590 incubation centres on cards under PM’s start-up programme

Islamabad: As an exclusive digital platform of the Prime Minister’s start-up programme, the IdeaGist is set to establish 590 incubators and accelerators at national educational institutions.

The program is aimed at shifting job-centric academic orientation towards society-led innovative exploration and developing vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem. World s largest digital incubator and ecosystem connecter (IdeaGist) would facilitate setting up these incubators at universities, seminaries and technical colleges under public-private partnership.

“This initiative will boost entrepreneurial activities in the country by promoting conventional start-up culture, IdeaGist’s Chief Executive Hassan Sayed told this agency. He said ideaGist has pledged Rs8 billion for PM’s Startup Pakistan Programme to develop incubators and accelerators in 190 universities, 300 technical colleges and 100 top seminaries (medrasas).

He said his organization had recently signed an accord with the Business Incubation Centre of National University of Modern Languages (BICON) to materialize this plan. Under this partnership with NUML, he said, both the institutions would foster collaboration for ensuring a sustainable start-up ecosystem in the country through connectivity, awareness and capacity building. The IdeaGist would help connect incubatees, mentors, trainers and venture capitalists from across the globe with BICON under virtual incubation partnership, he added.

In this collaboration, the IdeaGist would offer incubation management trainings to the staff of identified educational institutions which would eventually transfer that knowledge to the students who intended to launch their start up. He said the NUML would offer incubation manager and management trainings during which the required knowledge would be shared with potential and new incubators. Hassan said the IdeaGist and NUML would also jointly make efforts to seek local and international grants, projects, assignments and business development opportunities.

To achieve Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of entrepreneurship, the whole start-up programme was structured on five initiatives, he explained. National Investment Portal (NIP), National Startup Showcase (NSS), Association of Pakistan Innovation Clubs (APIC), Association of Incubators (AOI), Association of Entrepreneurs (AOE) were the part of that progeamme, he added. He said NIP would provide a platform to Entrepreneurs, Communities and Companies to work together towards an improved future while NSS would help entrepreneurs to get required investment for their business ventures.

The APIC would promote innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit among university students to create a cultural change and make entrepreneurship as a first career choice, he said.