TP Report
ISLAMABAD: Pathfinder Group convened senior policymakers, diplomats, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs at AmaaniBagh for a high-level forum titled “Pakistan Pavilion DAVOS 2026: Experience, Lessons Learnt and Beyond.” Hosted by Ikram Sehgal, Co-Chairman, Pathfinder Group, the forum assessed the outcomes of Pakistan Pavilion Davos 2026 and outlined a structured roadmap to translate global visibility into measurable national gains through innovation diplomacy, startup internationalization, and expanded programming under Pathfinder CITADEL.
The Pakistan Pavilion Davos 2026 was inaugurated on January 21, 2026, in Davos, Switzerland, by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (#WEF26). The Pathfinder CITADEL Startup Showcase highlighted Pakistani founders operating in AI, fintech, health, climate, and education sectors.
“Pathfinder CITADEL is our escape-velocity engine—designed to defy economic gravity by transforming talent into jobs, startups into scale, and innovation into growth,” said Ikram Sehgal.
The first session opened with background remarks by Dr. Salma Malik, followed by AVM (Retd) Asad Ikram, President, Pathfinder CITADEL, who emphasized converting international exposure into tangible outcomes in digital exports, cross-border partnerships, and ecosystem development.
A Davos Experience Panel featured participating startups and CITADEL leadership, including Air Cdre (Retd) Khalid Banuri (Principal Advisor), Air Cdre (Retd) Farhan Ahmed (Project Director), and Imran Jattala (Vice President). Founders shared insights on investor engagement, partnership development, and global networking opportunities facilitated at Davos.
The session’s chief guest, HE Georg Steiner, Ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan, praised Pakistan’s expanding innovation footprint, noting that such platforms reflect the country’s growing integration into the global technology ecosystem.
The second session introduced the CITADEL Jeddah Startup Challenge 2026, to be organized in partnership with OIC-COMSTECH at the Pakistan Pavilion Jeddah during the WEF Spring Session in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on April 22–23, 2026.
Organizers reported receiving 337 startup applications for the Jeddah Challenge, including 56 from 16 countries, signaling growing international engagement in Pakistan-led innovation initiatives.
A key highlight of the Islamabad forum was a live pitching segment featuring startups from OIC countries—Waychit (Gambia), Arogga (Bangladesh), Bytecorp (Saudi Arabia), ReNile (Egypt), and Digital360 Sdn Bhd (Malaysia)—alongside Pakistani ventures including Nerdflow, Exambites (Netflix for Education), Digital Chotu, EcoGen, and LeObran Ltd (WeatherSense).
In his concluding remarks, HE Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General, OIC-COMSTECH, underscored the strategic importance of science, technology, and entrepreneurship in strengthening intra-OIC cooperation and driving shared economic development.
Closing the forum, Ikram Sehgal reaffirmed Pathfinder Group’s commitment to building a results-oriented bridge between Davos, Jeddah, and future global platforms prioritizing market access, investment pipelines, and cross-border collaboration over symbolic participation.
