National Incubation Center Islamabad has concluded the final judging round for Cohort 6, two days of pitches, critical questions and discussions in which shortlisted startups presented their ventures to a panel of judges. The panel brought together professionals from the startup, business, investment and technology sectors, and it gave founders a chance to show their progress, explain their business models and share their plans for growth. The round follows the close of applications on 21 September and decides which ventures will join the incubator’s next cohort.
The panel was larger than the one named when the round began. Its members were Zibber Mohiuddin, Barkan Saeed, Khuram Idrees, Ali Hasan Butt, Amer Hashmi, Atifa Asghar, Ammar Majeed, Amna Masood, Dr Yasir Amjad, Zohaib Jawed, Raza Afzal, Imad Memon, Irum Zahra, Haseeb Shaikh, Muhammad Sayaf Arbab, Nausheen Ashraf, Muhammad Ahmed, Nadeem Chaudhry, Kiran Afzal, Sheikh Taimur Nawaz, Komal Kenneth Shakeel, Muhammad Yasin, Umar Dhudra, Obaid Saleem, Yawar Siddiqui, Nazia Hamid Qureshi, Umair Syed, Hassan A., Hozaima Malik, Salman Ahmed, Shehab Farrukh Niazi, Sarfraz Arshad and Saad Saeed. A panel of 33 judges working across two days allows several judges to hear each pitch, which reduces the effect of any one opinion on the result.
The judges engaged directly with founders through thoughtful questions and a range of industry views, with the aim of assessing the ventures, challenging the founders’ thinking and judging how ready each one is for the next stage. The incubator thanked them for their time and expertise, and said their insights play an important role in identifying the ventures that will join the next cohort. In its words, every pitch brought a new perspective, every question pushed founders to think further, and every discussion helped shape what comes next.
National Incubation Center Islamabad operates with the support of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Tech Destination Pakistan and Ignite National Technology Fund. Startups that are selected receive structured training and workshops, co-working space, mentorship from industry leaders and introductions to investors, and the incubator has not yet said when it will announce the selected startups or how many places are available in Cohort 6.
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