The Information Technology and Innovation Department of the Government of the Punjab has invited Expressions of Interest from eligible firms, universities and consortia for the establishment and operation of six specialised incubation centres with technology sandbox infrastructure. The call falls under the Innovate Punjab – Leaders of Frontier Tech Incubators Project, which is included in the Annual Development Programme 2026-27. The centres will be set up in six lots, with one centre each in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan and Bahawalpur, and an applicant may apply for one lot, several lots or all six. The estimated cost of consultancy is up to Rs3,900 million across all lots, which makes the call one of the larger incubation infrastructure efforts announced for the province.
The selected consultant for each lot will design and execute the incubation programme for its centre and will serve as the single point of execution for premises, sandbox infrastructure, incubation and acceleration programmes, startup sourcing and mentoring, industry pilots and investor engagement. A set-up period of up to three months will be followed by operations running until June 2029, and payments will be milestone-based and performance-linked. Selection will take place in two stages. The current Expression of Interest is a non-priced invitation for shortlisting consultants under the Punjab Procurement Rules 2014, and only applicants shortlisted for a lot will receive the Request for Proposals for that lot. Proposals will then be evaluated through Quality and Cost Based Selection, with a weight of 80 percent for quality and 20 percent for cost.
The mandatory criteria are demanding. Applicants must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan as a company, including a section 42 company, while universities recognized by the Higher Education Commission and their registered incubation entities are also eligible. They must hold a National Tax Number with Active Taxpayers List status and either hold Punjab Revenue Authority registration or give an undertaking to obtain it before contract. Applicants need at least five years of technical expertise in incubation, acceleration or technology infrastructure, verifiable experience of at least one large-scale programme with exposure to artificial intelligence, automation, fintech or related sectors, and an average annual turnover of at least Rs100 million over the last three audited years, with a further Rs50 million required for each additional lot. They must also show documented links with industry, academia and investment networks and must not be blacklisted by any procuring agency in Pakistan. Applicants meeting every criterion will be scored out of 100 marks for each lot, with marks for experience, startup outcomes, turnover, linkages, international links, the key management team and professional staff, and those scoring 65 marks or more will be shortlisted for that lot, subject to turnover capacity. Consortia of up to five members are permitted under a lead member, members are jointly and severally liable, and foreign entities may take part as consortium members.
The Expression of Interest document is available free of cost on the Punjab e-Procurement System at ep.punjab.gov.pk and on the Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority website at eproc.punjab.gov.pk until the closing date, and applicants must be registered on the system. More information is available through the official Expression of Interest details link. A pre-application meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 2:00 pm at the office of the Project Director at the Project Management Unit of Innovate Punjab, 5th Floor, Tower-II, New Civil Secretariat, Lahore, with online participation available on request by email. Requests for clarification must reach mpc.ip.itid@punjab.gov.pk or be made through the e-Procurement System by Wednesday, December 2, 2026, and responses will be posted by Friday, December 4, 2026. Expressions of Interest must be submitted only through the e-Procurement System by Thursday, December 10, 2026, at 11:00 am and will be opened at 11:30 am the same day. Late submissions or those sent by any other mode will not be considered, and the department may reject all submissions in accordance with the Punjab Procurement Rules 2014.
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