National Incubation Center Abbottabad Technology is hosting a live online guest speaker session today, bringing in two senior figures from Flat6Labs — one of the most active startup accelerators across the Middle East and North Africa region — to address a cohort of early and growth-stage startups on the practical realities of becoming investment ready and building international partnerships.
The session, scheduled for 3:00 PM today, features Maha Khannoussi and Faten Aissi, both of whom have worked extensively with startups across the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond, supporting founders through fundraising, accelerator programmes, and the development of strategic global alliances. Their combined experience at Flat6Labs — which has backed hundreds of startups across Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and other markets — gives both speakers a grounded, pattern-based perspective on what separates startups that scale from those that stall.
Khannoussi’s portion of the session is expected to focus on investment and accelerator readiness, walking founders through what investors and accelerator selection committees actually evaluate when assessing a startup. This includes the strength of the product, quality of traction, team composition, and how a founder communicates the business’s value proposition under pressure. For many early-stage startups, the gap between having a good product and being considered fundable often comes down to presentation and positioning — a nuance that experienced accelerator practitioners are best placed to address.
Aissi, meanwhile, will cover the often-underexplored dimension of international collaboration — how startups can build meaningful relationships with global organisations, corporates, and institutions that go beyond the transactional pursuit of funding. Strategic alliances with the right global partners can unlock distribution, credibility, talent, and market access in ways that capital alone cannot replicate, and this framing is particularly relevant for Pakistani startups looking to expand their footprint beyond domestic markets.
The session is also expected to touch on the roadmap toward Series A fundraising, scale-up strategies, and eventual exit planning — giving attending startups a longer-horizon view of what the journey from early-stage to exit actually looks like when navigated deliberately.
Flat6Labs has increasingly extended its engagement with startup ecosystems in South Asia and beyond, and sessions like this one reflect a broader trend of cross-regional knowledge transfer that is helping founders in emerging markets access the kind of institutional insight that was previously concentrated in a handful of global startup hubs.
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