Over 1500 founders, thought leaders and ecosystem enablers came together for the Startup Grind Pakistan Conference, the first-of-its-kind gathering in Pakistan based around stimulating conversations about technology and its role in innovation for Pakistan. Globally successful Pakistani entrepreneurs, innovators and technologists participated in the conference to tell their stories, inspire young entrepreneurs and share how Pakistan as a country can emulate their achievements. The current size of the IT industry of Pakistan is an estimated $2.6 billion, with its contribution to the GDP being 1.4%. Pakistan has the talent and immense potential to tap into increasing its IT exports and strengthen the industry further. The very first Startup Grind Pakistan Conference aims to start a conversation about the potential of tech innovation and increase the awareness of youth about using technology to fuel economic growth in Pakistan. Must Read: OPPO will launch a Qualcomm-powered dual-mode 5G smartphone in December The very first edition of Startup Grind Pakistan Conference 2019 took place on the 5th of November, with more than 55 speakers and over a 100 mentors and industry experts from Pakistan and abroad. The speakers included Noman Azhar (JS Bank); Raghib Hussain; Shabahat Ali Shah (NITB, Ignite National Technology Fund); Sufwan Shah; Thomas Tsao; JamaludinBujang; Ali Mukhtar (Fatima Ventures); IllangoPatchamuthu (World Bank Group); Saad Bashir (City Of Seattle); Atif Awan, Abdul Rahim Ahmad (SECP); Shauzab Ali, Majid Khan (Jabberwock Ventures); MostafaKandil (SWVL); Ingrid Johansson (Embassy Of Sweden – Islamabad); Magnus Sparrholm (Talkpool); ZouhairKhaliq (TeamUp); Dr. Shahbaz Khan (KPITB), ParvezAbbasi (TeamUp, NIC Islamabad), Jonas Eichhorst, John Hoover, Richard Crowder, Bernhard Schlagheck, Ali Jehangir Siddiqui; Zeeshan Ali, MuneebMaayr, Nadeem Shaikh, Omar Moeen Malik, Kaiser Naseem, Shoaib Makani, Shahjahan Chaudhary (NIC Karachi); Dr. Sharah Qureshi, Tafseer-ul-Islam Siddiqui, Bilal Ahmad, Muhammad Nasrullah, Sarah Baxamoosa, MahboobMahmood, Yasser Bashir, Faisal Aftab, FaizanAslam, Aamer Zaheer, Khurram Zafar, Humayun Mazhar, Serena Chang, ErdemDereli, ShahzebMemon, Andaleeb Ahmad, Naheed Afzal, Omar Chaudhary, Kalsoom Lakhani, Omar Shah, Omer Jilani, Sardar Abubakar and Ahmed Khan among others. During their sessions, the speakers discussed ways in which technology can be used to propel Pakistan forward and how startups and the tech community can come together to make technology one of the largest sources of economic growth for the country.
IT INDUSTRY TO QUOTE PRICES IN USD TO OVERCOME CURRENCY FLUCTUATION
Major players of the IT industry have decided to quote prices in US Dollars considering the recent economic shifts Pakistan has been going through. A letter is circulated and signed by top players of the IT infrastructure industry and they have disseminated the notification to their customers as well informing them about this change. The step has been taken considering the recent economic conditions due to which the whole industry has suffered heavily on account of rupee devaluation. IT Infrastructure industry is an import based sector, hence heavily dependent on the imports and exchange rates. As all the players are importing their services and products in USD and being paid in PKR, they are facing huge losses because the exchange rate is fluctuating and the difference is getting wider. To mitigate huge losses, it seems logical that the IT industry quotes the prices in dollars. Must Read: The new AMD Radeon 19.9.3 GPU driver is set to Ghost Recon Breakpoint All stakeholders have been informed via direct letters that the IT hardware and software infrastructure industry will quote prices of products only in US Dollars which will be payable in Pakistani Rupees using the interbank conversion rate as on the date of payment. The letter has been signed by the respective CEOs of all the major IT infrastructure companies of the country. All the players who have signed up on the new arrangement approves that this is a necessary move considering the currency fluctuation and value of imports. In order to develop and work towards a thriving tech based economy, it is extremely important that the tech companies are moving forward in a progressive manner. Pakistan is still lagging behind in terms of technological developments and it is imperative that a favorable business environment is created for the IT industry. Addressing the issues would not only help the IT infrastructure industry to remain sustainable, but would also enable the companies to provide uninterrupted services to the customers.
Excellence Delivered and University of Balochistan sign MoU to benefit students
Excellence Delivered (ExD) and the University of Balochistan, Quetta (UoB), through her ORIC & Computer Science department, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to pursue a SAP training program, titled – ‘SAP Learning Hub, Student Edition’. The MoU was signed between ExD CEO, Sajjad Mustafa Syed and UoB Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Javeid Iqbal. UoB established in June-1970, is the oldest institute of Higher Learning in the province. Having realised the value of SAP as a globally recognized brand, UoB has partnered up with ExD to create an opportunity for students to become SAP Certified Consultants and in this way become useful resources for the IT industry in Pakistan. The MoU between ExD and UoB focuses on exchange of ideas, skills and techniques to produce technical human resource capable of extending services on SAP and other such platforms. The goal of the MoU is to demonstrate that both parties recognize the value that their technical cooperation has for advancing the state of technology and technical expertise in Pakistan as a whole. Must Read: Zong 4G Celebrates International Women’s Day Through the MoU, ExD and UoB are looking to promote SAP through various programs and activities. ExD, as a SAP Platinum Partner will be sharing several resources with UoB ranging from; Awareness Seminars, Academic Staff for SAP Modules, Conducting Workshops and providing Internships among other similar learning opportunities for the students of the province. Additionally, 300 students are set to be put through the SAP program of Training and Certification, within the year. Those who complete the training will receive a SAP Training Certification Exam while those who pass the Certification Exam will receive a SAP Certification. Mr. Sajjad Syed, the CEO of ExD stated, “This MoU will be of great benefit to the students of Balochistan and we are pleased to provide them with the opportunity to take advantage of our expertise. We hope to develop the technical level and skills of our youth to succeed in their careers. This program will help ensure that we have a more skilled workforce with the necessary training and credentials to fulfil the demands of our nation’s growing IT industry” Prof. Dr. Javeid Iqbal, the Vice-Chancellor of UoB added, “The future of our students is actually the future of Pakistan. With this collaboration we are paving the way for great progress in Pakistan’s IT industry.”
