September 2022: The Ministry for Information Technology and Telecom (MoITT) and Ignite National Technology Fund launched their 6th National Incubation Center (NIC) in Hyderabad. Federal Minister for IT & Telecom, Syed Amin-Ul-Haque, inaugurated the state-of-the-art Incubation Center in Hyderabad which is being managed by PTCL in partnership with LMKT. The event started with a visit to the NIC where all startups briefed IT Minister about their ideas and products. This was followed by a launch ceremony which featured a documentary on Ignite’s incubation program, thoughts from incubated startups, as well as speeches from Vice Chancellor, University of Sindh, Chief Business Officer, PTCL, CEO Ignite, Member IT and Minister IT. In his address, CEO Ignite stated that NIC Hyderabad has inducted a very diverse cohort of startups from different verticals including agritech, edtech, greentech, blockchain, AI and cybersecurity & that the NIC will be a game changer for Hyderabad’s tech ecosystem. Ignite has established National Incubation Centers (NICs) in seven cities of Pakistan so far. The goal of these incubators is to incubate and boost early stage startups through revenue generation and fund raising. NIC startups have generated cumulative revenue of more than Rs. 9.1 billion and raised funding of more than $74 million so far. Some success stories include Bykea, Pakvitae, MyTM, Integry, Digikhata, Ezbike, EncorePay and Farmdar.
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“The establishment of NIC in Hyderabad will be a revolutionary step for the youth of Hyderabad and its surrounding rural and urban areas by leveraging technology to incubate new exciting startups.”
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Federal Minister for IT & Telecom, Syed Amin-Ul-Haque
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Ignite Participates in 21st ITCN Asia with 14 Exciting Start-ups
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August 2022: Ignite National Technology Fund participated in 21st ITCN Asia with fourteen exciting startups from different National Incubation Centers. ITCN Asia Information Technology & Telecom Show was held at Expo Center Karachi. Chief Guest for the opening ceremony was Syed Amin-ul-Haque, Federal Minister for IT & Telecom. Ignite’s pavilion featuring many diverse startups attracted the attention of visitors from industry and public. Startups included The Natural Fibers Company (Textile, NIC Quetta), Zaibtaan (Ecommerce, NIC Quetta), Mixeal (Virtual Reality, NIC Hyderabad), AgriDuniya (Agritech, NIC Hyderabad), Aprus (HealthTech, NIC Peshawar), Milkify (Agritech, NIC Lahore), Parwaaz-e-Umeed (EdTech, NIC Lahore), YPay (FinTech, NIC Karachi), HealthSolutions (HealthTech, NIC Karachi), Asaani.io (Cleantech, NIC Karachi), HarKaam (Services, NIC Karachi), Khaalis (AgriTech, NIC Islamabad), Orbit Ed (Edtech), and Optera (Transmedia).
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“Ignite has been providing both local and international networking platforms to our startups to pitch their business ideas and products to local and international customers and investors.”
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Asim Shahryar Husain, CEO Ignite
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Ignite in collaboration with Google and IRM launches Google Career Certification Program
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September 2022: Ignite, National Technology Fund signed a memorandum of understanding with Institute of Rural Management (IRM) for outreach of Google Career Certification program to underserved areas. The MoU was signed by Asim Shahryar Husain, CEO Ignite and Dr. Roomi Hayat, CEO IRM. Grow with Google has equipped tens of thousands of Pakistanis with free access to training courses, tools, products, and programs ever since 2020. In the first phase, Google in collaboration with Ignite and IRM launched a brand-new Google Career Certificates program for 15,000 scholarships in Pakistan. More than 11,500 enrollments have been completed so far. The program is designed to make the Pakistani youth job-ready and to equip them with in demand tech skills including project management, data analytics, UX design, digital marketing and e-commerce etc.
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Digital Pakistan Cybersecurity Hackathon 2022 Launched
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September 2022: After the overwhelming success of Digital Pakistan Cybersecurity Hackathon 2021, Ignite launched 2nd Digital Pakistan Cybersecurity Hackathon 2022 in September. This will provide an open opportunity for cybersecurity professionals, students and hacktivists to prove their mettle to become national champs. Hands-on training workshops are being conducted in multiple cities including Sukkur, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, Peshawar and Islamabad. Hackathon qualifier rounds will be conducted in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad. This will be followed by a grand-finale and the winners will be awarded cash awards of Rs. 6 Million. The hackathon will help both public and private sector organizations in identifying new cybersecurity talent in the country.
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Speed Programming Competition Challenging the Geeks of Balochistan
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September 2022: To motivate the IT graduates of Balochistan, Ignite launched Challenging the Geeks of Balochistan (CGB) competition for the first time which was a provincial competition in which teams of startups, computer science/engineering students, professionals (beginners, mid-careers) and freelancers from Balochistan competed against each other to solve different programming assignments within a prescribed time span. CGB is a team-based programming competition which fosters problem-solving, programming and team work skills amongst the participants. Mock rounds were conducted on the first day of the event followed by the actual competition on the second day. Cash prizes to the top 3 teams were given by Ignite.
