Green Innovation Centre opens at Karakoram International University

The Centre for Green Innovation has been formally inaugurated at Karakoram International University in Gilgit, creating a dedicated space for green entrepreneurship and locally driven innovation in Gilgit-Baltistan. Accelerate Prosperity, an Aga Khan Development Network initiative, and KIU opened the EU-funded centre to help entrepreneurs, students and emerging businesses develop answers to the region's environmental and economic challenges, Pamir Times reported.

The inauguration was attended by European Union Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis, KIU Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Abdul Razaq, Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan CEO Akhtar Iqbal and Accelerate Prosperity Country Director Zahir Sakhi, along with partner organisations and members of the local innovation ecosystem.

The centre offers co-working space and a platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange and enterprise development. It is intended to let innovators test ideas, reach expertise, build networks and find routes to commercialisation and growth. Its work brings together Accelerate Prosperity's experience in entrepreneurship development, business support and investment readiness with KIU's academic and innovation resources.

According to the report, the centre's focus areas line up closely with conditions facing Gilgit-Baltistan, including energy access and efficiency, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, natural resource management and sustainable economic development. The Centre for Green Innovation will work on locally relevant solutions in these areas.

Accelerate Prosperity said the centre would also strengthen links between innovation, entrepreneurship and investment so promising concepts can move beyond the idea stage into viable businesses with wider impact. The organisation, part of the AKDN, supports small and growing businesses in Pakistan through business development, mentorship, market linkages and access to finance.

The launch reflects a shared effort by Accelerate Prosperity and KIU to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Gilgit-Baltistan and open more opportunities for young people and local businesses to contribute to the region's sustainable economic development. As it begins work, the centre will function as a meeting point for entrepreneurs, students, innovators, institutions and ecosystem partners, the organisers said.