatif Awan from Indus Valley Capital expressed excitement about investing in a new Pakistani startup. Aatif said: “Remotebase has been crushing it. Growing 28% month over month since they started in April, and crossing $1 million in Accounting Rate of Return (ARR) in less than a year.
We are super excited to be partnering with them and helping Pakistani engineers receive global recognition.” Pakistan’s tech ecosystem has been growing at a rapid pace and has the potential to earn significant foreign currency whilst also providing lucrative employment opportunities for the youth of Pakistan. It will also boost the economy of Pakistan.
