Pakistan’s Chiragh Education Technologies managed to beat 17 other startups to secure 1st place and $10,000 at the first-ever A-Hub Grand finals in Rabat, Morocco.
The Islamic World Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in partnership with New Space Innovation, named Katalyst Labs as the national leader for A-Hub in Pakistan. A-Hub is a global accelerator that aims to support 150+ technologically innovative companies in member states by 2025.
On the occasion, the Founder and CEO of Chiragh, Maira Siddiqui, stated:
I’ve been chanting a self-made mantra since I started Chiragh in Jan’22 ‘If you have good intentions, set sail for your journey, Allah will open doors for you himself’. After 11 months of sweat, tears, and hustle, Alhamdulillah I can finally see this mantra materializing and I’m so thankful to Allah and every individual who supports me along this Journey.
Shed added, “Just representing Pakistan in Morocco was such an honor for me and actually winning ICESCO’s International pitch fest takes it to the next level where Chiragh and I have a stamp of international validity, it’s the big leagues now. I’m ecstatic to see the doors this will open for us, getting me closer to actualizing my dream of a Parha Likha Pakistan”.
Katalyst Labs designed and implemented the program keeping in mind the immediate goals of early-stage startups. The Founder and CEO of the organization, Jehan Ara, was in attendance at the Grand Finals to support their startups and had this to say about the importance of the win:
Becoming the national lead for A-Hub was a privilege for us at Katalyst Labs and seeing one of our cohort founders take home first prize was truly rewarding for myself and our programs team at home. It was with great pride that I watched all 3 of our founders pitch their startup businesses and handle questions from the jury with confidence and professionalism. Participation is not just about winning, it is about projecting the strong image of the Pakistani startup ecosystem and the solutions that young people are coming up with. It is also about networking and connecting with people from all the countries that are present. The delegation from Pakistan did just that.
She further stated, “At Katalyst Labs, our goal was always to highlight the exceptional startup potential in Pakistan and I hope through initiatives like A-hub, we can keep doing that!”
The three startups that made it through Katalyst Labs’ A-Hub National pitchfest to pitch to an international panel of investors were Porter Pakistan, Airnex, and Chiragh Education Technologies. The Pakistanis were joined in competition by a number of exceptional startups from Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria.
Each member state ran a 3-month accelerator, putting their respective cohorts through their paces. 3 startups were chosen by each member state at the end of the program to pitch at the grand finals in Morocco.
Chiragh Education Technologies is an Edtech empowering the masses with gamified and video-based learning that covers the curriculums from nursery to grade 5, not only in English but also in indigenous Pakistani languages.
