Saba Nisar, Founder of Saheli, an AI powered health companion and Cohort 14 startup at National Incubation Center Karachi, has received the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Excellence Award, presented by Syed Muhammad Nehal Hashmi, Governor of Sindh, at Governor House on International Youth Day. The recognition acknowledged Saheli’s work toward advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 alongside its broader commitment to youth led innovation and social impact.
Saheli operates as a pregnancy and period tracking application that has expanded well beyond basic tracking functionality, building a complete women’s health ecosystem through six integrated features including cycle tracking, pregnancy monitoring, AI powered symptom detection, nutrition guidance, mental wellbeing support, and doctor connectivity. Nisar built the platform to make women’s health accessible, affordable, and empathetic, drawing on her background in media and more than four years of experience in digital communication and public health.
The application has been specifically designed to address a persistent gap in reproductive healthcare access across Pakistan, offering culturally relevant and medically accurate guidance in Urdu and regional languages. Saheli’s content is customised according to language, literacy level, and cultural sensitivity, an approach aimed at reaching women in underserved and rural areas who often face preventable health complications due to limited access to reliable, culturally appropriate reproductive health information.
Founded in 2024, Saheli has continued to gain recognition beyond its incubation at NIC Karachi, with Nisar previously nominated for the Women in Tech Global Awards 2026 through the WomenTech Network, a global community focused on promoting gender diversity in the technology sector. The startup’s stated goal includes reaching more than one hundred thousand women in underserved areas and delivering over two million minutes of health education within its first year of operation.
NIC Karachi acknowledged the recognition as reflective of the broader impact Pakistan’s startup ecosystem continues to have, with Ignite National Technology Fund under Ministry Of IT and Telecommunication, through the National Incubation Center initiative, credited with empowering young innovators to build solutions addressing real social challenges. The award was also acknowledged by Tech Destination Pakistan, LMKT, LuckyOne Mall, and Orbit Ventures, reflecting the institutional network tied to NIC Karachi’s Cohort 14 programming, with Saheli’s recognition adding to a growing list of Pakistani startups gaining formal acknowledgement for work tied to social impact and sustainable development.
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