Startupdotpk has launched a virtual pitching program. Here is everything you need to know.
The Pakistani startup ecosystem has no shortage of ideas. What it has always needed is more structured, serious opportunities for early-stage founders to get in front of the right people not just pitch, but actually be heard, challenged, and guided.
That is what PitchFest 2026 is designed to do.
Startupdotpk — Pakistan’s leading startup media and ecosystem platform — is launching its first virtual pitching programme this April. Two episodes, four startups each, four verticals, and a room built with people who have actually done the work.
What Is PitchFest 2026?
PitchFest 2026 is a virtual pitching programme running across two episodes in April 2026. Each episode features four early-stage Pakistani startups pitching live to a panel of judges and mentors with structured feedback, mentorship, and real ecosystem visibility on the other side.
The programme is open to founders across four verticals:
- Climate & Sustainability — for founders building solutions to Pakistan’s most pressing environmental and resource challenges.
- Fintech & Gender Inclusion — for startups working on financial access, inclusion, and solutions designed with women and underserved communities in mind.
- AI / Cybersecurity / SaaS — for founders building tech-first, scalable products in artificial intelligence, security, or software.
- Wild Card — for the ideas that do not fit a neat box but deserve to be in the room anyway.
Why This Matters for Early-Stage Founders
Most pitching opportunities in Pakistan are either too informal to be useful or too competitive to be accessible. PitchFest 2026 is designed to sit in the middle structured enough to prepare founders for what comes next, intimate enough that the feedback is actually personal.
Four startups per episode means every founder in the room gets real time. Not a two-minute slot and a handshake. Real time with people whose input could genuinely change the direction of your startup.
And because it is virtual, geography is not a barrier. Founders from Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta wherever you are building can apply.
A Glimpse at Who Will Be in the Room
The mentor panel is still being confirmed and the names coming in are worth waiting for. Here is a look at who has already joined the lineup.
Muhammad Usman Arshad Khan, Marketing and Growth Director at Axelliant, brings deep expertise in scaling startups into enterprise-level players. He has led marketing strategy across global tech solutions and has been a key voice at policy roundtables including WECON 2025.
Yumna Hasany, Head of Program Development at CWSA and Lead Mentor for Girls4Girls Pakistan — a Harvard Kennedy School global leadership programme — brings over a decade of public policy and strategic communication expertise. For founders building with a social mission, she is exactly the kind of mentor that changes how you think about your work.
Giovanna Remondini, Executive Coach and Management Consultant at Strategy Beyond Borders, is an ICF Professional Certified Coach with a Stanford certification in Strategic Decision and Risk Management. She works with founders to turn vision into something fundable and scalable — especially in uncertain, high-pressure environments.
More mentors and judges are being announced soon. Watch this space.
How to Apply
Applications are open now. The programme runs across two episodes in April 2026, with four spots per episode. Once they are gone, they are gone.
If you are an early-stage Pakistani founder with a startup that is ready to be seen
