Ekko Private Limited, founded by Ismail Nasir, won the PKR 1 million prize in Episode 2 of Perfect Pitch, titled “Turning Problems Into Opportunities,” a competition series from the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, HEC, and HUM TV Network. Host Ahfar Rehman introduced a jury of Yusuf Hussain, a tech innovation and venture capital expert, Roma Labib, Country Director at Accelerate Prosperity, and Ashraf Kaleem Ahmad, Founding Partner at Magnavus Ventures and an angel investor, who opened by emphasizing scalability, growth potential, and precision research from young founders before the pitches began. Ekko’s winning product is a non-invasive speech therapy hardware device paired with a data-driven app for early intervention in children aged 2 to 8 with speech or cerebral palsy conditions, priced between 200 and 300 dollars compared to competitors charging upward of 4,000 dollars. Judges pressed the team on clinical trials, medical compliance hurdles including DRAP, CE, and FDA approval, and customer acquisition costs.
The episode opened with Salam Kids TV, founded by Mohtashim Ali and Maryam Juma, pitching an OTT safe-streaming platform positioned as a culturally aligned alternative to Netflix and YouTube for children aged 2 to 12, having already built over 53,000 YouTube subscribers and more than 14 million watch hours organically. Discussion covered YouTube monetization versus building an independent app, expansion into regional Arab and Urdu-speaking markets, and how the platform handles screen safety and content regulation. Happo, founded by Mohammad Ali Abbas and Mohammad Umar, followed with Timtim, a therapeutic robotics product designed to communicate with, teach, and assist autistic and special-needs children, with 10 units already deployed and exported to West Africa at roughly 6,000 dollars internationally and a lower price domestically. Judges focused on B2B school subscription models, unit economics, and the founding team’s equity structure.
Sabza Hydroponics, founded by Wahab Ali Bukhari and Sana Hassan, pitched plug-and-play soil-less vertical farming systems for urban households and restaurants to grow pesticide-free produce, having generated 5.5 million PKR in system sales across more than 70 units without any paid marketing. The panel questioned the startup on the need for scientific and nutrient certifications to validate its produce claims. Sports Drive Technologies, founded by Malik Haider and Shayan Kabir, pitched a sports facility booking and community-building app letting users book arenas, form teams, and challenge opponents, with judges probing marketplace vendor retention, dynamic pricing tools for arena owners, and long-term revenue sustainability. Sports Drive ultimately took the runner-up position, drawing admiration from jurors Yusuf Hussain and Ashraf Kaleem, while Roma Labib specifically highlighted Salam Kids TV among her favorites.
The episode also featured a success story segment on Bookme.pk, an online ticketing platform for buses, airlines, events, and movies, along with an audience giveaway asking viewers to define the term SAFE. Among the founders themselves, Happo’s Mohammad Ali Abbas singled out Ekko as his favorite pitch, citing a shared mission around special needs care. The episode closed with Project Director of the PM National Innovation Award, Abdullah Soomro, presenting the PKR 1 million check and praising the lineup for addressing child health, education, and development, before formally crowning Ekko Private Limited the winner of Episode 2 for its speech-therapy medical hardware. With five startups spanning child safety streaming, assistive robotics, speech therapy devices, hydroponic farming, and sports community platforms, the episode underscored Perfect Pitch’s growing role as a national platform surfacing ventures built around health, education, and everyday utility rather than purely commercial tech plays.
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