PACE College of Advanced Studies hosted the South Region Grand Finale of the Junior CEO Challenge 2026, its sixth season, at the Marriott Hotel in Karachi on November 7. The event brought together hundreds of young innovators, educationists, government representatives and business leaders to promote entrepreneurship among students. The challenge was organized with GEN International and the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme and supported by the Youth Affairs Department of the Government of Sindh. This season engaged more than 3,000 young innovators from across Pakistan, giving students a chance to develop business ideas and explore routes toward starting their own businesses.
The program is led by its founders, Adeel Durvesh, Wazir Ahmed and Syed Naqeeb. It aims to build entrepreneurial skills among young people and to connect promising student ideas with MEHD, Pakistan’s first college level incubation center, established by PACE College. Round II of the competition was attended by the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, and Fahad Shafiq, Coordinator of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Sindh, who encouraged the participating students. The grand finale drew guests from government, education and industry, including Balochistan Education Minister Raheela Durrani, Aga Khan University Examination Board Chief Executive Officer Dr Naveed Yousuf, PharmEvo and Shield Chief Executive Officer Haroon Qasim, Essa Lab Chief Executive Officer Dr Farhan Essa, and Hamdard Senior Brand Manager Saif Ali.
Momin Khawaja of Aga Khan School, Garden, secured first position and was declared Junior CEO 2026. Sara Shoaib of Aga Khan School, Hyderabad, was the first runner up, and Syeda Soha Batool of Habib Girls’ School took second runner up. The winners received trophies, cash prizes and educational scholarships. The event was hosted by Huma Jabeen and included a panel discussion titled From Pocket Money to Seed Money, moderated by Kiran Foundation Chief Executive Officer Zohra Jabeen, which looked at youth entrepreneurship, financial awareness and the business mindset students need.
Impressed by the initiative, Raheela Durrani invited the organizers to hold the Junior CEO Challenge for students in Balochistan in 2027, a step that would extend the competition to a province where such programs for school students are less common. The event was supported by Greenwich University, National Incubation Center, PharmEvo, First Habib Modaraba, Lucky Cement, DigitKhata, QistBazaar, Nelson, Keys Production, Premier Cables, KSG and EOP. Following the Karachi finale, the challenge moves to Islamabad, where the North Region Grand Finale is scheduled for November 13, 2026.
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