NIC Islamabad

Call Directions Website Contact the organization

NIC Islamabad Under the vision of the Honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan, NICI is designed & funded by the Ministry of IT & Telecom & Ignite - National Technology Fund.

NIC Islamabad is an incubator & accelerator funded by Ignite National Technology Fund, managed under the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication of Pakistan. Our purpose is to activate, nurture and accelerate disruptive, innovative startups.

FINAL JUDGING ROUND | NIC Islamabad COHORT 6The final judging round for NIC Islamabad Cohort 6 is underway, bringing tog...
08/10/2026

FINAL JUDGING ROUND | NIC Islamabad COHORT 6

The final judging round for NIC Islamabad Cohort 6 is underway, bringing together an experienced panel of judges from across the startup, business, investment and technology ecosystem.

At this stage, our shortlisted startups are presenting their startups before professionals who bring diverse industry experience, market knowledge and an understanding of what it takes to build and scale a venture.

The presence of our judges brings an important external perspective to the selection process. They are engaging directly with founders, asking critical questions, understanding their businesses and challenging them to clearly present where they stand today and where they see their startup going next.

We are grateful to our judges for taking the time to engage with our Cohort 6 applicants, bring their expertise to the table, and play an important role in shaping the next cohort of NIC Islamabad.

From the pitch to the questions that follow, this is where the next cohort begins to take shape.

| Zibber Mohiuddin | Barkan Saeed | Khuram Idrees | Ali Hasan Butt | Amer Hashmi | Atifa Asghar | Ammar Majeed | Amna Masood | Yasir Amjad, Ph.D | Zohaib Jawed | Raza Afzal | Imad Memon | Irum Zahra | Haseeb Shaikh | Muhammad Sayaf Arbab | Nausheen Ashraf | Muhammad Ahmed | Nadeem Chaudhry |

| Ministry Of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

September was the month of building momentum, opening doors & getting ready for what matters.At NIC Islamabad, Cohort 5 ...
08/10/2026

September was the month of building momentum, opening doors & getting ready for what matters.

At NIC Islamabad, Cohort 5 founders sharpened their growth strategies, strengthened their investor readiness, and prepared for the conversations that can move their businesses forward. From the Road to Investor Summit 2026 to the Grant Steering Committee, founders put their plans under scrutiny, refined their investment case, and engaged directly with investors and industry leaders.

Beyond founder development, September brought together investors, universities, international organisations, and industry leaders through engagements with ANFA VC, the World Bank Group, KOICA Pakistan, Riphah International University, WAFI–Tameer Awards, and others.

The month also marked the next chapter for NIC Islamabad, with two Cohort 6 Open Houses helping prospective founders understand the NIC experience and navigate the application process.

A month of preparation, access, and progress, setting the stage for what comes next at NIC Islamabad.

| Ministry Of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

07/10/2026

Today, we celebrate Cohort 4 as they graduate from NIC Islamabad and step into what comes next.

Their time at NIC Islamabad has been one part of a much bigger journey, shaped by the work of building, testing, adapting, and pursuing new opportunities. Along the way, they have reached milestones of their own, overcome challenges, and continued to move their ventures forward.

As they graduate, we celebrate the progress they have made and the journeys that lie ahead.

Congratulations to the founders of Cohort 4! We are proud to have been part of your journey and look forward to seeing where you take it next.

| Ministry Of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

You’ve completed the program. Now, it’s time to build what comes next.From where you started to where you stand today, N...
07/10/2026

You’ve completed the program. Now, it’s time to build what comes next.

From where you started to where you stand today, NIC Islamabad Cohort 4 has been a journey of learning, refining, testing, and growing. And this graduation is not the finish line. It’s a new starting point.

At the Cohort 4 Graduation Ceremony, we celebrated the founders who took an idea, a product, or an early-stage business and turned it into something stronger — with the skills, knowledge, connections, and confidence to take it further.

Our Project Director, Sayyed Ahmad Masud, shared valuable remarks with our startups and reminded them that their journey with NIC Islamabad doesn’t end with graduation. NIC Islamabad will continue to stay connected, share relevant opportunities, and support our startups as they grow.

We also took a moment to recognise our incredible coaches, who worked closely with our founders helping them understand their pain points, navigate challenges, and make better decisions along the way.

One of the most meaningful parts of the ceremony was sitting down with each startup and looking back at their journey, then and now. Through their presentations, we saw the progress, the pivots, the learning, and the growth that brought them to this moment.

A special thank you to Salaar Malaik and Umayr Masud for being part of the celebration, and to our Master of Ceremonies, Muazima Batool, for keeping the ceremony engaging and full of energy.

And of course, every startup received their graduation certificate along with a small keepsake from NIC Islamabad, so they can always carry a little piece of this journey with them.

To Cohort 4: this chapter may be complete, but your real building journey is just beginning.

Take the skills you’ve gained.
Use the opportunities ahead.
Keep learning. Keep building. Keep growing.

Your next chapter is yours to build.

| Ministry Of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

The Final Stage of Evaluation | Acceleration Program Cohort 5On October 5, 2026, NIC Islamabad held the Final Judging Ro...
06/10/2026

The Final Stage of Evaluation | Acceleration Program Cohort 5

On October 5, 2026, NIC Islamabad held the Final Judging Round for its Acceleration Program Cohort 5, with 15 shortlisted startups presenting before a distinguished panel of judges: Sayyed Ahmad Masud, Shuja Khan Asim Ghaffar, Adnan Faisal, Amees Ahmad, Muhammad Ali Iqbal, Komal Kenneth Shakeel, Ali Moeen Malik, Shayan Yar.

The startups were evaluated on key areas including financial traction, team strength, scalability, growth potential, and overall business progress.

