National Incubation Center Islamabad successfully convened its Steering Committee Meeting on June 4, 2026, bringing together the centre’s consortium leadership and distinguished committee members to conduct a structured review of NIC Islamabad’s performance over its first two years of operation and to chart the direction for the next phase of its development. The meeting was chaired by Lt Gen (R) Anwar Ali Hyder, HI(M), Chairman of Fauji Foundation, one of Pakistan’s largest and most diversified institutional investors, and drew together senior leadership from the consortium partners and institutional stakeholders whose collective involvement defines the governance and strategic direction of one of Pakistan’s most consequential incubation centres.
The meeting was attended by Murtaza Hashwani, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hashoo Group, Syed Bakhtiyar Kazmi, Director Finance at Fauji Foundation, Brig. Irfan Khan, Company Secretary of Fauji Foundation, Bastien Blanc, Chief Executive Officer of the Hospitality Division at Hashoo Group, Asif Khan, Chief Information and Technology Officer at Fauji Foundation, Murtaza Zaidi, Chief Executive Officer of CyberVision and Managing Partner of NIC Islamabad, Sayyed Ahmad Masud, Project Director of NIC Islamabad, Awais Vohra, Chief Executive Officer of Telenor Pakistan, and Muazima Batool Agha, Secretary of the Steering Committee. The depth and seniority of the assembled leadership reflects the institutional weight that NIC Islamabad commands within Pakistan’s startup and innovation ecosystem, bringing together defence-linked institutional capital, hospitality and real estate leadership, telecommunications, and technology management under a single governance framework oriented toward the development of Pakistan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The agenda for the meeting centred on four substantive areas. A comprehensive review of NIC Islamabad’s two-year performance provided the committee with a data-driven account of what the centre has achieved since its establishment, covering incubation outcomes, startup development metrics, ecosystem engagement activities, and the overall impact of its programming on the founders and ventures it has supported. The introduction of NIC 3.0 marked the most forward-looking element of the meeting, presenting a vision for the next phase of the centre’s development that builds on the foundations laid in its first two years and positions it for a more ambitious and impactful role within Pakistan’s innovation ecosystem. Discussions on emerging opportunities for ecosystem growth addressed the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, technology, and investment in Pakistan and the region, identifying the areas where NIC Islamabad is best positioned to create value and deepen its contribution. Strengthening support for innovation-driven entrepreneurship in Pakistan provided the strategic context within which the specific initiatives and directions discussed during the meeting were framed.
The meeting concluded with startup pitches from founders within the NIC Islamabad ecosystem, giving committee members direct engagement with the ventures their governance and strategic support are designed to develop, alongside a facility tour that showcased the physical infrastructure and working environment within which NIC Islamabad’s incubation programming operates. The combination of performance review, strategic planning, and direct founder engagement within a single meeting format reflects a governance model that treats the startup community not as an output to be reported on but as a living part of the institution whose energy and potential the committee members experience firsthand. The Steering Committee’s reaffirmed commitment to fostering innovation, collaboration, and sustainable impact across Pakistan’s startup ecosystem, supported by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Tech Destination Pakistan, and Ignite, positions NIC Islamabad for a third phase of development that builds on two years of demonstrated capacity to support the founders and ventures shaping Pakistan’s entrepreneurial future.
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