In recent years, many companies in Pakistan have either packed up and left or halted their operations in the country.

While talking to Aaj News Digital an expert on economic affairs, Shehroz Khan Lodhi, said inflation increased as the rupee lost its value against dollar.

“At the same time, our national exchequer is also faced with a deficit. Because of all this, foreign investment in the country has declined.”

Some of the companies that left Pakistan are listed below along with the reasons for their decisions:

Economic experts say Airlift closed down due to economic instability

A very famous start-up in the country, Airlift, has completely shut down its operations.

The company came into being in March 2019 but closed down on July 12, 2022.

According to economic experts, high costs of fuel and soaring inflation played a vital role in the company’s closure.

Why did Swvl close down?

Multinational transport operating service Swvl was no less than a blessing for people who would seek an affordable option for daily commute.

It was especially a convenience in the cities of a country like Karachi where the public transport system is in a dismal state.

However, SWVL too, has packed up.

It is an Egyptian transportation company that started its service in Pakistan in July 2019, from Punjab’s capital Lahore.

It later started operating in Islamabad and then spread to Karachi by the end of 2019.

The lockdown imposed during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic and rise in petroleum prices were the reasons because of which lesser people were using the service and hence there was a decline in the earnings.

Due to this, the company was forced to shut down in Pakistan.

VAVA Cars

Vava Cars is a car transaction platform is backed by a Dutch energy and commodity trading company called Vitol. It halted its operations in Pakistan after working in the country for two years.

VAVACars announced about its shutdown on its website.

It started operating in the country in the January of 2020, and through the platform cars were bought and sold.

However, the company has not given a reason to close down its operations in Pakistan.

Careem food delivery halted

Careem, that became famous due to its ride-hailing service, halted its food service due to deteriorating economic situation in the country.

According to media reports, the company had said in a statement that with this decision they would be able to deliver their non-food service in a better way.

However, the company did not exactly mention why their halted their food service.

We could not provide better economic policy for local traders: economic expert

Lodhi told Aaj News Digital that a foreign investor gauges the economic and political stability in a country before investing their funds there.

“But [in Pakistan] we are not sure about what our economic policy would be in future.”

He added companies have preferred to close down rather than continuing their operations due to rising inflation and unemployment in Pakistan.

Lodhi believed it is essential for companies coming to Pakistan to be given a pleasant environment.

‘Start-ups should not fellow global trends’

Dr Umar Saif, one of country’s top innovator, said in a Facebook post that start-ups should not follow international trends.

Author is a sub-editor at Digital Web Desk. His Twitter handle is @khateebahmed64