KARACHI: At the culmination of its eighth cohort, the National Incubation Centre Lahore (NICL) at LUMS held its flagship Investor Summit, bringing together seasoned investors, inspiring entrepreneurs, and corporate innovators.
“We have now graduated eight cohorts from Lahore and Quetta in a short period of time, by dynamically adapting to extraordinary circumstances, transforming our offering, and launching several new initiatives such as programmes in partnership with Saarland and Stanford,” said Saleem Ahmad, Chairman NICL and NIC Quetta. “At the Investor Summit today, I am proud to see the transformation and growth in these remarkable young entrepreneurs. Our aim at NICL is to continue supporting such talent and connecting with industry and academia to generate lasting impact,” he added.
The 13 start-ups graduating are a diverse set of high-impact ventures, including QBio, establishing Pakistan’s enzyme biotechnology company; Dawa Asaan, Pakistan’s first smart pharmacy delivering pre-sorted medicines; Peervest, a digital equity-based crowd funding platform that connects tech-enabled start-ups with eligible investors; Loading Champions, a complete learning, coaching and recruitment solution; and Heirloom, that produces artisanal, sustainable and responsibly produced goods with elevated aesthetics.
In the past, NICL’s graduating start-ups have gone on to raise funding after pitching at the Investor Summit; KalPay, a shariah-compliant BNPL service have already closed their pre-seed round via an angel investment of $100,000 and are in the process of finalizing their next round of funding.
Speaking at the occasion, Badar Khushnood, Chairman P@sha and member of NICL’s Foundation Council observed, “The diversity, depth and professionalism of start-ups at the Investor Summit are heartening to see. Despite challenges posited by Covid, NICL has been able to build the right pipeline of start-ups and mature it effectively. I’m delighted that each pitch I saw today reflected the right vision, exposure and confidence.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022