With just five days remaining before applications close on 20 February, the National Incubation Center Islamabad has issued a final call for startups to apply for Cohort 5, positioning the new intake as a critical entry point for founders aiming to build globally competitive companies rather than short-lived experiments.
Cohort 5 comes at a time when Pakistan’s startup ecosystem is increasingly under scrutiny for its ability to produce scale and global relevance. Backed by the Ignite National Technology Fund under the Ministry of IT and Telecommunications, NIC Islamabad focuses on startups operating in high-impact sectors including AI, deep tech, health tech, climate tech, fintech and other technology driven domains. The objective, according to the incubator, is not visibility alone but structured company building from early traction to investment readiness.
Recent performance by NIC Islamabad startups has strengthened that claim. At the Indus AI Week Competition 2026, NIC backed startups ranked among the top performers nationwide, with Axon Whale securing first place and SafetyX Pro finishing as second runner up in the Enterprise Operations AI category from a pool of 183 applications. In URAAN AI Techathon 1.0, Pakistan’s first national AI focused competition organized by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Strydex Robotics emerged as the Gold Champion.
The momentum has also carried into international arenas. At the World Startup Championship under SEE Pakistan, EKKO won the growth stage while Strydex Robotics topped the ideas stage. NIC Islamabad startups have since represented Pakistan at global platforms such as GITEX Global and the World Economic Forum in Davos, where three of the eight Pakistani startups selected came from the Islamabad based incubator.
Since its first three cohorts, NIC Islamabad has incubated 89 startups, with 10 raising more than $2.5 million in funding and over 60 percent actively selling products or services. Startups such as Regen, Najoomi, EMRChains and EKKO illustrate the incubator’s focus on moving founders beyond local validation toward scalable business models.
Operating on a zero equity model, NIC Islamabad allows founders to retain full ownership while offering mentorship, investor access and an internationally recognized curriculum. With applications for Cohort 5 closing on 20 February, the incubator says the next five days will determine which founders gain access to an ecosystem built for scale rather than survival.
