Invest2Innovate (i2i) has opened up applications for their Accelerator Class of 2016-2017.
Lead by Kalsoom Lakhani, Invest2Innovate (i2i) is Pakistan’s leading social impact startup accelerator. Ever since their launch in 2011, their graduate startups have gone on to create 850+ jobs and raised more than $1 million in funding.
The selected startups go through a four-month program which runs from September to January. During this time period, the entrepreneurs get a lot of exposure by meeting industry personnel and receiving large amounts of business support. They also go through highly targeted sessions with skilled mentors on branding, financial management, operations and customer acquisition. At the end of the program, all teams pitch their ideas before investors at the Demo Day and are connected to other angel investors.
Like always, i2i is looking for startups who hope to make a social impact. You could have an idea along the lines of Transportation, Health, Education, Agriculture etc. In order to be eligible for selection you need to fulfil the following criteria:
- Founders must be available full-time on their venture in Pakistan.
- Businesses must create a positive social or environmental impact.
- Startups should be registered entities and have for-profit business models or have plans to become for-profit.
- Founders must show some traction with their product or service.
- Founders must be financially viable or have outlined plans to become viable in the next 3-5 years.
- Businesses must be seed-stage, seeking more than $100K – $200K in investment. Seeking investment is not compulsory.
Starting this year, Invest2Innovate will also be investing in the startups they select this year. All startups will receive a seed grant of around £10,000 to be used over the four months to grow their businesses and expand their impact. Apart from this investment, i2i Angels (their Angel Investor Community) also invests in startups they like.
If you think you have what it takes, and you’re interested in materializing your ideas, apply for i2i’s 5th Accelerator Class here. Applications are open till 10th June, 2016.
Note – Invest2Innovate’s CEO/Founder, Kalsoom Lakhani is doing an AMA with TechJuice on 16th May, 2016. Join the discussion today and post your questions!
