Day 3 of National Incubation Center Karachi’s Cohort 16 Incubation brought together an accomplished panel of industry leaders and business experts who evaluated startup ideas, engaged directly with founders, and shared perspectives aimed at strengthening business models and growth potential. As with earlier days of the multi-day induction process, the format prioritized thoughtful questioning and constructive feedback over passive scoring, giving founders substantive input they could act on regardless of whether their specific venture advanced further in the process.
The Day 3 panel included Shehzad Rah, chief executive officer of Mimsoft Solutions, and Erum Khaja, head of corporate affairs, brand, and marketing at Standard Chartered, bringing together a technology sector operator alongside a senior banking and communications perspective. Nabeel Ahmad, country manager at NymCard, and Arshad Ali, chief executive officer of bSecure, added fintech infrastructure and payment security expertise directly relevant to any founders pitching in those specific verticals during the session.
Mehzad Sahar, chief information security officer at Engro Group, brought enterprise cybersecurity judgment from one of Pakistan’s largest diversified conglomerates, while Saadia Kazmi, director at WATSUN Engineering and Solutions, added an engineering and industrial perspective distinct from the more digitally native backgrounds represented elsewhere on the panel. Majid Noor, group chief information officer at Junaid Jamshed, and Junaid Naqi, director at Prestige Apparel, rounded out the panel with enterprise technology and apparel and retail sector experience, giving founders in consumer-facing or supply chain oriented businesses judges with direct operational familiarity in those spaces.
Assembling judges spanning banking, fintech infrastructure, cybersecurity, industrial engineering, and consumer retail reflects the genuine sectoral diversity typical of a large NIC Karachi cohort, ensuring founders pitching across different industries encountered at least some panelists with direct, relevant expertise in their specific domain. The Day 3 session continues NIC Karachi’s structured, multi-day Cohort 16 induction process, following earlier days that brought their own distinct panels of fintech, cybersecurity, and academic judges, and was supported by Tech Destination Pakistan, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Ignite National Technology Fund, LMKT, LuckyOne Mall, and Orbit Ventures.
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