At this point, we shouldn't be surprised that entrepreneurship ecosystems are flourishing around the world – from Fiji to Vietnam to Nigeria, people are building & launching entrepreneurial solutions, often to address challenges in their daily contexts. There is a sameness to this development, but in frontier markets like Pakistan, this potential can be inhibited by challenging regulatory environments that can stunt the growth of startups and discourage investment. This panel will discuss the growth of the Pakistan ecosystem, through the eyes of i2i Ventures, the country's first female founded VC fund (Invest2Innovate has been operating since 2011 & launched the country's first startup accelerator before launching our fund in 2019), as well as two incredible founders who are building high-growth companies with an impact lens in this challenging market. What are the lessons for other ecosystems? How can we learn from one another? And how does the unique approach of i2i Ventures aim to address the current gaps in the market?
– Panelists
Misbah Naqvi, Partner, i2i Ventures
Kalsoom Lakhani, Partner, i2i Ventures
Myra Qureshi Jahangir, Co-Founder, Conatural
Suniya Sadullah Khan, Co-Founder, Mauqa Online