Licious, a startup incubated through IU CORE Cohort 1 at Iqra University’s Centre of Research and Entrepreneurship, has been selected to participate in WIBCON 2026 Karachi, organised by the Pakistan Society for Training and Development at the Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi. The selection marks a meaningful external recognition for one of IU CORE’s earliest cohort graduates, demonstrating that the ventures developed through the programme retain their momentum and continue earning platform opportunities well beyond the formal incubation period.
WIBCON, organised by the Pakistan Society for Training and Development, is one of Pakistan’s established business and professional development conferences, bringing together organisations, practitioners, and innovators from across sectors for a gathering that sits at the intersection of professional development and business innovation. Selection to participate at WIBCON 2026 Karachi places Licious in a professional and commercial environment that extends beyond the startup ecosystem and into the broader business community, creating an opportunity for the startup to reach audiences, build relationships, and gain visibility among an attendee profile that differs from the founder and investor-centric gatherings where most early-stage startups typically build their initial public presence.
For IU CORE, Licious’s participation at WIBCON 2026 adds to a pattern of external recognition that has been building across its cohorts with increasing frequency. The programme has seen The Brave Next from Cohort 4 selected for the Sindh Acceleration Program led by IBA Center for Entrepreneurial Development, SafetyX Pro from Cohort 4 reach the top 12 finalists at the Startup World Cup Regional Final, and now Licious from the inaugural Cohort 1 selected for WIBCON 2026, demonstrating that the incubation environment IU CORE has built is producing ventures that continue to develop and earn recognition across diverse platforms and timeframes rather than peaking during the incubation period itself.
The fact that Licious, a Cohort 1 startup, is still achieving new milestones and platform selections carries a particular significance for how IU CORE’s model should be understood. Incubation programmes are most commonly evaluated by what happens during and immediately after the formal programme period, but the longer-term trajectory of their alumni is the more honest measure of the environment they create. A startup from the very first cohort participating in a national business conference several years after graduating from the programme suggests that IU CORE built something durable in its earliest cohort, and that the foundations laid during incubation continue to support growth and opportunity long after the programme itself has concluded. Iqra University expressed its congratulations to the Licious team and its anticipation of the continued impact the venture will create as it takes another step forward in its entrepreneurial journey.
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