The Center for Entrepreneurial Development, Innovation and Research at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi has announced the judges for its Startup Pitching and Demo Day, where founders from its I-Incubate startups will pitch to what it calls some of the sharpest minds in business, investment, and product. The event takes place on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 10:30 AM to 2:00 PM at the institute’s City Campus in Karachi, as part of the center’s activities for Global Entrepreneurship Week 2026. The center promised a day of innovative ideas, inspiring pitches, and valuable insights as its startups take the stage.
The judging panel brings together investors, business leaders, and academics. Asad Abdulla, Executive Director at Genesis Holdings, and Taqi Hyder, Senior Manager for Portfolio and Investments at Accelerate Prosperity, sit alongside Madiha Saeed, Co-Founder and Director of Nutrilov, and Usama Rehman, Director at Frieden Management. Muhammad Ali Taufiq, Director of Investment at Gobi Partners, brings the view of a venture investor, while Dr. Mohammad Asad Ilyas, Registrar of the institute, represents the university. The panel is completed by Faisal Jalal, Founder and Chairman of FJ Holdings, Nida Tanzeel, Social Performance Manager at Wafi Energy Pakistan, and Nisar A. Mughal, Head of Product at Swich.
The mix of judges matters for the founders presenting. Investors can judge whether a business can grow and return capital, operators and company founders can test whether a plan holds up in practice, and a product leader can assess how well a startup understands its users. A social performance manager adds a view on community and social impact, which is increasingly part of how new companies are assessed. For startups from the I-Incubate program, the chance to present to a panel with this range of experience is a way to receive direct feedback and, in some cases, to start conversations that could lead to funding or business relationships.
The demo day caps the work of the founders in the incubation program, who will present their companies and show what they have built. The announcement did not say how many startups will pitch, what prizes are on offer, or how the judges will score the presentations, so those details remain to be confirmed. It is one of several events the center has scheduled for the same day at the City Campus, including sessions for participants of its certificate programs. For the founders taking the stage, the event is a chance to turn months of work into a pitch in front of people who back, run, and build companies, and the center’s message to them was clear: your idea deserves a stage.
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