Davos Startup Challenge 2027: 20 Startups Picked to Pitch at WEF

Pathfinder CITADEL has selected 20 startups from Pakistan and other OIC countries to pitch at the Pakistan Pavilion during the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2027. The picks were unveiled on 11 November 2026 at the closing ceremony of the Davos Startup Challenge 2027 in Islamabad, after a competition that drew 617 applications. The aim is to put young companies in front of international investors, corporations and policymakers at one of the world’s best-known business gatherings.

What happened at the Islamabad ceremony?

The national event and culmination ceremony took place at Amaani Bagh in Islamabad and was organised by Pathfinder CITADEL, the innovation and training arm of Pakistan’s Pathfinder Group. According to reports published by Daily The Patriot, The Pakistan Times and The Nation between 11 and 14 November, the competition moved through several stages:

Stage	Startups
Applications received	617
Shortlisted after first review	34
Reached the final pitch round	28
Selected for Davos	20

Air Cdre (retd) Farhan Ahmed, project director and COO of Pathfinder CITADEL, announced the selected startups. The published reports did not list their names, so PFM Today has not been able to confirm which companies made the cut.

Switzerland’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Stéphane Rey, attended as chief guest with Deputy Head of Mission Anne Matter. Austria’s Ambassador Wolfgang Kutschera, P@SHA chairman Dr Shoab A. Khan and Zayn VC founder and CEO Faisal Aftab were guests of honour, and Aftab led a session on how founders should pitch to investors. Selected startups received certificates from the Swiss ambassador and Pathfinder leaders.

Who could enter, and what do the winners get?

Pathfinder CITADEL opened applications in early September, with a deadline of 30 September 2026, according to DealBeat. The call was open to startups from Pakistan and other Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states and covered a wide list of sectors, including AI, fintech, healthtech, edtech, agritech, climate tech, cybersecurity, deep tech and aerospace.

The prize is not cash. Instead, the 20 startups get a slot at the Pakistan Pavilion during the WEF meeting, where Pathfinder Group has hosted the Pakistan Breakfast and Pakistan Pavilion for about two decades. Daily The Patriot reports that the WEF meeting runs from 18 to 22 January 2027 and that the startup showcase is planned for 20 and 21 January at the Morosani Posthotel in Davos.

This year’s edition also has an international angle. The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), a multilateral body focused on the digital economy, is a partner and ran a dedicated DCO Track aimed at founders from the Global South.

What did speakers say?

Pathfinder CITADEL president and CEO AVM (retd) Asad Ikram spoke about building an innovation ecosystem that can turn Pakistan’s entrepreneurial potential into competitive businesses. A panel titled “From Pakistan to Davos” brought together Imran Jattala, Pathfinder CITADEL’s chief strategy officer, and Mohib Mirza and Fawad Hassan Khan, founders of AI Team Force, which pitched at Davos in January 2026.

In his closing remarks, Pathfinder Group co-chairman Ikram Sehgal said Pakistan’s presence on global platforms “must go beyond visibility”, calling for real business ties, investment and partnerships, according to The Pakistan Times.

How did last year’s challenge go?

The previous edition was smaller. TechJuice reported in December 2025 that more than 200 applicants were narrowed to seven Pakistani startups for the Davos 2026 pavilion: Edversity, Vector AI, Swich, EKKO, AI Team Force, Edkasa and AiBL. That edition was run with P@SHA, the Pakistan Software Houses Association.

At least one of those companies has since raised money. Edversity, an AI-powered education platform, took a $400,000 strategic investment from Rapidev Group in the third quarter of 2026, according to i2i Ventures data on our Pakistan Startup Funding Tracker. That does not mean Davos caused the deal, but it shows the kind of company the challenge has backed.

Why it matters

Pakistani startups have had a thin funding year. Total disclosed funding stood at $133.7 million across 10 deals by the end of the third quarter of 2026, according to i2i Ventures, with a single fintech round making up most of the third quarter’s total. In that climate, programmes that open doors to foreign investors and corporate partners carry more weight for early-stage founders.

Growing from 200-plus to 617 applications, and from seven to 20 picks, suggests rising interest from founders, helped by opening the competition to the wider OIC region. The real test will be what happens after January: whether pitches in Davos turn into partnerships, pilots or funding rounds. It follows other recent signs of Pakistani startups seeking global stages, such as RLabs winning an award at Plug and Play’s Silicon Valley summit.

What happens next?

The 20 startups now prepare for the showcase in Davos on 20 and 21 January 2027. PFM Today will report the full list of selected companies once Pathfinder CITADEL publishes it.