The National Incubation Centre NIC at LUMS is pleased to announce the appointment of its Advisory Board, chaired by Mr. Saleem Ahmad, Senior Advisor at Afiniti, world’s largest applied artificial intelligence company. He, along with a strong team, will bring extensive leadership and expertise in entrepreneurship to both NIC Lahore and NIC Quetta. NIC Announces Appointment of Advisory Board. Mr. Ahmad is an alumnus of LUMS, LSE and Wharton and brings over 25 years of experience in investing and managing private equity, hedge and venture funds globally. Other members of the Board include Dr. Ayesha Khanna, Co-founder and CEO of ADDO AI; Ms. Zehra Hyder Ali, Founder and CEO Ghonsla; Mr. Ali Mukhtar, Founder and CEO Fatima Ventures; and Mr. Ahmed Hussain, Director and Chief Strategy Officer at Service Sales Corporation. Dr. Alnoor Bhimani, Dean Suleman Dawood School of Business, LUMS, will continue to provide oversight as NIC’s Interim Director. Must Read: Huawei Setting up Research and Development Centre across European Countries The NIC offers incubation and acceleration programmes for innovative businesses. The Centre’s vision encompasses the creation of stronger linkages with LUMS’ Centres, academic programmes, faculty and students; the incubation of start-ups with strong potential for growth and impact; and enabling entrepreneurs to enter partnerships with domestic and international organisations. The renewed vision for NIC focuses on developing high impact solutions for Pakistan in the areas of agriculture, education, environment, financial inclusion, health, and applications based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. NIC’s on-going recruitment campaign for its sixth cohort of start-ups also aims to highlight these opportunities for future incubation (for details please see: www.niclahore.com/apply). NIC will engage participation in programmes to power the formation of innovative and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems in Pakistan. It will be establishing its footprint as the leading incubator, accelerator and entrepreneurial hub in the nation. The Advisory Board and its emergent strategies for NIC will strengthen the LUMS community, help the country’s entrepreneurial space, and boost its economy and global stature. NIC looks forward to opportunities for collaboration within LUMS and beyond.
First-Generation Students from TCF Make Their Way to Top-Tier Universities of Pakistan
As university admissions begin throughout the country, deserving graduates from The Citizens Foundation (TCF) schools from all over Pakistan are making their way to some of the top-tier higher education institutions of the country. First-Generation Students from TCF Make Their Way to Top-Tier Universities of Pakistan. The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and Institute of Business Administration (IBA) announced their admission results this month. 4 TCF alumni secured admission and scholarship under the LUMS – National Outreach Programme, while 8 TCF graduates made it to IBA on scholarship as part of its National Talent Hunt Programme. Other renowned universities where TCF graduates have successfully gained admissions include – Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Habib University and SZABIST. Over the next few months, as more universities conduct their entrance tests, TCF is expecting that many more of its graduates will be offered admissions and scholarships at other private and government universities as well as colleges. Must Read: Emirates launches an airbridge between Dubai and Lebanon “To break the barriers of class and privilege, low-income students must make it to good universities and colleges. TCF, for the past 25 years, is making strides toward this goal,” TCF’s President and CEO, Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad said while commenting on this achievement of TCF graduates. “We are so proud that our alumni are attending some of the top-ranked educational institutions of the country,” he added further. Right now, 100% of TCF alumni who get enrolled in undergraduate colleges are first-generation learners – the first in their family to go to college! For all of them, it means the chance to change the trajectory of their entire families’ and community’s future. TCF is a strong advocate of the belief that a truly informed and educated society forms the foundation of a progressive state and instills in its citizens the ability to adapt and evolve with changing times. It is a non-profit organization set up in 1995 by a group of citizens who wanted to bring about positive social change through education. 25 years later, TCF is now one of Pakistan’s leading organizations in the field of education for the less privileged, educating 266,000 students across 1,652 schools in Pakistan. The TCF model focuses on providing quality education through purpose-built schools located in the heart of Pakistan’s urban slums and rural communities. The organization ensures that girls represent nearly 50% of overall student enrolment. To magnify its impact, improve enrolment and quality of education, TCF is now adopting Government schools across Pakistan. www.tcf.org.pk
Talks@PTCL speakers enthrall the audience
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL),organized Talks@PTCL where industry professionals enthralled the audience with their inspirational talks on topics related to technology, digital ecosystem and development of in-house talent. The event was held at PTCL headquarter in Islamabad. The speakers at the second session of ‘Talks@PTCL’ were MujeebZahur, Managing Director, S&P Global, who is also looking after Philippines and Argentina operations for S&P Global Market Intelligence, Dr. Farrah Arif, Executive In-Residence, LUMS &CEO, EdTechWorx, who has designed and delivered executive programs for MNCs & local companies andAnasNiaz, Founder &CTO, Bioniks, a startup from National Incubation Center, Karachi, that creates functional limbsusing brain signals to control the limb. The participants included PTCL, Ufone, Ubank employees, industry experts & professionals and university students. PTCL top management acknowledged the speakers and presented them with shields as token of gratitude. Must Read: Why LG Brought ASMR Mode to the LG G8x ThinQ (Because It Could) Talking about ‘Maximizing In-house Talent: Upskilling that Works’, MujeebZahur, said, “I am glad to be part of ‘Talks@PTCL’ as it is an enabling platform for digital transformation, providing the right learning opportunities to acompany’s workforce. I believe that timely development of in-house talent holds the key to the success of an organization. Like PTCL, companies need to focus on employee growth and further polishing their skills in order to reduce employee turnover.” Dr Farrah Arif, talking on ‘The Digital Ecosystem: Education in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution’, said, “I am excited to be at this platform, ‘Talks@PTCL’ to deliver a session on such a timely topic. I believe that digital ecosystem has the potential to contribute towards sustainable economic development that involves people and supports community building. PTCL is at the forefront for providing an enabling platform.” Speaking on the topic ‘Transforming Lives through Technology: Success Story of Bioniks’, AnasNiaz said, “The technological revolution is transforming the world,stimulating massive social and economic advances.At Bioniks, we are providing the most advanced prosthetics utilizing new-age technologies and aspire to be a symbol of hope for the individuals with disabilities – giving them a helping hand in the form of prosthetics. We are thankful to PTCL for providing us this platform to showcase our efforts to contribute towards the society.” On the occasion, Adnan Anjum, Group Chief Marketing Officer, PTCL, said, “We are providing an open forum for general public, who can access these talks through our digital platforms. This initiative is to spread knowledge and inspire people from all walks of life. PTCL is actively working on the digital front that will ensurethe company’s mission to be the partner of choice for our customers, to develop our people and to deliver value to our shareholders.” PTCL has recently started a series of talks titled ‘Talks@PTCL’ on various topics related to ‘Technology & Business’, ‘Entrepreneurship & Startups’ and ‘Arts, Culture & Entertainment’.