The judges appreciated the quality of startups coming through the selection process and engaged with founders as they presented their businesses and growth journeys.
The final judging round followed two earlier screening stages, bringing the selection process to its final stage.

With the pitches concluded, the evaluation for NIC Islamabad Acceleration Program Cohort 5 has now reached its final stage.

| Yasir Amjad, Ph.D | Ministry Of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

At NIC Islamabad, the Acceleration Judging Round brings together experienced ecosystem leaders to evaluate startups read...
05/10/2026

At NIC Islamabad, the Acceleration Judging Round brings together experienced ecosystem leaders to evaluate startups ready to move beyond incubation and into their next phase of growth.

With a focus on growth potential, business traction, scalability, and the strength of each startup’s path forward, our judges assess which startups are ready to take the next step.

Our Judging Panel:

• Faisal Shuja Khan — CEO, Ovex Technologies
• Asim Ghaffar — Vice President of Engineering, 10Pearls Pakistan
• Adnan Faisal — CEO, Scale X
• Muhammad Ali Iqbal — President, Concave Agri
• Ali Moeen Malik — Co-Founder, ezBike
• Shayan Yar — Project Director, NICAT

Because acceleration is not simply about moving faster.

It is about knowing where to go next and being ready to get there.

This is where the next phase of growth takes shape.

| Ministry of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

01/10/2026

From NIC Islamabad Cohort 4 to the World Startup Championship stage.

Horizon Preps has been named the Education & EdTech Category Winner at the World Startup Championship 2026, presented by SEE Pakistan.

Founded by Semab Tabassum, Horizon Preps is rethinking entry-test preparation in Pakistan through micro-learning content and personalised AI mentorship.

For Horizon Preps, the journey has been about more than an idea. It has been about refining the product, connecting with the right people, and finding the support needed to move forward.

Congratulations to Horizon Preps on taking their idea to the world stage. We’re excited to see where they take it next.

| Ministry Of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

PUTTING PAKISTAN’S STRONGEST STARTUP OPPORTUNITIES IN FRONT OF INVESTORS.At NIC Islamabad, we are building more than sta...
30/09/2026

PUTTING PAKISTAN’S STRONGEST STARTUP OPPORTUNITIES IN FRONT OF INVESTORS.

At NIC Islamabad, we are building more than startups - we are building the connections that help them access capital, markets, expertise and opportunities to scale.

Investor Summit 2026 brought together investors, corporates, policymakers and founders, creating a direct platform for meaningful conversations around the future of startup investment in Pakistan.

The Summit brought together Muhammad Bilal Abbasi, CEO Ignite – National Technology Fund; Bastien Blanc, Group Chief Executive Officer, Startups & Other Services Division, Hashoo Group; Sayyed Ahmad Masud, Project Director NIC Islamabad; Dr. Yasir Amjad, Ph.D, Director Acceleration & Growth, NIC Islamabad; Kamil Aziz, Head of Investments, Zayn VC; Dicle Özcan, Senior Associate, Inveo Ventures, joining virtually from Türkiye; Shahid Abbasi, Co-Founder, Xylexa, Inc.; and Awais Vohra, Chief Technology & AI Officer, Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML).

At the heart of the Summit was the panel discussion, “Unlocking Access to Capital for Pakistani Founders,” which went beyond the question of simply raising funds. The conversation explored Series A readiness, unit economics, growth potential, investor risk appetite, corporate governance, follow-on capital, valuation and market expansion - giving founders a clearer view of what investors look for when considering the next cheque.

The Summit also featured nine NICI startups presenting their businesses directly to investors:
Dakia.ai, Xylexa, PromptoFlow Pvt. Ltd., BizB, Najoomi, Stayovers.pk, TezAds, AI Sehat Bridge and Sky Technology & Innovations.

This is the value of the NIC Islamabad ecosystem: bringing curated founders into the room with investors, opening conversations around capital and partnerships, and creating opportunities for startups to move from traction to scale.

Investor Summit 2026 is one more step toward a stronger, more connected and investment-ready startup ecosystem in Pakistan.

| Ministry Of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

A startup’s early team can shape its direction, culture, decision-making, and ability to grow. The right co-founder, the...
28/09/2026

A startup’s early team can shape its direction, culture, decision-making, and ability to grow. The right co-founder, the right first hires, and clearly defined ways of working can make a significant difference as a venture moves forward.

At NIC Islamabad, the Founder Institute Co-Founder & Team Session brought founders into a practical conversation with experienced co-founders who shared insights, real-time experiences, and lessons from their own entrepreneurial journeys.

The session explored the decisions founders face when building their teams — from understanding when and why a startup may need a co-founder and what to consider when choosing one, to identifying the right first hires and building an early-stage team aligned with the startup’s needs.

The session offered founders practical perspectives on one of the most important aspects of building a startup: building the team that will build it.

| Ministry of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

28/09/2026

GSMA joins the Investor Summit 2026 at NIC Islamabad as a Participating Investor.

Bringing a global perspective on technology, entrepreneurship, and the digital economy, GSMA adds another valuable dimension to conversations with founders and the wider investment ecosystem.

The summit creates a space for investors and startups to connect, exchange perspectives, and explore opportunities for growth and collaboration.

| Ministry of IT & Telecom | Tech Destination Pakistan | Ignite - National Technology Fund |

Address

The National Incubation Center, Plot-24B, Street 6, Sector H-9/1
Islamabad
44000

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 18:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 18:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 18:00
Thursday 09:00 - 18:00
Friday 09:00 - 18:00

Telephone

051 8443333

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when NIC Islamabad posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to NIC Islamabad:

Shortcuts

Share

Category