The Federal Minister of Information and Technology and Telecom, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, visited The Nest I/O, P@SHA’s Tech Incubator on August 25 to discuss the needs of the startup ecosystem. The highlight of the meeting was the discussion on how the Government, the startup ecosystem and the broader IT industry could come together to solve commonplace problems through the use of cutting-edge technology. Jehan Ara, President P@SHA and Founder of The Nest I/O, welcomed the visitors and briefed them about the work The Nest I/O has been doing for the past 4 years to promote entrepreneurship in Pakistan and to put the local ecosystem on the global map. Khalid Siddiqui also spent some time meeting with The Nest I/O alumni including MandiExpress, Connect Hear, Asaan Taleem, Tello Talk, and Modulus Tech. He enquired about the challenges that startups face and what steps could be taken by the Ministry of IT to improve on the ease of doing business for the IT sector as a whole. The Minister was informed that some major issues that needed to be tackled were the establishment of a one-window operation, the development of Software Technology parks and Special Economic Zones, effective online payment systems and focused training on high tech skills. Following his first official interaction with young technologists, the Minister said, “It is heartening to see young entrepreneurs pursuing their dreams with such passion and vigour. I am thoroughly impressed by the calibre of startups and I have high hopes for their trajectory. I personally believe that closer collaboration of the Government with the brilliant minds in IT will drive economic growth and development.’ The meeting is a great step forward for Pakistan’s IT sector as it could potentially lead to collaboration between the government and the IT community to enable affordable housing, better governance, improvements in education delivery and more inclusive healthcare. “It was good to see the Minister take such an active interest in the local startup ecosystem and the growing tech community. Pakistan has an abundance of talented entrepreneurs who have the potential to improve the livelihood of millions through technology”, commented Jehan Ara. She further added that “We at The Nest I/O strive to support the startup ecosystem and hope more government bodies will join this initiative to make Pakistan a more attractive place for entrepreneurs”.
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