Mezino Technologies Celebrates its 10th Anniversary with IT Industry at Faletti’s Hotel Lahore
Mezino Technologies Pakistan celebrated its 10 year long journey with members of the global and local Information Technology Industry at Faletti’s Hotel, Lahore today. The event was well attended by Mezino’s employees, businessmen, Venture Capitalists, All Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), USAID Punjab and IBM Pakistan. Mezino representative Fouad Bajwa welcomed the guests and made amusing introductory remarks outlining the past 10 years journey of Mezino Technologies making parallel humorous references to world events that took place in 2007 during the founding year of the company. He shared the evolution of Mezino’s business and indicated its future directions. The highlight of the celebration was an expert panel discussion on the topic of how companies can grow to Mid-Stage and beyond and what kind of challenges and opportunities are there in the local and global context. The panel was hosted by Lea Swanson, Provincial Director Punjab USAID and included industry leading personalities such as Ghazanfar Ali, Country General Manager IBM International Business Machines; Chris Scheetz, Founder and Managing Member at 1839 Ventures, Austin, Texas; Jehan Ara, President Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & IT Enabled Services (P@SHA) and The NEST I/O; and Zafar Khan, CEO SOFIZAR Pakistan and CTO and President ConstellationCK USA. Ms. Lea Swanson shared USAID’s objectives and how they are adding value to the development sector in Pakistan. She stressed that at USAID, they are trying to support the business sector in Pakistan which is the backbone of country’s economy. We always connect and collaborate with the business sector where employability is the key factor in business is this is one of the key concerns for USAID. Mr. Zafar Khan said that for him Data Analytics was a huge area of interest. Here in Pakistan, we start new companies and nobody trusts us however, we also try to be a rock star but in reality it is much more difficult. It’s about how you make your startup a successful business. He said, “If you are willing to raise investment for your startup you should be very clear in it and be a businessman rather than just try to be a rock star”. My successful company is actually the 6th idea I worked on and we succeeded remarkably. Read Full Story: LUMS Hosts Startup Weekend Lahore 2017 Mr. Chris shared his valuable feedback about the Start-up funding opportunities during Mezino Technologies 10th Celebration Ceremony. He said, “The accelerators and incubators in Pakistan are already doing good work and doing the due diligence for us”. In response to a question about the Pakistani market’s perception for startups and businesses, he said that, 1839 Ventures is the first Venture Fund that has come to Pakistan from the US and we have high hopes. And I hope that startups will get the funding and it will encourage other funds to invest to Pakistani Startups. What really is important for us is how you are going to change the lives of people. Ms. Jehan Ara shared her valuable insights about the industry from Pakistan’s perspective. She said, the public is not concerned with the team developing the product but the solution they are getting from that product. She said, “New startups and amazing ideas are coming and things are taking off”. We are raising funds from the local and international markets. She appreciated the fact that 1839 Ventures fund from the US joining hands with Pakistan to support startup’s was big news. Responding to a question she stressed, “The best thing in a company is its culture and within that culture how you treat your team is what matters the most” Mr. Ghazanfar Ali said, startups should really know that why are they launching in the first place. The companies that have grown big had a strong vision and they knew from the beginning in which direction and at what level they will go to. He said, “Pakistan is the land of opportunities”. Pakistan has a large number of mobile and social media users that will continuously grow with time. Businesses which focus on providing value are the ones that become successful. The panel discussion ended with the comments that entrepreneurs should be focusing on the building blocks, thinking process and learning new technologies because it’s critically important for startups to aware of upcoming business opportunities and the changing technology environment. The panel was followed by presentations from the various segments of Mezino Technologies. Farrukh Usman, Founder and CEO of Byonys Medical Devices shared his motivations behind moving to Pakistan in order to bring medical innovation to this country followed with presentations by Eric Flachbart and Franklin J. Rudolph. The next presenter Fouad Bajwa introduced FootMetrics, a digital data platform for the Retail Sector in Pakistan. The final presenter Ali Rana, Co-Founder of Wahupa introduced a cutting edge enterprise resource planning platform for automating the global commerce and industry. Speaking on the occasion, Ahmed Muzammil , CEO Mezino Technolgies shared his experiences along the journey and emphasized the value of the “Third Win”. He thanked everyone who was part of the Mezino journey and stressed on the importance of building long-term relationships for generating success and in personal, professional and business. Mezino Technologies was founded in 2007 and provides product development to start-ups and businesses around the globe. The company maintains a portfolio of partnerships with its future forward looking technology product based companies including FootMetrics, Byonycs Medical Devices and Wahupa.
