National Incubation Center Karachi has signed a memorandum of understanding with Network of Organizations Working with Persons with Disabilities, strengthening its commitment to promoting inclusion, accessibility, and equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. NOWPDP, established in 2008, operates its Centre of Excellence for Disability Inclusion in Korangi, Karachi, described as the first comprehensive disability centre in Pakistan, and has already facilitated transformation in the lives of more than seven thousand differently abled individuals through its education and economic empowerment programmes, giving NIC Karachi a partner with a substantial existing operational track record rather than a newly formed organization still building its own infrastructure.
Through this collaboration, both organizations aim to create meaningful opportunities around engagement, empowerment, education, and entrepreneurship, mirroring the same four pillars NOWPDP has built its broader institutional mission around since its founding. Embedding entrepreneurship specifically into this partnership distinguishes it from NOWPDP’s more common vocational training and employment focused agreements, positioning NIC Karachi’s incubation infrastructure as a pathway toward business ownership rather than only formal employment for persons with disabilities.
The partnership marks a step toward connecting Pakistan’s startup ecosystem with broader inclusion efforts, creating pathways where persons with disabilities can access opportunities, develop their potential, and become active contributors to the country’s innovation and economic landscape. This framing addresses a gap that has persisted across much of Pakistan’s incubation network, where accessibility and disability inclusion have historically received far less structured attention than gender inclusion, despite NOWPDP’s extensive prior work with corporate partners including Engro, Shell Pakistan, and Systems Limited on workplace accessibility and disability employment quotas.
NOWPDP has increasingly extended its institutional partnerships beyond corporate employment agreements into education and skills development, including a recent memorandum of understanding with Punjab Skills Development Fund to deliver vocational training across two hubs in Karachi and Lahore, and a separate agreement with Aga Khan University covering disability inclusion in education, healthcare, and employment. NIC Karachi’s MoU extends that same institutional momentum directly into the startup ecosystem, continuing to be 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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