WISE Lab Cohort 1 has reached the Final Judging Round, the last major stage of a programme built to support women founders as they develop their ventures. After progressing through the cohort journey, the founders are now preparing to present their ventures, ideas and pitches before an experienced panel of judges drawn from Pakistan’s startup and business ecosystem. The announcement of the panel gives the cohort a clear picture of who will be evaluating their work at the point where their months of preparation come together.
The final round gives each founder the chance to showcase what she has built, explain the problem she is solving, and demonstrate the potential of her venture. Judges will bring their expertise and industry perspective to evaluate the startups on their pitches, ideas, solutions, business potential and overall venture development. WISE Lab describes the round as more than a presentation, framing it as an opportunity for each founder to put her venture forward, receive expert evaluation, and move one step closer to the final selection of Cohort 1.
The judging panel includes Quratulain Chaudhary, Anne Caron, Mahin Syed, Bilal Asghar, Salar Malik, Dr. Henna Karamat Durrani, Nazia Hamid Qureshi, Sarfraz Arshad, Shahzaib Z., Sarah Peracha, Mahrukh Q., Atifa Asghar, Zarene Zuberi, Tahleel Mumtaz Malik, Nida Athar, Risham Arif Raja, Yasir M., Naureen Ghaffar, Hamza Saeed Orakzai and Jawad Azfar. With twenty judges named, the panel brings together a wide spread of experience, which should give founders feedback from several angles, whether on product, market, finance or growth, rather than a single point of view.
WISE Lab Cohort 1 is supported by the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication Pakistan, Ignite National Technology Fund, JazzWorld, Mobilink Bank and Change Mechanics. Backing from both public institutions and private sector organizations reflects the growing attention on programmes that help women founders move from early ideas to investable ventures. As the cohort heads into its final evaluation, the strength of the pitches, and the quality of the feedback from this panel, will shape which founders move ahead in the final selection.
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