Latest news with #NIC)Karachi
Business Recorder
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Startups can get up to $5m with new acceleration program: NIC Karachi
National Incubation Centre (NIC) Karachi on Thursday launched its 'first-ever structured acceleration program' in partnership with Orbit Startups, a Taiwan-based investor in emerging markets. According to a press release, through this three-month accelerator, 10 high-potential startups will receive up to Rs5 million in milestone-based grants and training by global experts from Orbit Startups. 'With a young, digital-first population, Pakistan is going through a technology-driven economic transformation,' said William Bao Bean, Managing General Partner of Orbit Startups, which has backed over 300 startups. 'We're excited to team up with NIC Karachi to bring Orbit's global ecosystem and hands-on support to this next generation of founders who can lead in Pakistan and win globally,' he said, adding that 'we believe Pakistan is one of the most overlooked startup markets in the world, and that's about to change.' The program signals NIC's 'evolution from a startup launchpad to a growth-stage acceleration powerhouse, fully aligned with national economic priorities and global innovation trends,' the release said. The goal of the program is to fast-track companies that are ready to scale, raise capital and create market impact, locally and globally, explained Ali Sohail Tabba, Chairperson Governance Committee NIC Karachi and Director at Yunus Brothers Group. He said the program targets startups that are already showing traction, with revenue models in place and a product in the market. Startups belonging to sectors like fintech, cyber security, industrial automation, agritech, climate tech and logistics are encouraged to apply. Startups will be monitored through a milestone-based evaluation framework developed. All grant disbursements are tied to verified deliverables across business, product and investor readiness metrics.
Business Recorder
12-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
10th iteration of Pakistan Investor Summit kicks off in Karachi
National Incubation Center (NIC) Karachi's 'Pakistan Investor Summit 2025 – Summer Edition' kicked off on Monday. It is set to feature some 20 high-growth startups, and bring together more than 100 investors, startups, policy makers, and industry professionals, it said in a statement. The idea is to create space for 'strategic partnerships and transformative funding opportunities', it added. According to a post on LinkedIn, the judges of Day 1's Pitch Fest will be 'none other than the NIC Karachi alumni who've walked the founder journey themselves.' This includes Muhammad Ghayas Ahmedani, CEO of Zaaviaa Solutions, Anusha Shahid, Co-Founder of Muhammad Furqan Karim Kidwai, Director of ASF Tech Partners, Aurangzaib Alamgir, Founder of Porter Pakistan, Sidra Shakeel, Co-Founder of Fortify and Mirza Saad Baig, Founder of Rawts. 'These exceptional individuals have built impactful ventures, raised capital and navigated the startup grind and now, they are back to guide the next generation of founders,' NIC Karachi said in its post. It also said that a high-impact roundtable will feature investors, founders and finance experts exploring early-stage investing, portfolio planning, and risk management. The workshop will feature insights from the, COO of YB Holdings on how smart capital is reshaping investment returns and Farhan Bashir Khan, CEO of Alpha Beta Core on understanding investor risk appetite and return expectations. The event is Funded by the Ignite National Technology Fund under the *Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication. According to its statement, over the past six years, NIC Karachi has incubated 376 startups across fintech, edtech, healthtech, agritech, and industrial tech. These ventures have raised Rs12 billion in investment, generated RsPKR 10 billion in revenue, and created over 1 million jobs, it said. Syed Azfar Hussain, Project Director of NIC Karachi, said: 'This summit reflects our belief that local innovation deserves global capital. We are building bridges between visionary founders and the investors who can help accelerate their journey.' Summit highlights include:
