Sadaffe Abid, Founder & CEO – CIRCLE (standing 6th from left), Saima Rana – Head of Operations – LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship (standing 5th from left), Saba Rashid – Lead Partnerships and Projects – LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship (standing 2nd from right), Areen Shahid, Strategic and Innovation Manager – CIRCLE Women (standing 4th from right), Komal Waheed, Co-lead – She Loves Tech (1st from left), Noor Afshan, Co-lead – She Loves Tech (2nd from left) at the final round of She Loves Tech 2023.
The leading non-profit tech startup organization CIRCLE Women Association, in collaboration with the LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship, successfully concluded the She Loves Tech Lahore Round competition. The winners – Hira Fari (CEO, TB AI), Sadaf Rehman (CEO, Code Rehman), and Arooba Tayyab (The EPO) – will now compete in the national finals in August against other city round winners, with the ultimate goal of reaching the She Loves Tech South Asian Regional Round.
CIRCLE Women, dedicated to empowering women in Pakistan through technology and entrepreneurship, brought She Loves Tech to the country in 2017. She Loves Tech is a global platform and the world’s largest women-led startup competition, currently operating in over 80 countries. It provides crucial opportunities for women in tech to showcase their ideas, connect with industry leaders, and gain valuable mentorship.
This year’s Lahore round saw a record number of high-quality applications, with a majority of startups demonstrating strong tech integration. This led to a challenging selection process, resulting in 15 shortlisted startups.
“With Pakistan ranking low on the gender gap index and only 1% of entrepreneurs being women, She Loves Tech Pakistan plays a vital role in supporting women-led tech startups,” said Sadaffe Abid, Founder and CEO of CIRCLE Women. “We aim to inspire women and girls to pursue their tech dreams and contribute to a more inclusive and successful nation.”
The event also featured an insightful panel discussion with Dr. Sheharyar Shahid (LUMS), Ms. Sadad Tajammal (TiE Lahore), and Sadaffe Abid (CIRCLE Women), moderated by Samia Rana (LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship). Esteemed guests like Ahsan Chugtai (CIRCLE Women), Farid Malik (NBP), Nusrat Jamil (Latitude), and Zeeshan Zia Raja (American Lycetuff) further enriched the event with their presence and encouragement.
The 2024 She Loves Tech Pakistan competition will culminate in a national finale in August, where 10 women-led tech startups from across the country will present their innovative ideas to a distinguished panel of judges.