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STAR STARTUPS OF NIC PROGRAM
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NIC Lahore Startup ‘Pakvitae’ Collaborates to Help Provide 150 Million Liters of Clean Water to the Flood Affectees
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September 2022: Pakvitae, an alumnus of National Incubation Center Lahore, is a startup that builds tap-sized water treatment plants for households. These devices are called “EveryWater Purifier” which house thousands of individual hollow fiber-based ultrafiltration membranes, each of which is equivalent to a 3-stage ultrafilter. It converts low TDS (Total Dissloved Solids) water into 99.99% purified drinking water for every 10,000 liters filtered. It has been priced at under $25 per device and works for 2 years for a 6-member family. It is off-grid, portable and easy to install and maintain.
PakVitae recently collaborated with National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Hashoo Foundation and Asifa-Irfan Foundation to help provide 150 Million liters of clean water to the flood affectees. During this drive, they hit their mark of selling 100,000 devices within the first 6 weeks.
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NIC Islamabad Startup ‘ImInclusive’ wins the SHE NEXT Grant Program worth $10,000
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ImInclusive.com is MENA's premium Career Matching App between People of Determination and Inclusive Employers. Recently, UAE – Visa, the world's leader in digital payments, announced ImInclusive, a startup from NIC Islamabad as one of the winners of its She's Next grant program which comes with a US $10,000 grant and one year of business coaching from IFundWomen to help their business grow and expand. They were also recognized by Forbes Middle East, Dubai Businesswomen Council (DBWC), TIE Dubai and more. The startup is quickly becoming MENA's top go to platform for equity, inclusion and social justice in employment for all especially the disabled community.
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NIC Peshawar Startup ‘BizB’ attends Acceleration Program for Women Entrepreneurs
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NIC Peshawar’s 5th Cohort Startup BizB attended APWE Acceleration Program for Women Entrepreneurs as part of an exchange program supported by the US Embassy Pakistan, TiE Islamabad Chapter & TiE Global.
Making fashion sustainable and accessible to women has been the main goal of BizB. It is also setting an example for women by starting a movement where fashion is accessible for everyone, even for low income women.
Making fashion sustainable and accessible to women has been the main goal of BizB. It is also setting an example for women by starting a movement where fashion is accessible for everyone, even for low income women.
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Ayesha Amin from NIC Hyderabad inducted in UN Women 30 for 2030 Network
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Baithak, a startup of NIC Hyderabad, has created a safe space for women to come together and learn about their reproductive rights. They have been advocating for gender justice and talking about menstrual hygiene in a society where such topics are usually considered taboo. The startup recently won a grant of $12,000 from Rise Up and The Packard Foundation while their founder Ayesha is also one of the Specialist Mentors for the US Government funded Community Engagement Exchange Program.
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NIC Islamabad Startup ‘BreatheIO’ gets Nominated for World Summit Awards
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BreatheIO is the world’s Smartest Air Purifier, which utilizes the power of Artificial Intelligence to reduce and control air pollution, thereby extending human life. Their smart AI system acts as an intelligent monitor, detecting changes in the environment and making corrections when needed. The startup was recently selected as the best and most innovative solution from Pakistan to be nominated for WSA (World Summit Awards) 2022. BreatheIO also made it to the ClimateLaunchpad (co-funded by European Union) Global Finals as Regional Winner for Asia in the category Urban Solutions and has been selected for the Young Founders Programme in Germany.
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Ignite Holds Roadshows to Create Awareness about its Challenge Innovation Fund
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July 2022: Ignite held roadshows at NED University Karachi and UET Peshawar to create awareness about its new Innovation Fund. A comprehensive session on Ignite’s new Research and Innovation Framework was conducted by the Ignite Team at NED and UET Peshawar. The session was attended by various universities, industry professionals and academia. The participants had an interactive session with the team to inquire about different aspects of the fund. Challenge Innovation Fund will provide grants to top proposals in different thematic areas which solve local problems using 4IR technologies.
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Digiskills Training Program Empowers Freelancers of Southern Balochistan
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July 2022: Ignite in collaboration with Virtual University of Pakistan, launched “Digital Skills Training and Support Program” exclusively for three districts of Southern Balochistan (Kech, Khuzdar and Gwadar) in early 2022. The program offers 15 most in-demand courses to the trainees to further hone their freelancing skills. This flagship program for Southern Balochistan utilizes the content of Ignite’s Digiskills program. We are creating an enabling environment for many to learn and to innovate with their newly learned skills. These trainings not only create earning opportunities for freelancers but also contribute towards the exports of the country. These trainings are also empowering and encouraging women of Balochistan to “learn from home and then earn from home”.
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3rd Floor, Telecom Foundation Complex, 7 Mauve Area, G-9/4, Islamabad
Tel : 051-9107441-6 | web : www.ignite.org.pk | Email : [email protected]
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