Calix International, founded by Mohammad Mahad, won the PKR 1 million prize in Episode 4 of Perfect Pitch, titled “Redefining Sustainability, One Innovation at a Time,” a competition series from the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, HEC, and HUM TV Network. Host Ahfar Rehman introduced a jury of Dr. Shoab A. Khan, Chancellor at CASE and CEO of C.A.R.E., Darakshan Sheikh Bohra, Chief Legal and Company Secretary at Rakami Islamic Digital Bank, and Yusuf Hussain, a tech innovation and venture capital expert, who opened with an audience Q&A segment covering Silicon Valley comparisons, essential startup traits like clarity, honesty, and confidence, adapting global practices to local Pakistani cultural sensitivities, and the difference between pivoting and failing fast. Calix pitched Calsics pellets, an eco-friendly product made using Pakistan’s abundant limestone resources to manufacture a biodegradable, BPA and dioxin-free plastic alternative for products like water bottles at roughly 50 percent lower cost. Judges questioned raw material cost predictability, 180-day degradation reports, plans to outsource manufacturing, and the startup’s B2B expansion strategy.
The episode opened with LibXR Education, founded by Ziauddin Rana and Fasi Hasmukh, pitching an EdTech platform that uses augmented reality and AI to transform school textbooks and flashcards into interactive 3D holograms and animations. Discussion covered its B2B and B2C revenue streams, prospects for government adoption, content generation through generative AI, and how the startup tracks customer acquisition cost and burn rate. Royala Foods, founded by Rais-ur-Rehman and Azimullah, followed with a zero-waste date-processing pitch producing caffeine-free date-seed coffee and natural date spreads positioned as healthier alternatives to refined sugar. Judges sampled the product directly and questioned the startup on its zero-preservative formulation, PCSIR licensing, local machinery R&D, and plans to improve its premium eco-packaging. Royala Foods took the runner-up position.
Green Plastic, founded by Maria Qayyum and Dr. Noshaba Tabassum, pitched biodegradable plastic bags derived from agricultural waste, specifically potato peels and diseased potatoes, aimed at combating single-use petroleum plastic pollution. The panel probed gross margins per bag, team roles, and the challenge of transitioning the startup’s research work into a full-time commercial operational plant. Fruit Zoo, founded by Asif Habib and based in Swat, pitched a fruit processing operation using dehydration technology to convert perishable fruit waste into commercial dried fruits and pulps, having already generated 4 million PKR in revenue while empowering local Swat farmers. Judges asked about reinvesting the business’s high margins back into processing equipment to scale further.
The episode also featured a success story segment on Laam, a major Pakistani online fashion marketplace serving global South Asian consumers, along with an audience contest asking viewers to define the term MVP. In the finale, Project Director of the PM National Innovation Award, Abdullah Soomro, highlighted the initiative’s broader goal under the Prime Minister of Pakistan to mainstream entrepreneurship and empower grassroots innovators across both small and large cities, before formally announcing Calix International as the winner of Episode 4 for its limestone-based plastic replacement technology. With a lineup spanning biodegradable materials, augmented reality education, zero-waste food processing, and rural fruit dehydration, Episode 4 continued Perfect Pitch’s focus on ventures tackling environmental and sustainability challenges through deep-tech and agri-processing innovation.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
