In a bid to draw a mix of investors and mentors from India and Pakistan and promote the development of cross-border businesses, Indian Angel Network has called for applications under its unique Indo-Pak initiative called ‘Startup Dosti’ — The Cross-Border Business Plan Competition.

The programme is aimed at entrepreneurs and has been developed in partnership with the Karachi-London based SEED Ventures and the Washington DC-based Atlantic Council.  

The programme would give participants the opportunity to learn about incubation, mentorship, and investment from investors associated with the programme. 

The top five teams from India and Pakistan will be flown to Thailand where they will spend a week together and pitch to a cross-border panel of investors for the finals, with a chance to enter into on-the-spot negotiations and walk away with financing.

The competition is open to early-stage and concept stage start-ups from across verticals based in India and Pakistan. 

Padmaja Ruparel, President, Indian Angel Network said: “Startup Dosti will interconnect the entrepreneurial communities in India and Pakistan, creating a platform for exchange of ideas and mentoring.”

“Given the similarities in the market stages in India and Pakistan, entrepreneurs from both countries could look forward to assisted access to a significantly sized market in their neighbourhood. This would help drive economic growth in the region and build another track of seed/ early-stage ventures between India and Pakistan,” she added.

Startup Dosti is IAN’s second international initiative following the launch of Venture Engine in Sri Lanka last year to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in the country.

Indian Angel Network has close to 250 members and has funded nearly 60 start-ups across sectors including IT, mobile, healthcare and education, gaming, hospitality, semi-conductors across India and overseas.

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