Kalsoom Lakhani
Kals received her M.A. in International Affairs with a focus in Conflict Resolution from The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. She holds a B.A. in Foreign Affairs and Middle East Studies from the University of Virginia. She jokes that as a VC, she uses her Conflict Resolution/mediation background way more than she ever imagined.
Kals grew up as a third culture kid (TCK) -- she was born in Dubai, and grew up in Bangladesh and then Pakistan to a Bangladeshi mom and a Pakistani dad before moving to the U.S. for university when she was 18. Aside from her work hat, she's a mom to a 2 year old girl (Nia) and a 13 year old pup (Rosie), is an avid traveler, voraciously devours content (films, tv shows, podcasts & books) and then shares her fave recommendations via a monthly Substack, and is a diehard supporter of Arsenal FC. She also is the podcast host/creator of The Comparable, a series that looks at two startups building similar solutions in different emerging markets each episode.
Kals is the Co-founder & General Partner at i2i Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund for Pakistan, and the country’s first female-founded VC fund, which opened its doors in 2019. She is also the Founder of Invest2Innovate, i2i Ventures' sister entity, which she launched in 2011 to support and unleash the potential of young entrepreneurs in growth markets like Pakistan. Invest2Innovate launched Pakistan's first startup accelerator in 2012, and has since supported 1000+ startups and trained 250+ incubators and accelerators in the region. She has trained young entrepreneurs, changemakers, and civil society leaders in countries like Kosovo, Nepal, Cambodia, Ireland, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, and has spoken at numerous venues, including the World Economic Forum, Aspen Ideas Festival, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. State Department, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and SXSW. In 2022, she was selected for the RoW100, Rest of World's inaugural list of 100 Global Tech Changemakers.