US Consul General Charles G visited National Incubation Center Hyderabad for The Innovation Bridge Roundtable, US Hyderabad, a high level exchange bringing together voices from Hyderabad’s technology, startup, academia, agriculture, investment, and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Consul General was accompanied by Sean McIntosh, Public Affairs Officer at the US Consulate General Karachi, Belal Rizvi, Program Management Specialist for Emerging Voices at the US Department of State, Aqsa Shams Memon, Economic Specialist at the US Department of State, and Hiram Reynolds, who works on emerging technologies and foreign affairs.
The roundtable drew participation from senior academic leadership, including Arabella Bhutto, vice chancellor of SABS University of Art, Design and Heritages Jamshoro, Tauha Hussain Ali, vice chancellor of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, and Arifa Bhutto, professor and chairperson of the Department of Software Engineering at University of Sindh, Jamshoro. Their presence placed academic institutions directly alongside diplomatic and entrepreneurial voices in shaping the discussion around Hyderabad’s innovation landscape.
Startup founders and industry professionals rounded out the conversation, including Fahad Sikandar of MobiTising and the Institute of Entrepreneurial Development, Tufail Memon of ESSOLAR Technologies, Sanakhawan Hussain of Indus Acres, Mohsin Iqbal of Field Signal AI and Tech Saeein, and Alee Raza Lashari of Blink Ventures. The discussion covered the opportunities and challenges facing early stage startups, the respective roles of academia, investors, and government in strengthening the local ecosystem, growing interest in artificial intelligence solutions, and the potential for deeper US Pakistan collaboration across technology and agri-tech.
For National Incubation Center Hyderabad, hosting the roundtable marked a significant moment, bringing the city’s innovation ecosystem into direct conversation with the US Consulate and creating space to discuss where stronger bilateral connections could lead next. The event was supported by Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Ignite National Technology Fund, PTCL, LMKT, and Tech Destination Pakistan.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
