Peshawar 21 December: National Incubation Center, Peshawar hosted the 2nd Graduation Ceremony on 21st December, 2020, to celebrate the achievements of its third and fourth cohort startups. Mr. Syed Aminul Haque, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, was the Chief Guest at the ceremony. He was accompanied by the political leadership from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, CEO Ignite, LMKT team and other dignitaries.
NIC Peshawar is an initiative of Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, funded by Ignite, and operated by LMKT in collaboration with PTCL.
Since its inception, NIC Peshawar has played a monumental role in the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has not only contributed towards the growth of local startups but has also helped in uplifting the regional economy.
The startups that are graduating out of the third and fourth cohorts have built innovative and disruptive solutions for a diverse set of industries including education, health, e-commerce, lifestyle, transport, gaming, and delivery services. In a limited span of two years these startups have created an unprecedented social impact by generating more than 1419 direct and 1295 indirect employment opportunities, raising more than PKR 504 Million in investments and registering a revenue growth of PKR 212 Million.
Addressing the ceremony, Mr. Syed Aminul Haque said, “The startups graduating today out of NIC Peshawar have delivered on the benchmarks set by their predecessors. The youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has always exhibited passion, motivation and steadfastness in all fields of life and they will continue to do so in the years to come. It gives me immense pleasure to witness and experience the innovative products and solutions developed by these startups to create a wave of disruption in the most conventional industries.” He said, I’m happy that 5 graduating startups are led by Female Founders which shows a 33% engagement rate for women entrepreneurs from the KPK.
“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is on the cusp of establishing itself as the hub of innovation and technology and play an integral role in actualizing the dream of a Digital Pakistan. NIC Peshawar is at the forefront of this mission and is facilitating the growth of the startup ecosystem in the province” commented Mr. Zia Ullah Bangash, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Science Technology & Information Technology.
CEO Ignite, commented while expressing his views that, the success of NIC Peshawar is the result of the dedication and hard work put up by the Ignite and NIC Peshawar team, founders and their mentors. We look forward to more innovative ideas from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that are especially lead by women entrepreneurs.
Atif Raes Khan, CEO LMKT, congratulated all the graduating startups and said, “The accomplishments of the graduating startups and the efforts put up by NIC Peshawar have proved once again that a developing economy like Pakistan needs to invest in Human Capital for development and success in the long run”
Asim Ishaq Khan, Director NIC Peshawar, thanked all the esteemed guests for attending the ceremony and encouraging the graduating startups. In his address he said, “The progress made by these innovators in such a short span of time is phenomenal. All the startups have displayed tremendous perseverance and consistency to overcome market challenges and take their products and solutions forward. NIC Peshawar is proud to have been an advocate for the entrepreneurial ecosystem and a nurturing partner for the startups.”
NIC Peshawar is steadily working on its mission of Igniting the Spark of innovation and disruption in KP and aims to bring about a transformational leap in the regional economy.
