Shark Tank Pakistan: Will the popular business reality show attract big investment for new business ideas?

Adeel, a seven-year-old Pakistani-American, encountered a girl in Pakistan in the 1990s who had a crippled leg.

 

What worried Adeel Akhtar the most was that the girl was walking with the support of a tree branch, meaning she didn't even have a crutch. According to him, this scene left such an imprint on his mind that making artificial arms and legs for disabled people became his life's goal.

 

During his journey over the past several decades, he established his company 'Psionics' in America, but he still required significant investment and increased awareness of his product among a wider audience.

 

A few months ago, his company gained global recognition due to his appearance on the American TV show 'Shark Tank,' where he secured a million-dollar investment and the patronage of three prominent businessmen. Returned for the promise of

 

Is there a TV show that attracts financial and business sponsorships? Indeed, Shark Tank is a business reality TV show that has aired in more than 27 countries worldwide, including the USA and India, and has recently begun airing in Pakistan.

 

This popular TV show has launched in Pakistan at a time when several leading startups have shut down for various reasons over the past two years, and concerns about the Pakistani economy remain.

 

In such a case, will this show be a source of support for new businesses in Pakistan? To find out, we visited the set of the show in Karachi, where people from all over Pakistan came up with business ideas.

 

 

'Sharks,' business, and investment 

Shark Tank is a business reality TV show that debuted in the United States in 2009, inspired by a similar program in Japan. In simple words, it would not be wrong to call this show a meeting between entrepreneurs and investors.

 

Investors are referred to as 'sharks' in the show's parlance as various entrepreneurs tell them about their company and ask them for capital in exchange for a percentage of their business (i.e., equity).

 

The sharks, seated in front, scrutinize the business ideas, pose a series of questions, and then provide their verdict, one by one.

 

We met Sadaf Mansoor, a businesswoman, on the set of the show in Karachi, who described the show as 'like sharks and us like small fish in the sea.' He was hoping for investment from the sharks, but he stated that the platform is more important as it provides us with networking opportunities.

 

In other words, the benefit of this show for a business lies not just in the potential investment, but also in the enhanced visibility it provides through a superior platform, enabling more individuals to learn about their venture and connect with potential investors. It will also be available to other investors and businessmen.

 

Let's assume that not all businesses will necessarily require capital from this source; most of them may not be equipped to deal with sharks.

 

Additionally, the deals made during the show may change afterward, and investors may withdraw after evaluating the business, as has occurred multiple times at this show in the US.

 

Who are the Sharks or the Judges?

 

While some of the investors or judges chosen for the show's first season have extensive industry experience, others are newcomers.

 

The most popular among them is Junaid Iqbal, who has been the CEO of the ride-hailing service 'Creem' in Pakistan. Apart from this, Romana Dada is an experienced investor and venture capital specialist. Rabil Waraich is the founder and CEO of Investor, a venture capital firm that invests in various startups in Pakistan.

 

Aleena Nadeem operates 'Ejufoy,' a Pakistani education finance startup that offers loans to students. Similarly, Usman Bashir founded 'Breaktime' in America and has also made investments in Pakistan. Faisal Aftab Zain is the founder and CEO of a venture capital firm that has invested in Pakistan in the past.

 

Apart from him, Ibrahim Teli has been the managing director of "Aglu Pakistan," an ice cream company in the country since 1971.

 

Sharks investing in these startups have the advantage of receiving a percentage of the business in return, thereby becoming partners in the business.

 

'The point is that you don't just sit here as a check writer or an ATM,' said on-set shark Rabel Wardich to the BBC. It is also very important that we guide them so that their investment is successful.

 

'Often, new business owners lack advice; they don't know how to take the business forward. Our job is to help them through such stages.'

 

 

What are Pakistan's concerns regarding this show?
 

Concerns have been raised about the show's success in Pakistan, given that major startups in the country have either shut down or scaled back their operations in the past two years. Among them, 'Airlift' stands out as the most successful.

 

Green Lit Studios owns the rights to Shark Tank Pakistan, and 'Green Entertainment' is airing the show. Rizwan Qazi, co-founder of Greenlit Studios, told the BBC, "The beauty of this show is that it's happening at the right time, because in the economic and political situation of Pakistan, it's a Shark Tank." He predicts that the show will be significant.

 

"The way people are coming here and investing, we're sure the second season will be even bigger than the first season."

 

Apart from this, the industry's criticism of Shark Tank primarily focuses on the sharks involved in this program. Nisma Riaz, a business journalist associated with Profit magazine, says that "a common criticism is that the judges who are on the panel do not have experience setting up their own successful startups."  People are also inquiring about how the judges, who have never experienced these stages themselves, can assist businesses in navigating them.

 

When we put this criticism to Rabel Wardich, he said, 'Look, you're going to get a lot of critics; there are a lot of people on the Sharks panel who have investment training.'

 

"If we have the ability to evaluate the investment opportunities that are in front of us, invest in them, and improve them, it will be critical to fulfilling Shark Tank's goals, not just what we do." Let's move forward with establishing a startup to bring happiness to those individuals who may not be satisfied with anything else.

 

 

There were also concerns about the show, fearing that the startups featured would not be limited to big cities.

 

Actor Rabab Hashim is the host of Shark Tank Pakistan. Speaking to the BBC, he said, 'It is not that the participants are coming from big cities; people are coming from small towns and remote areas as well.

 

The presence of a significant number of women surprises me. People are also coming from Jacobabad, Abbottabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gilgit Baltistan, Quetta, and Peshawar.

 

Two women from Quetta, Kashmala and Amara Yousafzai, spoke to the BBC about their business. Kashmala owns a 'hair extensions' business in Quetta, while Amara has her own salon.

 

Kashmala said that she belongs to the Dikki region of Balochistan, and she says that there is an open way for women there to do their own business.

 

Kushmala introduces hair fashion 'extensions' among other products from abroad in Quetta and hopes to take home capital from the show.