ISLAMABAD, Oct 22 (APP):The three-day YES Pakistan: Young CEOs, Entrepreneurs & Innovators Summit, Expo & Awards 2026 concluded at Bahria University Islamabad, with a strong call to empower youth through entrepreneurship and innovation for sustainable economic growth.
Federal Minister for Investment and Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI), Mr. Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, emphasised the importance of empowering young people through entrepreneurship, innovation, and opportunities to establish their own businesses.
He appreciated the initiative for bringing academia, industry, government, and aspiring entrepreneurs together on a common platform and stressed that such events should be organised more frequently to nurture entrepreneurial talent, encourage innovative thinking, and contribute to Pakistan’s economic growth.
YES Pakistan Founder Murtaza Noor outlined the initiative’s objectives and summarized the three-day activities. He said YES Pakistan is committed to promoting youth entrepreneurship, strengthening university-industry collaboration, connecting startups with investors and business leaders, and supporting business incubation.
He said the platform provides practical opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs through entrepreneurial workshops, pitching activities, leadership dialogues, panel discussions, an innovation expo and the YES Pakistan Awards.
A key session “Bridging Generations: An Intergenerational Dialogue on Entrepreneurial Challenges & Opportunities” featured Taha Sawar, Dr. Awais Mahmood, Wasim Irshad, CEO Tangent Tech, and Ibrahim Saeed, CEO Techma Labs, discussing mentorship and collaboration between seasoned leaders and youth.
Another major dialogue “Bridging Academia, Finance & Industry: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Pakistan” brought together former AJ&K President Sardar Masood Khan, SBP Chief Manager Rizwan Shamsi, HEC Member R&D Prof. Dr. Habib Bokhari, Dr. Afsheen Zeeshan, IPO Chairman Dr. Hafiz Aziz ur Rehman and Air University VC Air Marshal (Retd) Abdul Moeed Khan. The panel stressed access to finance, research commercialization and IP protection.
A major attraction was the innovation expo featuring over 30 stalls from universities across Pakistan including Gilgit-Baltistan, with participation from Air University, Riphah International University and Aror University.
The summit concluded with prize distribution and YES Pakistan Awards recognizing entrepreneurial achievement.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
