The Organisation of Pakistani Entrepreneurs (OPEN) Global is the world’s premier Pakistani entrepreneur network. Founded in 1998 in Boston, OPEN has grown to eleven chapters in some of the world’s most dynamic hubs of entrepreneurship — in the U.S., U.K., and Pakistan. OPEN’s membership boasts leading entrepreneurs, business leaders, and corporate professionals. OPEN chapters host dozens of networking, knowledge-sharing, and mentoring events every month. OPEN Global ensures coordination across chapters and drives global initiatives and growth through the launch of new chapters.

The non-profit organisation is registered in Massachusetts and is governed by an independent Board of Directors and an elected President. OPEN provides a platform for entrepreneurs and professionals to connect, network, collaborate, mentor, and support each other, helping countless in their entrepreneurial journeys. Its members include professionals, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, scientists, social leaders, academics, and students. Its latest Chapter is London on which Arif Zaman from Bloomsbury Institute – located in London’s Innovation District (the Knowledge Quarter) is on the Board.

Three key entrepreneur ecosystems in which OPEN has long been active are Silicon Valley, Boston and Washington DC.

• With its incredible strength in Life Sciences and Robotics and world-leading universities, Boston is a startup powerhouse. Boston’s government has a reputation for being startup- and innovation-friendly, and there is a range of incubators and accelerators in the city. The ecosystem is consistently among the global leaders in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023 (GSER 2023) rankings, a result of its strong talent, funding, and experience, among other factors.
• Silicon Valley has placed at the top of the global startup ecosystem ranking since it was launched, and the ecosystem emerged from the pandemic with its dominance intact. Despite the 2023 Silicon Valley Index stating that 91,000 people departed from the hub over the past two years (the highest number since the dot.com bust), and that there “is no longer a significant influx of people from other places,” it also notes that Silicon Valley added 88,000 jobs between mid-2021 and mid-2022, and that an estimated 22,000 jobs were added in H2 2022. The landscape may be changing, but Silicon Valley’s established reputation, access to funding, high level of knowledge, and connections all contribute to it maintaining its status as the leading tech startup hub.
• Washington, D.C. may be more well known for politics than for entrepreneurship, but the U.S. capital has been gaining a reputation as a startup hub. More than 16,000 tech companies are based in Washington, D.C., making it one of the country’s largest tech hubs. The ecosystem benefits from a growing tech talent pool and proximity to relevant federal government departments, including the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as an abundance of Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in the area.