Built to Include, a fintech conversation on finance, technology, and access, will feature Mohsin Termezy, Naseer Akhtar, Khurram Agha, and Muhammad Yar Hiraj at Tkxel in Lahore on October 17.

Karachi startup Paani+, founded by Haseeb Ansari, sells absorbent products for flood protection, soil moisture retention, and hospital spill control, and is working to create demand before a crisis hits.

CEGA has opened submissions for The Aniverse, inviting original 2 to 3 minute animated shorts, with the top 3 films screened at Karachi Frames on October 27 and featured on HUM Network.

National Incubation Center Hyderabad visited the Department of Textile Design at Shaheed Allah Buksh Soomro University of Art, Design and Heritages for a session on entrepreneurship and the creative economy.

Ignite National Technology Fund has reminded researchers, startups, SMEs and universities that applications for the Prime Minister’s SPARK and ELEVATE Program close on 26 October 2026.

National Incubation Center Lahore has opened applications for Cohort 5, offering startups grants, global exposure and investor connections, with applications closing on 31 October 2026.

WISE Lab has opened a free four week bootcamp for women business owners in Quetta, with top trainees able to access PKR 500,000 in loans and grants.

ASPIRE Pakistan has launched My FYP, My Startup, a self-paced LMS programme that trains students to turn final year projects into startups and unlocks an AI tool called FYP Magic.

Accelerate Punjab has opened applications for Multan Cohort 1 for women, offering free incubation, mentorship, legal support and networking to turn ideas into startups.

Karachi startup Paani+, founded by Haseeb Ansari, sells absorbent products for flood protection, soil moisture retention, and hospital spill control, and is working to create demand before a crisis hits.

Little Angels Daycare and ECD Centre in Gahkuch, Gilgit-Baltistan, has grown from six children in 2014 to up to 100 and was shortlisted by Accelerate Prosperity Pakistan for its Women in Business programme.

3D Lab, a startup at National Incubation Center Peshawar, has been featured on Discover Pakistan, taking its work and the venture it is building to a national television audience.

NIC Hyderabad startup Foran Delivery is now live in Karachi and Hyderabad, posting PKR 307K profit in Q3 2026 after a PKR 261K loss in Q1, as it builds a hyperlocal delivery network.

Karachi-based real estate software startup Fortify has incorporated in Saudi Arabia and is preparing local hires, joining a growing wave of Pakistani startups entering the Kingdom's PropTech market.

The International Finance Corporation is working on a fund for entrepreneurs in Pakistan, as Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb discusses private investment and financing.

Lucky Investments has launched Lucky Islamic Capital Protected Fund Plan I, a two year Shariah-compliant plan with a minimum investment of Rs 5,000 and subscriptions open until 30 October.

Standard Chartered Foundation, INNOVentures Global and Village Capital concluded the eighth Women in Tech Accelerator cohort in Karachi, awarding EV Square, Blusha App and Zvolta a combined PKR 10.5 million in equity-free grants.

Accelerate Prosperity has invested in Lahore-based Tarsil, a field service management platform serving 400+ businesses across Pakistan, to fund R&D and support its expansion into the GCC and Africa.

NIC Islamabad hosted a World Bank Group and IFC delegation to discuss financing gaps, investor readiness, and bottlenecks in Pakistan's venture capital ecosystem.

Izhar Hussain of the Sindh Higher Education Commission visited National Incubation Center Karachi to discuss connecting universities with its incubation ecosystem and supporting aspiring entrepreneurs.

A JICA team led by Chief Advisor Chiyo Mamiya visited National Incubation Center Sialkot under the Women Entrepreneurs Booster Package project to record the challenges faced by women founders.

Five startups from National Incubation Center Lahore, Entropy and Co., Heyeve, Hsieh AI, Recruit AI and elevAID, are taking their innovations to Plug and Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley.

Ignite National Technology Fund has brought five Pakistani startups, Swich, Docklens, Heyeve.ai, Hsieh and SecureOS, to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco.

