Kalsoom Lakhani (@kalsoom82) / X

Kalsoom Lakhani

46.5K posts

Kalsoom Lakhani

@kalsoom82

GP @i2i_ventures, Founder @Invest2Innovate. We invest in bold founders solving big probs in Pakistan. Mama to tiny human + pup. ARMY + Gooner 💜❤️🤍 she/her✌🏽

DC/PK/Airports

Joined March 2009

Pinned
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Apr 13
👋 friends. Some news: After 15 years of supporting & strengthening Pakistan's startup ecosystem, @Invest2Innovate , the org I founded in 2011, is shutting its doors and closing this chapter. (Just so it's clear 😅: @i2i_ventures, the VC fund I run w/ @MizNaQ, is still very much
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Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Feb 27, 2023
Hi Twitter fam, some news. A few days ago, I gave birth to a baby girl, 🧿🤍 & our lives are forever changed. I could state a million other cliches, but all I’ll say is that meeting her felt like meeting a soul I already knew. 🥹 Send good vibes, prayers & well wishes our way. 🤲🏽
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Apr 11, 2022
Shahbaz Sharif is new PM for Pakistan 🇵🇰. Am v apolitical (so don't @ me), but for those looking at startup space, reminder that Sharif did inaugurate Plan9 (provincial incubator) as part of Punjab Information Tech Board (PITB) back when he was CM, among other innovation efforts.
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Feb 3, 2021
So....no Zendaya for Euphoria, Michaela Coel for I May Destroy You, Jurnee Smollett for Lovecraft Country, but somehow Lily Collins gets a #GoldenGlobes nom for Emily in Paris, the most sub-par overhyped show of the year? Good job, HFPA. You're so 2021 right now.
GIF
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Apr 22, 2019
It is NEVER acceptable to ask a woman when she’s having kids. 1) it’s NONE of ur business. 2) you have NO idea if she CAN, is having difficulty or even wants to (gasp!!) have children. 3) her worth is > than her ability to bear children. Signed, Childless but Still Worthy Woman.
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Apr 10, 2021
I’ve been so critical of the PK govt & the need for reform for the Pakistan startup space over the past decade, so believe me when I say that @rezabaqir & his State Bank reforms has been a game-changer for the landscape. ✨
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Dec 15, 2021
Just to give you a sense of where 🇵🇰 Startup Space stands YTD 2021 compared to other years w/ how much $ startups have raised: 2019: $47M 2020: $65M 2021: > $320M Effectively, 2021 is 3x of 2019 + 2020 combined & we still have 16 days to go until Jan 1. 🚀 (More breakdown soon!)
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Oct 28, 2022
1/It was my 10 year wedding anniversary yesterday (🧿). I’m by no means an expert on marriage, but having hit at least *this* milestone, the only thing I’d say is: marry someone u *like* as much as u love. Weddings are a blast (mine was), but marriage is HARD — it requires/
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Jan 3, 2022
1/ Happy 2022, friends! Here's @Invest2Innovate's end of year graphic. In 2021, Pakistani 🇵🇰 startups raised $350M via 81 deals, > 5X of what was raised in all of 2020 ($65M). To benchmark, Bangladeshi 🇧🇩 startups raised $166M & Nigerian startups raised > $1B (!) in 2021🇳🇬
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Aug 6, 2019
Today, we *officially* announce the launch of i2i Ventures, a $15M female-founded VC fund for #Pakistan. We also announce our 1st (!) investment into Mauqa.online. I write about our journey to this point via @Medium: medium.com/@kalsoom82/cha…
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Nov 15, 2023
Can someone please explain to me the Pakistan government's mind numbing & relentless obsession with bringing Paypal to Pakistan? Why is this the beacon of hope vs fixing the infrastructure necessary to improve payments in the country?
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Dec 26, 2021
1/ It’s Christmas today, but it’s also The birthday of Jinnah, aka Quaid I Azam, aka considered the founder of Pakistan. This is a photo my khala (aunt) found of my grandfather (my Nana) taken with Jinnah just before the 1947 Partition. My nana worked in the civil service/
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Sep 25, 2022
I turned 40 today. 🎉 I’ve never been weird abt getting older — my laugh lines are a mark of so much joy, my grey streak (a la X-Men’s Rogue 👩🏽‍🦳) means I’ve lived & learned, my scars (inside & out) are worn w/ pride, remnants of “that time I…”. Here’s to the next decade. ✌🏽
Kalsoom Lakhani
@kalsoom82
Mar 1, 2022
Sadness & anger can exist in multitudes, not in binary terms. I can feel sad for the ppl of Ukraine AND upset abt hypocrisy in coverage of other conflicts like Afghanistan & Palestine that lacks the same empathy. I have room for all those feelings & so do you.