The Founder Institute, the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, announced today that it is officially launching its newest chapter in Lahore. While the Silicon-Valley based program has chapters in over 200 cities worldwide, early-stage entrepreneurs in Lahore can finally now take advantage of the Founder Institute's renowned structure, mentor support, and network to build an enduring company.
Applications to the first ever Lahore Founder Institute are now open, and anyone interested in building a technology company can apply at FI.co/apply/lahore.
The Founder Institute provides high-potential entrepreneurs and teams with the support network and structured growth process needed to get to traction and funding.
Since 2009, the Founder Institute has helped over 7,500 Alumni raise over $1.85BN funding, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more (see the FI 10 Year Impact Report here).
To celebrate the launch, the Founder Institute will host several free startup events in Lahore, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program:
- Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
The experts that have been critical in bringing the Founder Institute to Lahore include local startup leaders Meer Anwar (Vice President, LMKT Pvt. Ltd), Sayyed Ahmad Masud (Director, Change Mechanics Pvt Ltd), Umair Sheikh (Founder & CEO, Innovate47).
Opportunities are flourishing in Lahore. There's now a great ecosystem for entrepreneurs - from crowdfunding platforms to co-working spaces. The Founder Institute can increase an aspiring technology entrepreneur's chance of success by providing the necessary skills and mindset - and a link to the Silicon Valley!
In addition, many of the region's top founders, CEOs, advisors, and investors have signed on to mentor new entrepreneurs in the Lahore Virtual 2020 Founder Institute program, including:
- Adnan Lotia: COO, TELLOTALK
- Ahmed Khan: Founder, Cheetay.pk
- Ahmed Ayub: Co-Founder, Airlift
- Ahmed Hamdhan: CEO, Decrypted Solution
- Ali Mukhtar: CEO, Fatima Ventures
- Altaf Qureshi: CEO, Co Founder and Barrister, Wukla and Paksign
- Asad Warraich: Co-Founder, Naturals
- Bilal Mumtaz: Director, Apothecare Pvt Ltd
- Dr.Farrah Arif: Founder & CEO, EDTechWorx
- Faisal Sherjan: Managing Partner, Sustainanl Advisoy LLP
- Faizan Aslam: CEO, Bookme PVt Ltd
- Farhan Zakir: Deputy CEO , Zong
- Fouad Bajwa: CEO and Co-Founder, Digital Dera Pvt Ltd. and Agriculture Republic Pakistan
- Hamayun Mazhar: CEO, CresVentures
- Iftikhar Shahid: CoFounder, Absolute Solutions, BinRasheed Technologies
- Imtiaz Khalid: CEO, Multitek Marketing
- Kamran Niazi: Economic Growth Specialist, USAID / Pakistan
- Kashif Akram: CEO, Tecnomics
- Khurram Samad: Founder, GenITeam
- Mahnoor Anwar: Legal Advisor, National Incubation Center Lahore
- Meer Anwar: Director FI Pakistan, Director General BISP, CoFounder uMetaStadium
- Muhammad Reza: Co-Founder , Baby Planet
- Omar Shah: CEO, COLABS
- Sadaf Zarrar: Founder, SiddySays
- Saqif Hafiz: Director - Head of Enterprise Infrastructure Projects, Afiniti
- Sohaib Rahman: Founder, MedCoffee
- Suneel Sarfraz Munj: Chairman, Pakwheels
- Umer Hussain: CEO, Sweet Tooth Pakistan
- Yusuf Hussain: COO, Habib Bank Ltd
- Zeeshan Qureshi: CMO, QMobile (DigiCom)
- Zohaib Ali: Founding Member, Airlift
- And many more to be announced.
The Founder Institute is designed for founders and teams all throughout the pre-seed stage, including aspiring founders with a full-time job, solo founders, teams, and founders of established companies that are pre-funding. The organization's mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and build sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.
Join us in Lahore to build a great company in 2020.
Apply to the Lahore Virtual 2020 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
