These Seven Pakistani Startups Are Heading to CITADEL Davos 2026

Seven high-growth Pakistani startups have earned coveted spots to pitch their solutions at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos 2026, following a rigorous national competition designed to elevate local innovation onto the world’s biggest stage. The Pathfinder CITADEL DAVOS Startup Challenge selected these ventures to represent Pakistan’s dynamic technology ecosystem, from fintech and AI to health and education, underlining the country’s rising global profile in digital entrepreneurship.

The challenge, organised by CITADEL Pathfinder in collaboration with the Pakistan IT Industry Association (P@SHA), invited early- to growth-stage startups working on market-ready products to compete for a chance to pitch at the Pakistan Pavilion during the World Economic Forum in January 2026. A nationwide application process saw more than 200 applicants, which was narrowed down through multiple stages to the final seven selected startups. Here is a brief about the seven selected:

• Edversity builds scalable tech talent pipelines, training youth in AI, blockchain and cybersecurity with personalized learning pathways and has graduated over 12,000 learners with strong placement rates.
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• Vector AI develops specialised AI and enterprise solutions, including foundational models and voice-enabled AI products tailored for sectors like telecommunications and education.
• Swich is a Karachi-based digital payments platform that started as a payment aggregator and now provides innovative solutions for collecting and disbursing funds nationwide.
• EKKO offers a portable device for affordable home-based speech therapy, targeting children with speech disorders through non-invasive vibrational stimulation and cloud support.
• AI Team Force provides AI-driven sales outreach tools that enable small and mid-sized companies to scale lead generation and customer engagement like full-time sales development reps.
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• Edkasa focuses on education technology, helping students in key secondary school exams through an accessible online learning platform.
• AiBL engineers AI-integrated bionic prosthetics aimed at restoring mobility and independence for amputees worldwide.

The Pathfinder CITADEL DAVOS Startup Challenge, in partnership with Pakistan IT Industry Association (P@SHA), is a national competition that will select Pakistan’s top startups to pitch on the global stage during World Economic Forum Davos 2026.

Organisers say that participation in Davos can open doors to strategic partnerships and funding opportunities. For instance, emerging companies from previous World Economic Forum programmes have secured Series A and Series B investments and entered multinational pilot arrangements. The intensive selection process ensures only truly market-ready startups make it to the global stage, reviewed by external experts from industry, academia and investment communities.

The startups chosen reflect critical sectors that are shaping future competitiveness, especially for a country where digital finance infrastructure for accessible healthcare and assistive technologies is scarce.