Are there any Search Funds in South Asia?
July 29, 2024
by a searcher from University of Chicago in Chicago, IL, USA
I'm working on an article submission to a government ministry in my birth country, Pakistan. One of the many challenges in this country is the lack of productivity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. On this third item, while there are some startup, tech-enabled businesses, few are of any significant impact. My proposal is essentially the untapped opportunity that search funds may provide by pairing educated prospective managers/owners with small-to-medium legacy businesses that have growth potential.
Hence, my question: is anyone aware of any search funds in Pakistan? If not there, how about India, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka? I'd love to chat with any searchers in these countries or their investors, in order to better understand what opportunities there may be.
Thank you
from University of California, Los Angeles in Pacifica, CA 94044, USA
Hello ^redacted I'm originally from India and I had the same question. Upon lots of research I concluded that there's no market yet for a traditional search fund in India yet (i..e, investor backed search)
Albeit, buying businesses isn't a new thing in India (& other neighboring countries as you may be aware) so a SF may be novel, but ETA isn't. I also heard recently on the ETA Insider pod that there's a couple of cohorts starting soon in India though so this may be changing soon! Rejuvenating small businesses in countries like India, Pakistan and the neighbors is just good practice that any countries economy can benefit from!
from University of Teesside in Toronto, ON, Canada
Hey ^ redacted, I am considering opening a search fund in Indian Subcontinent (btw, here is no such thing as South Asia,) in the future, may be in couple of years down the line., right after doing it in Canada.