The National Incubation Center Karachi celebrated the graduation of 30 startups from its 12th cohort while marking its first anniversary, underscoring NIC Karachi’s role in accelerating startup growth across Pakistan.
Federal Minister for IT & Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja attended the ceremony as chief guest, joined by Rafique Ahmed Buriro, CEO Ignite, Asim Ishaq Khan, Vice President LMKT, and representatives from consortium partners YBG and Orbit Startups, alongside investors and ecosystem stakeholders.
Speaking at the event the minister said, “The graduation of startups from NIC Karachi demonstrates the remarkable entrepreneurial talent and resilience of Pakistan’s youth. These young innovators are not only creating jobs but reshaping industries and showcasing Pakistan’s potential on the global stage.” She reiterated the Ministry of IT & Telecom’s commitment to the Prime Minister’s Digital Nation Vision and to empowering youth through technology.
Rafique Ahmed Buriro highlighted Ignite’s distributed incubation approach, saying, “NIC Karachi underlines how strong public-private partnerships can transform entrepreneurship in Pakistan. Ignite will continue to ensure startups from all regions receive the support, mentorship and access they need to build globally relevant solutions.” The CEO emphasized ongoing efforts to expand mentorship and investor networks nationwide.
Asim Ishaq Khan reflected on the consortium’s progress: “Under the new consortium, together with YBG and Orbit Startups, NIC Karachi is building a robust pipeline of scalable businesses. The achievements of Cohort 12 show that with the right ecosystem and investor access, Pakistani startups can compete globally.” His remarks highlighted LMKT’s role in strengthening market linkages and commercial pathways for graduates.
The cohort’s graduation was presented as a platform for scaling solutions into local and international markets, with alumni success stories demonstrating job creation, revenue growth and sector disruption. Since inception, NIC Karachi has incubated more than 375 startups, reports show the program has supported the creation of over 1 million jobs, generated in excess of PKR 10 billion in revenue and helped startups raise over PKR 12 billion in investment.
NIC Karachi continues to provide free-of-cost incubation, mentorship, investor access, legal and financial advisory, and maintains advanced labs focused on Fintech, Industrial Automation and Media to support product development and commercialization.
The graduation and anniversary celebrations reinforced the centre’s commitment to nurturing entrepreneurship in line with national priorities, signaling continued public-private collaboration to drive a knowledge-based digital economy across Pakistan.
