SMEDA CEO Nadia Jahangir Seth and SEDF CEO Khizar Pervaiz explored collaboration on financial and digital literacy, SME Financing Helpdesks, business formalisation, and the potential replication of Punjab's Asaan Karobar Scheme in Sindh to build a stronger MSME ecosystem.

Tencent Cloud and tapmad partnered to deliver seamless streaming for a global football tournament in Pakistan, supporting over 7 million concurrent viewers with 99 percent uptime through Cloud Streaming Services, CDN, and Media Processing Service.

Pakistan's gaming and animation startups pitched to local and global investors at CEGA's FuturePlay Investor Summit in Karachi, with Sony joining as Creative Tech Partner and applications for Cohort 3 opening September 2026.

Hungry Boys, a FoodTech startup founded by Maratib Ali Lashari, is making food delivery more accessible for students and underserved communities through a batch-delivery model, now serving over 800 active monthly users.

Hungry Boys, a FoodTech startup founded by Maratib Ali Lashari, is making food delivery more accessible for students and underserved communities through a batch-delivery model, now serving over 800 active monthly users.

Digital Tribe has launched Myyna, an AI assistant that joins WhatsApp Business groups and answers questions directly from a company's accounting, inventory, and sales systems, with founding partner applications open at myyna.io

Bechlo.pk is transforming how women in Pakistan do business through a trusted social commerce platform empowering women entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses online.

Sindh Sarmaya, implemented by SEED Ventures in partnership with the British Asian Trust, has opened applications for young entrepreneurs in Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, and Sukkur, offering business training, mentorship, and loan proposal development support.

NIC Peshawar has opened applications for Cohort 16, inviting entrepreneurs across the region to apply through bit.ly/3RNw9P8 and join the incubator's next round of founders and startups.

Tencent Cloud and tapmad partnered to deliver seamless streaming for a global football tournament in Pakistan, supporting over 7 million concurrent viewers with 99 percent uptime through Cloud Streaming Services, CDN, and Media Processing Service.

MedIQ has been awarded the Zone Enterprise License by the Special Technology Zones Authority under the IT, ITeS, and Telemedicine category, allowing it to operate within Pakistan's Special Technology Zones as a licensed technology enterprise.

Nectar Social co-founder Misbah Uraizee says the company's Lahore engineering team is developing core AI technology powering over 10 million brand conversations weekly, positioning Pakistan as one of the startup's biggest engineering investments following its USD 30 million Series A.

Ali Sajjad, Founder of IZAK 10 Corporation and NIC Karachi Cohort 12 alumnus, shares how the incubation ecosystem helped him build a customer contact management platform serving customer service, sales, compliance, and anti-money laundering teams with smarter workflows.

Licious, a startup from IU CORE Cohort 1 at Iqra University, has been selected to participate in WIBCON 2026 Karachi, organised by the Pakistan Society for Training and Development at Pearl Continental Hotel, marking another milestone for the university's entrepreneurship programme.

Pakistani fintech Oraan has raised fresh funding from Epic Angels and returning investors WaveMaker and i2i Ventures to expand its gold savings product and enter new markets.

ChipXPRT, a semiconductor chip design startup spun off from NUST SEECS, has secured a PKR 50 million seed investment from Matracon Pakistan Private Limited, with the signing ceremony held at National Science and Technology Park at NUST on July 22, 2026.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has approved Tasdeeq Information Services Limited's IPO, the first of fiscal year 2026-27, allowing the SBP-licensed credit bureau to list 219 million shares on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Shareholders of LSE SPAC-I Limited have unanimously approved the Draft Scheme of Arrangement to merge the company with Ningbo Green Light Energy Limited, pending sanction from the Lahore High Court under the Companies Act 2017.

Shandong Hi-Speed Group, one of China's leading state-owned infrastructure enterprises, has expressed interest in investing in Pakistan's transport, logistics, and connectivity projects following talks with the Board of Investment.

Pakistan's gaming and animation startups pitched to local and global investors at CEGA's FuturePlay Investor Summit in Karachi, with Sony joining as Creative Tech Partner and applications for Cohort 3 opening September 2026.

NIC Islamabad welcomed a delegation from Youth Parliament Pakistan to explore the country's startup ecosystem, discussing how AI and DeepTech startups are supported through public-funded incubation and youth-driven policy dialogue.

