Pathfinder CITADEL has announced Ather Imran Nawaz, Advisor to Chairman at Lakson Group, as the Mentor of the Week for Session 2 of Cohort 2. The recognition places Nawaz among a growing list of industry figures who have joined the programme to guide participating founders through the practical realities of building and scaling ventures in Pakistan and beyond. Session 2 of the cohort centres on go to market and global expansion strategy, a theme organisers describe as central to helping startups move past product development and into sustainable, revenue generating growth.
The session is built around the idea that building a strong product is only the starting point for a startup and that long term success depends on a clearly defined go to market approach paired with the ability to scale across both domestic and international markets. Nawaz brings a background in business growth, digital transformation and market expansion to the discussion, and is expected to walk participants through the process of shaping go to market strategies that hold up under real market conditions, along with methods for identifying growth opportunities and positioning startups to compete internationally.
Pathfinder CITADEL has positioned its mentorship structure as a core part of its support for founders, with each week bringing in a professional from a different area of business leadership to share direct, experience based guidance. The programme’s organisers describe this approach as a way of giving participants exposure to real world decision making frameworks rather than theoretical models alone, with the intention of helping early stage founders translate ideas into ventures capable of operating at scale. Cohort 2 has continued this format across its sessions, with each week building on themes introduced in earlier ones.
Nawaz’s session adds a growth and expansion focused perspective to the cohort’s broader curriculum, following sessions that have addressed other aspects of startup development. Organisers noted that the programme aims to equip founders not just with strategic knowledge but with the confidence to apply that knowledge as they move their ventures toward wider markets. The emphasis on global expansion reflects a recurring theme in Pakistan’s startup ecosystem, where founders are increasingly expected to design products and business models with regional and international scalability in mind from an early stage rather than treating expansion as a later stage consideration.
Pathfinder CITADEL has continued to expand its mentor roster throughout Cohort 2, drawing participants from established corporate groups, technology companies and entrepreneurial backgrounds. The programme’s organisers said the addition of Nawaz to the mentor lineup reflects their intent to connect founders with leaders who have direct experience navigating growth challenges at scale. Further sessions in Cohort 2 are expected to continue this pattern, with additional mentors set to be announced in the coming weeks as the programme progresses through its remaining modules.
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