The Shahjehan Syed Karim Incubation Center at the Institute of Business Management celebrated the graduation of Cohort 5 on July 11, 2026, recognising six startups that successfully completed the incubation programme: KhelKud, Courtify, Cruze Technologies Private Limited, WedX, ForestEdge, and CloudNOOE. The ceremony brought together IoBM’s leadership, industry figures, mentors, alumni, and faculty alongside the graduating founders, with selected startups also receiving seed funding to support the next stage of their entrepreneurial journeys. The event marked the fifth cohort to complete the programme since SSKIC’s establishment, with more than 30 startups from universities across Pakistan having now graduated from the centre over the past five years.
IoBM President Talib Karim addressed the gathering by tracing the institution’s entrepreneurship journey from its early involvement with the Shell Tameer programme, now operating as Wafi Energy Pakistan, through to the current incubation model and the planned introduction of a dedicated academic degree programme in entrepreneurship. He cited the example of Creative 3D, a previous SSKIC graduate that has expanded into Middle Eastern markets, as evidence of what the centre’s model produces when founders combine innovation with perseverance. Reflecting on the impact of artificial intelligence on employment and industry, he framed the current technological moment not as a threat to job seekers but as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to become job creators, encouraging the graduating cohort to direct their skills toward generating employment and contributing to Pakistan’s economic development.
Talib Karim also noted several institutional distinctions that underscore IoBM’s commitment to entrepreneurship beyond the incubation programme itself. IoBM has been appointed as the National Chapter of the UNESCO Entrepreneurship Education Network, with SSKIC Head Raza Abbas representing Pakistan within that network at international entrepreneurship education forums across China, Uzbekistan, and Indonesia. The university is also the only private-sector institution in Pakistan to have received HEC funding for its incubation initiatives, a recognition that reflects both the quality of the programme and its alignment with national higher education priorities. SSKIC’s inclusive model, which welcomes startups from universities across Pakistan rather than restricting participation to IoBM students alone, was reaffirmed as a defining feature of the centre’s approach.
The ceremony included several recognition moments that gave texture to the culture that SSKIC has built across its five cohorts. Naureen Ghaffar, Chief Executive Officer of Agile and an IoBM alumna, received the Outstanding Mentor Award for her contribution to guiding the Cohort 5 startups throughout the programme. In her remarks, she drew on IoBM’s institutional slogan to encourage the graduating founders to think expansively, remain consistent, and build the habit of honest self-assessment into their entrepreneurial practice. Syed Sehal Masroor, Founder of Bioraff and Outstanding Alumnus of Cohort 4, shared from his own experience that entrepreneurship is defined not by the absence of difficulty but by the quality of how founders respond to criticism, setbacks, and the sustained demand for consistent execution. The valedictory address was delivered by Zayan Ahmed, Founder of Courtify, who reflected on the incubation journey as an introduction to the language, processes, and realities of building a company, describing the healthy competition within the cohort as a driver of mutual improvement. Guest of Honour Salman Tufail reinforced a practical and lasting insight for the graduating founders, noting that the most durable asset built through the entrepreneurial journey is not the product or the company but the professional network accumulated along the way.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
