ISLAMABAD: Ignite signed agreements for launching two new National Incubation Centers (NICs) in Faisalabad and Hyderabad in addition to its existing network of five NICs.
Contract for NIC Hyderabad was signed between Ignite and PTCL whereas, NIC Faisalabad, contract was signed between Ignite and Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC).
CEO Ignite, Asim Shahryar Husain, signed the contracts with Naveed Khalid Butt, Group Chief Regulatory Officer PTCL for NIC Hyderabad, and with Brig. Asrat Mahmood (Retd), Company Secretary FFC for NIC Faisalabad.
In his welcome address, Asim Shahryar said Ignite has been unleashing Pakistan’s entrepreneurial potential through its network of incubators over the past 4-5 years and the addition of two new NICs will expand the NIC network to new cities of Pakistan, said a news release received here on Friday.
The focus of NIC Faisalabad will also be on nurturing Agritech startups. Ignite has recently announced Pakistan Tech Startup Funding Program for providing seed funding to early-stage startups. So Ignite was igniting the startup ecosystem of Pakistan through offering incubation, networking, and funding opportunities to Pakistani startups.
Speaking on the occasion, Brig (Retd) Asrat Mahmood said NIC Faisalabad will offer an opportunity, especially to Agri-focused startups to scale their businesses by leveraging technology and innovation in the Agri space.
FFC had the largest share in the fertilizer sector of Pakistan with a focus on agribusiness. FFC felt that NIC Faisalabad had synergies with FFC and could help in digitizing the agricultural ecosystem by automating the Agri processes.”
Naveed Khalid Butt appreciated the exceptional efforts being made by the Government of Pakistan through Ignite.
He acknowledged that the rapid growth in the IT and Telecom sector in Pakistan was providing more opportunities to extend beyond connectivity.
He further said the PTCL group was committed to playing a pivotal role in developing a Digital Pakistan.
In this context, the NIC Hyderabad will feature as the platform for innovation and product development in small and medium-sized enterprises that would have a lasting impression on the economy and the overall progress of the country.
Ignite’s five NICs have incubated more than 930 startups so far which have created more than 113, 000 direct and indirect jobs, raised funding of Rs. 10.4 billion, and generated revenue of Rs. 4.7 billion so far. After renovation work has been completed for both NICs, they are expected to be launched by end of June 2022.
The signing ceremony was also attended by Moqeem ul Haque, Group Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer PTCL, Tauqeer Hassan Khan Senior Manager FFC, Sayyed Ahmad Masud, CEO Change Mechanics, Murtaza Zaidi, CEO Cybervision, Ihsan Elahi GM Projects Ignite, Adeel Shaikh GM Corporate Affairs Ignite, and other officials from Ignite, FFC, and PTCL