The National Incubation Center (NIC), Karachi hosted its annual graduation ceremony at the NED University, Karachi. Chief guest of the ceremony, Federal Secretary IT & Telecom, Mr. Mohsin Mushtaq, visited the facility and was given comprehensive presentations by the graduating start-ups. 39 new startups graduated from NIC Karachi taking the total number of startups graduated from Ignite’s NICs to 568 so far. “ Investment in Pakistani startups grew by 5 times to $373 million last year due to the congenial investment atmosphere provided to young entrepreneurs through our National Incubation Centers Program,” said Mr. Mushtaq while talking to the graduating batch. He also encouraged the graduating batch to explore new customers and investors and contribute to the development of the knowledge economy of the country. The first prize was given to Health Solutions. Health Solutions is a handy application having the complete inventory of health services which can be delivered at the doorstep of the user. The second prize was awarded to Apna Tax by Digital Tax Solutions. Apna Tax makes it easier for users to file tax returns with little or no tax knowledge. The third prize was given to Porter Pakistan. Porter Pakistan is a local travel website that aims to empower the local community at various travel destinations in Pakistan by bringing them new business opportunities. They connect travelers with local traveling partners who give them a better overall traveling experience. Speaking on the occasion, CEO Ignite, Asim Shahryar Husain stated that Ignite will launch five more incubation centers by next year and will launch new acceleration and innovation funds to boost the startup and innovation ecosystems of Pakistan. He said that Pakistani startups have raised 268 million dollars in first half of 2022 and forecast by end of the year is more than half a billion dollars of investment in Pakistani startups. He said that the future looks very bright for Pakistani startups and that Pakistan is expected to have a couple of unicorns (billion dollar startups) by 2025. Omar Abedin, Project Director NICK, stressed upon the importance of celebrating entrepreneurship. “It’s more important now than ever before to credit and highlight the contribution of startups and their founders to the economy of Pakistan, through job creation, revenue generation and investment and fund-raising,” he said. Technology is an economic game-changer and social equalizer. National Incubation Center Karachi startups have generated nearly 100,000 jobs, and raised over PKR 4.5 billion in investments over the past four years said Atif Rais Khan, CEO LMKT. The commercial partnerships through investor summits and corporate matchmaking events enable these young entrepreneurs to expand their networking framework. The graduation ceremony was attended by officials from IT ministry, Ignite, NIC management, startups and media. /Ends
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