TMUC Pakistan is hosting a Pitch Day on August 6, 2026, inviting aspiring entrepreneurs to present their startup ideas directly to angel investors with limited spots available for those ready to secure potential funding.

The Highland Startup Challenge 2026 has introduced Tahira Kaleem of Sustainable Impact Solutions and Ahad Wazir, former Investments Lead at NIC and Karandaaz, as mentors and judges for the competition at Baragali Campus, University of Peshawar.

TDAP and GIFT University Gujranwala have signed an MoU under the Global Horizon Initiative to create export-readiness pathways for students, researchers, and young entrepreneurs through industry engagement and applied research.

NIC Hyderabad welcomed the Civil Society Support Program team for an outreach session introducing participants to its incubation program and how aspiring founders can apply to turn their ideas into ventures.

SMEDA CEO Nadia Jahangir Seth and SEDF CEO Khizar Pervaiz explored collaboration on financial and digital literacy, SME Financing Helpdesks, business formalisation, and the potential replication of Punjab's Asaan Karobar Scheme in Sindh to build a stronger MSME ecosystem.

MoITT, Ignite, and Alibaba Cloud conducted an AI for Public Sector Leaders executive training at NIC Islamabad, teaching senior government officials the fundamentals of generative AI, RAG, agentic AI, and governance essentials.

Pakistan's Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has launched the National Artificial Intelligence Advancement Initiative, issuing a Request for Proposals to build seven AI innovation hubs and incubate 560 startups across Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Muzaffarabad, and Gilgit over two years.

Ignite welcomed an Asian Development Bank mission to discuss Pakistan's digital transformation priorities and explore collaboration under the proposed Digital Balochistan Project, focusing on connectivity, the Quetta IT Park, and innovation ecosystem development in the province.

GIZ Pakistan, with EU and German backing, has launched a Challenge Fund offering matching grants of thirty thousand to one hundred thousand euros to export oriented textile and apparel SMEs in Punjab and Sindh for green and sustainable projects, with applications open until August 10.

SECP has issued an updated Master Circular for Asset Management Companies and Investment Advisers, consolidating regulations since 2009 and raising investment limits for Sehl Sarmayakari and Sahulat Sarmayakari digital accounts.

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.

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.

Secure.com, a US-based cybersecurity startup backed by Disrupt.com, is building a platform that helps organizations identify critical risks and prioritize action by connecting the security tools, data, and teams they already rely on.

NICAT's Pakistan ESOs Delegation, organized by Accelerate Prosperity, completed a five-day Istanbul ecosystem visit exploring Türkiye's venture capital, banking innovation, and tech park infrastructure with stops at Boğaziçi Ventures, Simya VC, and Flat6Labs.

Paklaunch is hosting an Austin meetup on August 11 in partnership with Secure.com, connecting founders, investors, and technology leaders across Austin's innovation ecosystem, with insights into AI and cybersecurity.

Women TechEU has opened its Eligibility Call for women-led deep tech startups, offering 160 winners a 75,000 euro equity-free grant and a six-month business development programme funded by the European Union.

OPEN Silicon Valley and ISACA San Francisco Chapter are hosting Human in the AI Loop on August 26, bringing together leaders from Oracle, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Waymo, eBay, Docusign, Palo Alto Networks, and Salesforce to discuss how AI is reshaping the way technology is built, governed, and deployed, with a keynote fireside chat on cybersecurity leadership in the AI era.

NSTP at NUST and The AKD Group UK have signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement to build Pakistan's first globally connected Defense Technology Incubation and early stage Investment Platform, connecting startups to international investors and OEMs.

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.

Exactly two years ago, on 24th April 2024, the United Nations Development Programme’s State of Youth Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Pakistan presented a comprehensive assessment of the country’s youth entrepreneurship landscape.

Circa early 2024, as Pakistan’s startup story was beginning to fray at the edges of what had only recently been framed as a breakout moment, the stepped in with a short but pointed intervention. Published on January 26, 2024, “Monumental Shifts in Pakistan’s Startup Landscape: For the Better or Worse?” was written at a time when the exuberance of 2021–22 had already given way to funding slowdowns, startup shutdowns, and a growing unease around valuations that had once been celebrated.