Inside PakLaunch: How a WhatsApp Group Grew Into Pakistan's Premier Startup Platform

PakLaunch — founded by Aly Fahd in San Francisco on April 29, 2020 — has grown from a seven-person WhatsApp group into what the organisation calls Pakistan’s most influential startup ecosystem connector, facilitating over $120 million in funding and building a community of more than 400,000 members across 550 global events. Since launching its first UNconference in Palo Alto in June 2022, PakLaunch has staged editions in Dubai (January 2023), London (September 2023), Riyadh (March 2024 and November 2025), and Palo Alto again (October 2024). The most recent edition, UNconference’25.2 in Riyadh, brought together over 40 Pakistani startups and more than 80 venture capital firms, and featured industry leaders such as Dubizzle Group’s Imran Ali Khan, US Mobile’s Ahmed Khattak, and Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim.

On its event format, PakLaunch emphasizes participation: "no spectators allowed, only participants," the platform states — a reflection of its participant-driven UNconference model, where attendees collectively shape the agenda through collaborative proposals.

How the model works

The UNconference format favoured by PakLaunch removes traditional panel hierarchies and prioritises discussion, knowledge exchange and problem-solving. Sessions are proposed and run by participants, a method the organisation says cultivates "collective intelligence, active engagement, and organic learning" across sectors including fintech, SaaS, healthtech, AI and e-commerce.

• Founding and community: Launched during the pandemic as a WhatsApp group of seven friends, PakLaunch’s community expanded from roughly 300,000 members in late 2022 to over 400,000 today.
• Funding and credibility: The platform reports it has facilitated more than $120 million in funding, a track record that investors cited at recent events when praising the preparedness and credibility of startups emerging from the PakLaunch ecosystem.
• Investor engagement: UNconference’25.2 in Riyadh attracted over 80 venture capital firms and high-profile founders and executives, creating deeper investor-startup conversations than typical networking events, according to attendees.
• Support services: Beyond events, PakLaunch provides advisory services, training and fundraising assistance, and facilitates networking via group discussions and both virtual and in-person forums.

Outlook and next steps

PakLaunch has announced UNconference 2026 in Islamabad, powered by Bank Islami, scheduled for 29–30 April at the Serena Hotel, Islamabad. The invite-only event is positioned as a curated environment for direct connections with leading investors, founders and industry experts, with organisers highlighting opportunities for co-investment, strategic partnerships and business collaborations.

As PakLaunch continues to expand its roster of events and maintain an invite-only format, the platform aims to sustain focused, time-efficient investor engagement and to enable Pakistani startups to access capital and build credibility on international stages — including pathways to listings on foreign stock exchanges when the right support is in place.