Pakistani founders are heading to Lisbon this week for Web Summit 2026, one of the world’s largest technology gatherings, in a delegation led by Lahore-based 92 Startups and Layyah-based SouthLabs. The summit runs from 9 to 12 November at the MEO Arena and the FIL exhibition centre, and the Pakistani group will spend the four days pitching investors and building European partnerships.
Alongside the main conference, the delegation will host an evening at the Embassy of Pakistan in Lisbon, where founders will present their companies to European investors. It is a rare chance for early-stage Pakistani companies to be seen by the people who fund startups across Europe.
A Pakistani delegation heads for Lisbon
The 2026 edition in Lisbon is expected to bring together more than 70,000 attendees, over 900 speakers, more than 2,300 startups and over 1,200 investors, with the opening night on Monday 9 November followed by three exhibition days.
The Pakistani delegation is a cohort of emerging tech ventures working across artificial intelligence, cloud software, e-commerce and sustainable agriculture. Two startup organisations are co-leading the trip: 92 Startups from Lahore, a venture builder that guides early-stage founders through incubation, mentorship and investor readiness, and SouthLabs from Layyah in South Punjab, an incubator building AI and agri-tech solutions outside the big cities.
Who is leading the trip
The delegation is co-led by two experienced ecosystem builders. Abdullah Ramzan will lead operations on the ground in Lisbon. Born in Layyah, he is the founder and chief executive of TorontoDigits and chapter director of Startup Grind Layyah, and he has organised regional tech events including the Layyah startup pavilion at Indus AI Week in Islamabad. In Lisbon he will coordinate founder showcases and set up direct meetings with international investors.
Emraan Cheema is the co-lead and chief executive of 92 Startups. With more than 11 years of experience in software-as-a-service and product development, he has founded or co-founded ventures including Zemotify, CubeWP, Cridio Studio and NEXTWP, and he focuses on incubation, coaching and investor readiness for early-stage founders.
The startups to watch
The delegation covers a wide spread of Pakistani tech. Texnity, an official WhatsApp Business API provider and Meta Business Partner, offers one inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email, with automation and AI agents for online stores. Dilkibaat is an AI-powered behavioural health platform built for South Asian communities, while Shopignitor is an AI e-commerce platform that builds a complete online store from a single text prompt. Kourify provides an operating system for managing cash-on-delivery e-commerce — a model that still dominates online shopping in Pakistan — and Natural Earth Food is a sustainable agri-tech venture connecting fresh produce supply chains with digital tools, rooted in South Punjab’s farm economy.
The software side includes SEO Repair Kit, which automatically finds and fixes search engine problems; Zemoworks, which builds intelligence tools into daily work; and CubeWP Sites, Ovee Labs and Nexbrin, all product and software development firms. Encore Digital is a digital transformation consultancy, H3 Technologies provides custom enterprise software and mobile apps, and Vertical Guild builds custom AI products and autonomous agents for specific business workflows.
Pakistan Startup Connect at the embassy
A central highlight of the trip is Pakistan Startup Connect, an evening event organised with the Embassy of Pakistan in Lisbon. The programme includes welcome remarks, short pitch presentations from delegation founders, a panel discussion titled “Building Bridges: Pakistan x Europe”, and investor networking over dinner.
The goal of the evening is straightforward: connect Pakistani founders with European venture capital, diaspora investors and market partners. For founders who usually pitch over video calls from Lahore or Layyah, a room full of investors in Lisbon is a very different opportunity.
A bigger Pakistani presence at the summit
The delegation is part of a wider Pakistani presence at Web Summit 2026. The Pakistan Software Export Board is leading an official pavilion featuring 17 IT and software services companies, according to the delegation’s announcement, while the Pakistan Tech Forum is also leading a business delegation to Lisbon.
Why the trip matters
The timing is good for Pakistan’s tech sector. Pakistan’s IT exports touched a record $4.6 billion in FY2025-26, up 21%, and the country’s startups are increasingly looking beyond local customers for growth. Earlier this year, Pakistani health-tech startup Byonyks reached the Startup World Cup grand finale in San Francisco with a $1 million prize at stake, showing that Pakistani founders can compete on global stages.
But exports and prizes are only part of the story. Startups also need foreign capital, overseas customers and partners who can open doors in new markets — and that is exactly what a week in Lisbon is for. SouthLabs’ role carries its own message: tech talent in Pakistan is growing beyond Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, in smaller cities like Layyah.
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