Startup ecosystem is flourishing in Pakistan. Government, private, academia and even corporates are now working seriously in this domain. Today, we will talk about a very grave situation i.e. how and where should a startup founder based in Pakistan should begin and what resources are available to them in which they can tap into.

Some Basic Terms

We assume that you are new to this domain therefore before we delve deeper in to this subject, we want you to get a big picture of how stuff happens and what jargon is used in industry.

A startup founder must have an Idea to solve a problem at hand. For that, you are supposed to build a solution (prototype) and test it with your potential customers. Generally, at this point you build a team and go to an incubator where the idea is further polished, refined and developed.

By the time you graduate, ideally you are making some amount of money through permanent clients. This is where you go to an accelerator where they help you grow significantly through their connections, resources and network.

See what incubators & accelerators can actually help your startups.

From that point onward, you are making good profit and can sustain on your own.

That’s the overall process! Now, coming back to the basics and exploring that what can tap into. Here is a list of things which you should consider.


  1. Co-working spaces
    1. led (Tech Hub Connect)
    2. Private (Basecamp Pwr, DotZero, WeCreate, The Hive)
  2. Incubators
    1. led (Plan9)
    2. Private led (LCE, Nest I/O)
    3. Corporate led (Nspire by Netsol)
  3. Accelerators
    1. led (PlanX)
    2. Private led (LCE)
    3. Corporate led (Telenor Velocity)


  1. Hackathons
  2. Startup Weekend
    A two day event where technologists, business grads and designers meet and make teams and build a prototype overnight.
  3. Startup Cup
    It is an annual event where Pakistan’s best startups knock out each other to win regional finals and represent Pakistan on global level.
  4. Get Slush’D
    i2i (Invest2Innovate) organizes this event annually and choose startups from Pakistan through competition and send them to Finland to represent Pakistan on a fully funded trip.


  1. TiE Islamabad
  2. OPEN Islamabad
    Open organizes numerous networking events and conferences to connect entrepreneurs with people who can help them scale their startups through mentorship.
  3. Create. Lead (LCL)
    A signature event of EDI where they invite the leading entrepreneurs, students, academia and connect them together. Every year we see lot of startups exhibiting their products.


  1. Founder Institute Islamabad
    It is a chapter of a global idea-stage accelerator which help founders build great companies. They not only have their own curriculum which is delivered in a concise way but also experienced people who teach entrepreneurship.

These are some of the broad things which you should have a general idea about. We hope it gave you the vision and direction to get started.