AsRa Tech has signed an MoU with the National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies to foster innovation and explore research, development and technological entrepreneurship in aerospace.

National Incubation Center Hyderabad hosted students from Model School Old Campus for an awareness session on entrepreneurship and its upcoming cohort as part of its outreach initiative.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has inaugurated the renamed Daanish IT Park in Islamabad, a national technology park that brings incubators, startups, SMEs and industry under one roof.

The Faisalabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry has approved a Board of Management to build institutional oversight and accelerate its business development and export promotion initiatives.

OICCI has called on Pakistan to use recent macroeconomic stabilization to accelerate private investment, exports, energy security and structural reforms following a meeting with a visiting IMF delegation.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met delegations of Pakistani-origin entrepreneurs in New York, urging investment and citing FBR reforms and agricultural innovation plans.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed SMEDA to formulate a comprehensive strategy for financial assistance to SMEs, focusing on capacity building and global market access.

Federal Minister for Board of Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh outlined steps to simplify business regulations, attract investment, and promote value-added exports through a new Business Facilitation Centre.

Shark Tank Producer Usman on the two-year Sony negotiation, the casting calculus, the off-camera valuation coaching, and the production mechanics that turned a skeptical market into the site of the biggest deal in the franchise's global history.

NICAT, in partnership with DEMO Pakistan (SPIN-IDG), hosted a session on data-driven decision-making, exploring how digitization, analytics, and innovation are shaping Pakistan’s economic and enterprise future.

Industry leaders discuss how fintech, agritech, and edtech are enabling women’s economic empowerment in Pakistan, while startups leverage technology, partnerships, and community engagement to scale solutions.

Pakistan’s venture capital ecosystem needs stronger domestic institutional capital, better funding pipelines, and improved exit pathways to support startups scaling from early stages to global markets.

Regional instability, macroeconomic shifts and changing investor strategies are reshaping venture finance across MENAP as startups adapt to a more selective capital environment.

Discover how Sialkot's world-renowned sports manufacturing industry can evolve into sports-tech innovation, using smart equipment, AI, sensors, and connected technology to shape the future of global sports.

Pakistan Super League offers startups more than sponsorship. Discover how PSL can drive brand awareness, customer acquisition, and long-term growth.

NIC Karachi hosted a session on Saudi Arabia’s PDPL, led by data protection expert Bilal Ghafoor, guiding startups on compliance, risks, and strategies for expanding into the Kingdom.

OPEN Global has opened registration for its virtual Annual Women’s Conference on 19 November, focused on the well-being and resilience of women entrepreneurs and open to all communities.

OPEN Global has announced the PAK-US Tech Connect 2026 roadshow, bringing Pakistani technology leaders to Silicon Valley, Dallas, Washington D.C. and Chicago between 16 and 23 October.

At the AI and Digital Bridge Forum in Astana, accelerators including Alchemist, StartX, and Draper University discussed how Central Asian AI startups are reaching US customers and investors.

Ghost has emerged from stealth with an $11 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz, launching Core, a $3,499 personal computer built specifically to run AI agents.

Farmevo Technologies, a Pakistani agricultural drone startup, is expanding into North and Latin America and plans to establish its headquarters in New York, with revenue up tenfold since 2024.

NSTP deep tech startup Zambeel Machine Craft, led by Hamza Munir, presented at Cambridge Tech Week at St John's Innovation Centre, sharing its journey building hardware engineering capability for international clients.

Dealroom data highlights Pakistan’s $4.2 billion technology sector valuation, startup funding landscape, venture capital challenges, and the role of diaspora-led global companies.

KPMG Venture Pulse Q2 2026 reveals shifting global VC dynamics as AI-led investments dominate funding, while Pakistan startups adapt to tighter capital conditions and focus on efficiency.

Pakistan’s startup ecosystem in 2025 entered a new phase shaped by selective funding, hybrid financing, debt-backed growth, AI innovation and institutional maturity, as startups adapted to tighter capital markets and evolving investor priorities.