Startup RemoteBase has raised $1.4 million, equivalent to almost 22 crore rupees in a seed investment round led by Indus Valley Capital.
Pakistan technology startup RemoteBase has raised $1.4 million, equivalent to almost 22 crore rupees in a seed investment round led by Indus Valley Capital.
RemoteBase connects Pakistani software engineers and developers with Silicon Valley companies, giving international exposure to Pakistani talent.
The seed round, which is one of the biggest for any Pakistani company was led by Aatif Awan of Indus Valley Capital who has significantly invested in the tech ecosystem of Pakistan. Awan was a Vice President at popular professional networking app, LinkedIn, before he entered the field of venture capitalism.
Aatif Awan said: “Remotebase is a crucial piece of the puzzle for the Pakistani tech ecosystem to earn its well-deserved place in the world. As tech companies go remote, Remotebase can help Pakistani talent fulfil this demand and gain experience with the best startups around the world. Over time this will also materially increase the supply of experienced tech professionals in the country, benefiting all local companies. We’re thrilled about our mission alignment with Remotebase and are excited to back them.”
RemoteBase was founded less than a year ago by tech entrepreneurs Qasim Asad Salam and Talha Masood. The company capitalised on the pandemic and created a win win situation for Silicon Valley companies who had access to cheaper developers and for Pakistani developers who got the chance to learn from the best companies in the world.
Speaking to Daily Times, Qasim said: “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, who has also worked in Silicon Valley said that Pakistani talent was at par with the best engineers with the world but they did not have the right guidance or the right opportunities. “With RemoteBase, we want to change that,” the young tech entrepreneur said.
US billionaire Tim Draper, who has invested in Skype, Twitter and Hotmail has invested in this Pakistani startup with a belief that it has the potential to significantly disrupt the tech ecosystem of the world.
Tim Draper said: “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 help him and his team on this incredible journey”.
RemoteBase capitalised on the pandemic and enabled Pakistani software engineers and developers to work directly with Silicon Valley companies, creating a business model which attracted one of the largest investment seed rounds for any Pakistani company.
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.
Technology startups have the potential to create high paying jobs for Pakistani graduates as well as raise foreign exchange revenue for the country.
COVID-19 has further enabled companies to work remotely. RemoteBase finds, hires, trains and places Pakistani software engineers and developers in Silicon Valley companies. Famous Silicon Valley companies include Google, Facebook and Apple.
Umar Saif, one of the leading voices promoting the tech ecosystem in Pakistan has also worked closely with Qasim Salam. Commenting on the recent investment, Umar Saif saif: “I am super proud of Qasim and his team on the fundraise. 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,” Umar Saif added.
RemoteBase currently has 40 software engineers but the company plans to hire 150+ Pakistani engineers by the end of 2021 after gaining this investment.
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,” said Talha Masood. 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.
Originally published at Daily Times