i2i joins hands with National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies to help startups

Invest2Innovate (i2i) announced on Tuesday it has signed an MoU with the National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT) to “deepen collaboration and better serve Pakistan’s startup ecosystem.”

On a LinkedIn post, i2i said “this partnership is built on shared goals: expanding access, building stronger support systems, and ensuring founders at all stages get the right resources at the right time.”

The initiative will include startup referrals and pipeline sharing. NICAT - a high-tech engineering and ICT business incubator and accelerator funded by the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom - will refer high-growth graduates to i2i’s acceleration programs, while i2i will connect early-stage startups to NICAT for incubation.

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Select NICAT startups will be connected to i2i’s angel investor network for funding and mentorship while both organizations will refer mentors and experts from their networks to support startups in each other’s programs.

Meanwhile, NICAT will contribute to i2i’s Deal Flow Tracker and support onboarding of startups to the Investor Founder Discovery Platform - a verified digital platform that connects startups with investors “through curated discovery and matchmaking.”

The two will also co-host events including networking sessions and spaces for ecosystem connection and collaboration.

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i2i announced it will offer its knowledge products to NICAT startups, while NICAT will provide access to public sector opportunities and resources.

“We’re looking forward to building stronger bridges between our communities and supporting founders more intentionally, together,” i2i said in its post.

What is NICAT?

According to its website, NICAT is dedicated to helping startups and early-stage companies “turn their cutting-edge ideas into reality and grow their business.”

Based in Ralwapindi, it claims to provide access to state-of-the-art R&D facilities, mentorship, networking opportunities, manufacturing partners, investors and funding, and office space.

“Not only that, we also provide matched industrial and professional linkages that can help companies to connect with key players and advance quickly,” it said, adding that “with our help, these companies can develop their technology and bring it to market, creating new products and services that change the world.”