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 for 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 respectively. In his welcome address, Asim Shahryar, CEO Ignite stated that Ignite has been unleashing Pakistan’s entrepreneurial potential through its network of incubators over the past 4-5 years and addition of two new NICs will expand our NIC network to new cities of Pakistan. Also, focus of NIC Faisalabad will be on nurturing agritech startups. Ignite has recently announced Pakistan Tech Startup Funding Program for providing seed funding to early stage startups. So Ignite is igniting the startup ecosystem of Pakistan through offering incubation, networking, and funding opportunities to Pakistani startups. Speaking on the occasion, Brig Asrat Mahmood (Retd), Company Secretary FFC, emphasized that “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 has the largest share in the fertilizer sector of Pakistan with a focus on agribusiness. FFC feels that NIC Faisalabad has synergies with FFC and can help in digitizing the agricultural ecosystem by automating the Agri processes.” Naveed Khalid Butt, Group Chief Regulatory Officer PTCL & Ufone, 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 is providing more opportunities to extend beyond connectivity. He further said that the PTCL group is committed to playing a pivotal role in developing a Digital Pakistan. In this context, the National Incubation Center Hyderabad will feature as the platform for innovation and product development in small and medium-sized enterprises that will 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.
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