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, funded by the European Union, in Karachi on Jan 6, 2024. The summit served as a pivotal gathering, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, and ecosystem enablers to foster collaboration and innovation within Pakistan’s startup landscape.
The Summit aimed to showcase and bring forward AP supported business innovations working towards solving pressing problems in the country, especially around combatting climate change. Both AP and Sarmayacar, strongly believe in expanding entrepreneurship beyond main cities and fostering the right environment and investment opportunities for businesses working in the green economy. 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 an exemplary and robust ecosystem of entrepreneurship that contributes significantly to the national development process.”
The event showcased prominent leaders in Pakistan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Amir Paracha, CEO of Unilever Pakistan, opened with insights on leadership in startups and creating businesses with purpose. A panel featuring experts like 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), discussed challenges in climate finance.
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. Aabshar, smart water nozels that instantly start saving 98% of water that goes through it, were selected as the winner by an esteemed judging panel. Orbit-Ed, AI-driven behavioral training tool to optimize business outcomes by transforming data into behavior excellence, emerged as the winner through audience voting. The pitch battle was followed by several other intriguing conversations with seasoned investors and entrepreneurs from the local ecosystem.
Throughout the day, Accelerate Prosperity supported startups like Bioniks, AYECo- Ayub Yaqoob Engineering Company, mywater, Aletheia-AI, Mixeal, Concept Loop, etc. showcased their products, featuring solutions from various sectors like Health tech, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Green Economy. At the summit, AP supported startups also received one-on-one with investors and mentors to exchange industry related knowledge and investment readiness during the Mentoring Sprints segment.
We would like to thank all of our partners who have been pivotal in supporting AP in inspiring entrepreneurship and contextual innovation to solve complex problems across the nation. The Startup Summit has allowed AP to share the impact of its supported businesses and we look forward to bringing the summit to other areas of Pakistan very soon!
Learn More
Accelerate Prosperity is a global initiative of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Central and South Asia which offers creative financial solutions as well as pre and post investment technical assistance to help grow early-stage businesses, startups, and innovative ideas.
Sarmayacar, an early-stage VC firm, was established in 2018 as Pakistan’s first institutional fund. The fund has since invested in 25 diverse tech and tech enabled businesses across sectors such as fintech, logistics, e-commerce and more. The firm has recently launched a dedicated climate strategy for Pakistan, building on its track record of investing in clean tech businesses since its inception.
Media Coverage
- https://www.pakdestiny.com/empowering-pakistans-youth-startup-summit-ignites-a-wave-of-sustainable-entrepreneurship/
https://dailythedestination.com/innovative-collaboration-accelerate-prosperity-and-sarmayacar-power-startup-summit/
Disclaimer
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Accelerate Prosperity and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union
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