Saudi money is flowing into Pakistan’s startup scene through an energy company, with Wafi Energy announcing on Friday that it had partnered with NED University of Engineering and Technology to back the regional round of the World Startup Championship. The move deepens Gulf investors’ growing engagement with Pakistan’s youth entrepreneurship ecosystem, extending Saudi involvement in the country beyond its more established presence in energy and infrastructure sectors.
The scale of the event itself was substantial rather than symbolic, with the regional competition bringing together more than 300 student-led startups from universities across Sindh. Participants pitched their business ideas, received feedback from industry leaders, and competed for a place in the national finals, with the regional round forming the Pakistan leg of SEE Pakistan’s World Startup Championship, an annual international entrepreneurship contest that gives student founders a structured pathway from local competition through to broader national and international recognition.
The identity of the backer is where the story carries particular significance. Wafi Energy Pakistan is majority-owned by Wafi Energy Holding, an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s Asyad Group, which acquired an 87.78 percent stake in the former Shell Pakistan in 2024. This means a Saudi energy conglomerate with a comparatively recent entry into the Pakistani market is now directly funding student founders through the company’s social investment programme, called Tameer. Imran Qureshi, director of corporate and government affairs at Wafi Energy Pakistan, said the company believed investing in young innovators today represented an investment in Pakistan’s future economic growth, describing the collaboration with NED University and SEE Pakistan as reflecting the company’s belief that giving young entrepreneurs access to the platforms and opportunities needed to transform their ideas into sustainable businesses.
This initiative sits within a wider expansion push by Wafi Energy, which reported a 148 percent jump in quarterly profit in April, with profit after tax reaching 2.16 billion rupees. The company has been adding retail sites, growing its convenience store operations, and launching a lubricants partnership with Indus Motor Company, with Chief Executive Zubair Shaikh describing these investments as a long-term commitment to sectors that support Pakistan’s broader development. The startup initiative fits within this same expansionary posture, extending the company’s footprint into youth entrepreneurship alongside its core energy and retail operations.
The broader signal here matters considerably for anyone following Pakistan’s startup ecosystem, as Gulf capital continues steadily deepening its footprint in the country, moving beyond energy and infrastructure into youth entrepreneurship specifically. This development joins a run of recent international interest in local founders, including the Plug and Play partnership and the State Bank of Pakistan’s recent move to formally define startups within its regulatory framework. Whether these platforms eventually translate into funded, scalable companies remains the real test of their impact, but the sustained attention itself represents a meaningful shift in how international capital is engaging with Pakistan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
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