NIC Peshawar has announced the panel of judges for the final round of Cohort 16 pitching, marking the last major stage before the incubator welcomes its next cohort of founders. The shortlisted startups are now ready to present their ideas, progress and plans for growth to a panel of experienced professionals, who will bring their combined perspectives to the final selection process.

The judging panel includes Ahad Wazir, Amjad Arbab, Tahira Kaleem, Shafeeq Gigyani, Aamir Saeed, Faaiz Ahmad, Muhammad Uzair, Fahd Amin, Waleed Paracha, Karishma Zaka Ullah, Muhammad Rashid, Amna Durrani, Afshan Khan, Pir Amad, Najiullah Khattak and Salman Ahmad. With sixteen judges named, the panel gives NIC Peshawar’s Cohort 16 startups a wide range of professional perspectives to draw feedback from as they move through the final stage of evaluation.

Reaching the final pitching round represents a significant milestone for the shortlisted founders, who have progressed through the earlier stages of the cohort to arrive at this point. The final round gives each team the opportunity to present not just their original idea but the progress they have made and the concrete plans they have for growth, giving the judges a fuller picture of how each venture has developed since joining the programme.

NIC Peshawar’s Cohort 16 programme continues to draw support from a wide network of partners named in the announcement, including Ignite National Technology Fund, LMKT, Orbit Ventures, Accelerate Prosperity, Sybrid, IM Sciences, Rehman Medical Institute, CECOS University and Frontier Platinum. As the final round approaches, NIC Peshawar said it is looking forward to seeing what Cohort 16 brings to the stage as the incubator prepares to welcome its next group of founders.

Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.