Invest2Innovate (i2i) is an ecosystem-building organization and early-stage venture catalyst headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded in 2011 by Kalsoom Lakhani, the entity operates with a core focus on fostering resilient, inclusive, and scalable entrepreneurship across Pakistan and emerging growth markets.
Since its inception, Invest2Innovate has played a foundational role in shaping Pakistan’s venture landscape by combining direct founder support, startup acceleration, data research, digital product development, and policy advocacy. The organization centers its efforts on three foundational pillars: Innovation, Inclusion, and Entrepreneurship. Through its network, i2i has supported hundreds of founders, facilitated over $16 million in capital raised, trained over 1,100 entrepreneurs, and strengthened nearly 200 ecosystem support organizations.
Core Pillars of Activity
Invest2Innovate operates across several distinct verticals to address systemic gaps in growth markets:
1. Programs and Startup Acceleration
i2i designs and executes customized acceleration programs, bootcamps, and coaching tracks tailored to local economic realities and stage-specific founder needs.
i2iScale: A bespoke 12-week online growth accelerator aimed at post-revenue startups seeking to scale operations, raise investment, or expand internationally. The program provides 1:1 tailored coaching, domain-specific expert consultations, and direct connections to regional and global investors.
WeRaise: A fundraise-readiness coaching initiative specifically engineered for women-led startups in Pakistan. Built to address the disparity in venture funding received by female founders, WeRaise equips women entrepreneurs with deal-closing strategies, valuation guidance, and investor access.
Venture Spark4Her: A capacity-building and ecosystem development initiative co-designed with international partners like the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank. The initiative strengthens Ecosystem Support Organizations (ESOs), incubators, and accelerators across South Asia and the Middle East to help them integrate gender-intentional frameworks into their investment and support programs.
InvestLab: An investor training and community-building program focused on activating angel capital in secondary and tertiary markets. It trains local professionals, doctors, industrialists, and tech experts on early-stage startup valuation, syndicate investing, and deal structuring.
2. Research and Insights (i2i Insights Lab)
The Insights Lab functions as i2i’s dedicated intelligence unit, delivering primary data and analytical reports on Pakistan's tech and startup economy.
Ecosystem Landscape Reports: Comprehensive national and provincial deep dives evaluating startup funding trends, regulatory bottlenecks, sectoral growth, and infrastructure challenges.
Quarterly Funding Updates: Regular tracking and reporting of deal flow, capital deployment, investment stages, and investor participation in the Pakistani ecosystem.
Briefings and Policy Papers: Analytical papers highlighting critical ecosystem themes, such as gender-lens investing, mobility trends, and capital bridge mechanisms.
3. Digital Products and Ecosystem Tools
To resolve market fragmentation and access barriers, i2i builds proprietary digital platforms and practical toolkits:
Pakistan Deal Flow Tracker (DFT): A data platform designed to maintain transparency around early-stage investments, round sizes, and sector distributions.
Pakistan Founder & Investor Portals: Tools that connect startups directly with prospective angel syndicates, institutional funds, and advisory networks.
Toolkits and Playbooks: Practical guides covering startup governance, pitch deck creation, financial modeling, and fundraise readiness for early-stage teams.
4. Community Convenings and Policy Advocacy
i2i acts as a central hub for ecosystem stakeholders, organizing founder roundtables, investor summits, and policy dialogues. The organization actively collaborates with corporate partners, government entities, and international donor organizations to advocate for tax reforms, regulatory sandboxes, and foreign direct investment policies that favor technology startups.
Venture Capital Arm: i2i Ventures
In addition to its ecosystem and accelerator programs, the leadership of Invest2Innovate co-founded i2i Ventures, an institutional seed-stage venture capital fund dedicated to backing technology and tech-enabled startups in Pakistan.
Investment Strategy
Target Stage: Seed and pre-seed companies demonstrating product-market fit and post-revenue metrics.
Sector Focus: Sector-agnostic, with strong representation in fintech, logtech, e-commerce, healthtech, edtech, and agritech.
Value Add: Portfolio companies receive hands-on strategic assistance, technical support, direct market research from i2i Insights, and talent acquisition assistance.
Notable Portfolio Companies
Abhi: Earned wage access and financial wellness platform for employees.
CreditBook: Financial ledger and digital management app for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Oraan: Women-focused fintech platform driving financial inclusion through digital savings groups.
Safepay: Digital payment processing platform for online merchants.
Edkasa: Mobile exam preparation app serving secondary school students across Pakistan.
Rider: Tech-enabled last-mile logistics and e-commerce delivery provider.
Key Focus Areas
Invest2Innovate aligns its initiatives around primary impact themes:
Capital Mobilization: Channeling both international institutional capital and domestic angel investments into high-potential ventures.
Gender Lens & Inclusion: Intentional focus on reducing the funding gap for female founders and improving gender inclusion across intermediary organizations.
