Accelerate Prosperity, an initiative of the Aga Khan Development Network, and
Sarmayacar, a leading venture capital firm, successfully joined forces to organize the Startup Summit at NASTP, Karachi this weekend. The summit served as a pivotal gathering, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, and ecosystem enablers to foster collaboration and innovation within Pakistan’s startup landscape.
Startup Summit aimed to address key aspects of the startup ecosystem, emphasizing the significance of climate initiatives and highlighting investment opportunities for new and ground-breaking innovations. Both AP and Sarmayacar, strongly believe in expanding entrepreneurship beyond main cities, and showcasing investment opportunities for new startups. While addressing the audience, Rohma Labeeb, Country Director at Accelerate Prosperity Pakistan said ” This event allows us to set a vision and focus for 2024. We look forward to collaborating with all the key stakeholders that can help us build and exemplary and robust ecosystem of entrepreneurship that contributes significantly to the national development process.
Following this, Amir Paracha, CEO of Unilever Pakistan delivered the Keynote Speech. He shared practical insights on leadership essentials, drawing on Unilever’s leadership philosophy. He explored the relevance of these principles to emerging entrepreneurs, highlighting fundamental qualities crucial for startups striving for positive impact. Using real-life examples, Amir illuminated the audience on his leadership journey, emphasizing the importance of ethical practices and long-term sustainability.
Following the keynote, participants engaged in a panel discussion on “Riding the Green Wave: Seizing Opportunities in Climate Finance.” The panel, featuring industry experts including Aman Nasir (Partner, Sarmayacar), Nadia Rehman (Member, Planning Commission of Pakistan), Ahmed Ammar Yasser (Chief of Party, PFAN), and Sarah Qureshi (CEO, Aero Engine Craft), explored challenges hindering finance flow to climate ventures and discussed steps for investors to balance financial returns with long-term environmental benefits.
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The event continued with a pivotal segment, the Startup Pitch Battle, where five startups competed to pitch their ideas to both the audience and the judging panel. Orbit-Ed emerged as the winner through audience voting and Aabshar was selected winner by an esteemed judging panel. The winning startup earned an all-expenses-paid trip to LEAP, a highly anticipated tech event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, scheduled for March 4-7, 2024. [if we want to announce winner names, we might have to omit this part.]
Post-lunch, participants engaged in an energizer and wellness session with Mantaha Tareen.
A dual dialogue between Iffat Mankani (CEO, JS Investments) and Aatif Awan (Founding Partner, Indus Valley Capital) explored “From Pitch to Funding: The Comparative Tale of Investment Paths.” The conversation delved into the difference between private equity and venture capital in terms of investment strategies, the impact of different funding pathways on a startup valuation, future fundraising options, and common exit strategies in Pakistan.
A fireside chat with Maha Shahzad, CEO and Founder of Buscaro, a tech-enabled transport company, provided a deeper understanding of her entrepreneurial journey, challenges faced, and insights for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly focusing on the unique challenges faced by female entrepreneurs in Pakistan.
Throughout the day, the Accelerate Prosperity’s startupsshowcased their products including innovative health tech Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and sustainable businesses. Mentoring sprints provided one-on-one time between investors and entrepreneurs for insights and guidance.
