Episode ten of Perfect Pitch, titled Creating Impact Through Inclusion, Wellness and Innovation, brought five Pakistani startups before a jury of leading investors and executives, with circular economy startup Eco Foods taking home the PKR 1 million prize. The show, an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, HEC and Hum TV Network, was hosted by Ahfar Rehman and judged by Faisal Aftab, Founder and CEO of Zayn VC and a Shark from Shark Tank Pakistan, Jehan Ara, recipient of the Tamgha e Imtiaz and Founder and CEO of Catalyst Labs, and Asif Ahmad, Group Chief Business Solution Officer at PTCL Group.
The first pitch came from Ali Khan Tareen of Khas Foods Kitchen, a social enterprise that trains and employs visually impaired individuals as chefs and hosts corporate Dining in the Dark sensory awareness sessions. The company has generated PKR 12 million in revenue over 12 months, trained more than 120 visually impaired chefs, with half of them now operating their own home kitchens, and run more than 30 corporate dark dining sessions. FitHer followed, with Dr. Shaista Khalid presenting a women’s holistic health and wellness app specializing in hormonal imbalance, PCOS and postpartum recovery through live workout sessions, AI calorie tracking and diet plans. The company has generated 2.1 crore PKR, or roughly 21 million rupees, in revenue across six countries, with 70 percent of that from Pakistan and 30 percent from expatriate and MENA markets, and has onboarded telecom and fintech partnerships to support its growth.
The third pitch came from Fawad Khan of Explorify, positioned as Pakistan’s first marketplace platform for curated, immersive local travel experiences and cultural tours connecting tourists directly with local hosts, with a particular focus on overseas Pakistanis and foreign tourists. The jury discussion touched on whether the company was building a lifestyle business or one capable of venture-backed scalability. Eco Foods followed, with Muhammad Zaman and Dr. Sadaf presenting a circular economy startup that transforms fruit peel waste into zero-calorie, sugar-free stevia-sweetened beverages branded Steefresher, alongside eco-cosmetics, pet shampoos and biodegradable packaging. The company has generated PKR 15 million in cumulative revenue over four years across four major Pakistani cities, with its stevia formulation suitable for diabetics, and the jury conducted a live product tasting during the pitch. The final pitch came from Ata-ul-Haq and Ameen Sheikh of E-Diviser, an AI-enhanced Learning Experience Platform incorporating gamification, Outcome-Based Education mapping and adaptive learning for universities and K-12 schools, still at the proof of concept stage with university MOUs in place, with discussion focused on teacher readiness and automating OBE accreditation mapping.
The episode also featured a success story on Kistpay, the Shariah-compliant digital buy now pay later installment platform founded by Arif Lakhani under KistBazaar. In the grand finale, Project Director Abdullah Soomro joined the panel with the PKR 1 million cheque, emphasizing the importance of founder coachability, before announcing Khas Foods Kitchen, led by Ali Khan Tareen, as runner-up and naming Eco Foods, led by Muhammad Zaman and Dr. Sadaf, as the winner of the episode. The result reflects the show’s focus this week on ventures built around sustainability and wellness, with the jury rewarding a circular economy business that has already built cumulative revenue over several years turning food waste into viable consumer products.
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