Cheetay celebrates 2 years of providing services with easy and convenient payment solutions
Cheetay Logistics (Pvt.) Ltd. has reached a momentous milestone as the company celebrates 2 years of providing immaculate logistics services with pragmatic payment solutions to the masses. Starting off with food delivery, the company has expanded and diversified its business operations by making a foray into other realms of e-Commerce. Cheetay.pk recently launched a new business category called “The Cheetay Tiffin” which provides instant home cooked meals to anyone at home or at work who needs the goodness of a home cooked meal. They launched a new vertical called “Cheetay Healthcare” which provides the masses with OTC medication (over the counter) which can be attained without a doctor’s prescription, on an instant basis from their website. Having recently launched Cheetay Healthcare they are on their way to launching Cheetay Books to make sure people get access to a vast array of books, academic books and stationary items that people need urgently. They recognise the need for instant gratification, not only for food delivery but a host of other products and household items as well. Identifying the interminable need for instant logistics services, they have spearheaded into business categories that focus on convenience. Must Read: PTCL Inks Agreement With Netflix To Provide Online Subscription Video On Demand To Its Subscribers Ahmed Khan, CEO of cheetay.pk reflected on the 2nd anniversary by saying “We have come a long way from where we started off but this is just the beginning for us. We are aiming to be the biggest e-commerce player in the country by capitalising on the underlying logistics platform which can serve many different business verticals. The idea is to tag on one vertical after another, not strictly the way Amazon does it, but in a more curated way. Each vertical will have a customised offering where the underlying logistics platform will serve as the basis for delivery. We want to build in analytics and payments in the ecosystem so that we’re a one-stop-shop that provides all services” Cheetay has managed to expand and grow on an exponential scale by creating departments, spans of management and bringing on-board Senior Managers and Category Managers, Content Writers and Marketing Executives in their repertoire of professionals from LUMS and Lahore School of Economics to bolster their expanding operations. Being a company on the trajectory of growth and expansion, cheetay.pk has experienced an overwhelming response to their service. They have restructured their logistics and delivery spread by building a strong team of efficient riders by increasing their fleet of motorbikes, riders, and branded vehicles for instant delivery of orders. “As we grow it is imperative for us to focus on making immaculate standard operating procedures to streamline our customer services and operations. Growth brings with it an array of challenges that need to be dealt with with standard day to day operations as you venture into new business verticals and categories. We are ensuring every facet of the organisation is aligned in a holistic manner so that the customer service centre, the riders and the customers are all connected seamlessly” stated Saud Rashid, Operations Manager. Achievements and Milestones The company has a slew of achievements under its belt since its inception: Secured $1.1 million in series A-1 round funding. Hit over 100,000 likes on Facebook. Launched both our iOS and Android mobile apps. Upgraded and rebranded our website. Teamed up with PepsiCo as our Official Beverages Partner. Partnered with Foodies Family, a noted Facebook group for food aficionados. Have more than 300 restaurants on board. Ventured into a separate business vertical called, Cheetay Healthcare. Introduced a sub-category called, The Cheetay Tiffin. According to Ahmed Khan “I’ve been in the e-Commerce business since 2012 and launched the biggest e-Commerce brand in the country (Daraz.pk, Kaymu.pk, etc). What I have learned from my experience is that if you are averse to change, technology is not for you. Paying attention to the underlying needs of the marketplace is our mantra while providing a quality service. We have strictly adhered to our core values and founding beliefs which is why cheetay.pk has become a viable company that has grown immensely despite industry behemoths like Foodpanda being omnipresent. I just want to thank the throngs of valuable customers, strategic partners and the massive list of vendors who have helped shape the company into what it is.”
Once a struggling startup, now a success story
Once a struggling startup, now a success story. A new Pakistan is emerging rapidly, where entrepreneurs are changing the country’s horizons with their brilliant projects. The projects which had just started with a brilliant idea in isolation a few years ago, have now been developed into successful ventures creating lots of jobs and opportunities. “This all happened thanks to a viable startup eco-system created by industries, mentors, and successful business concerns,” said Momentum Tech Conference founder Amir Jafri, who has unveiled a list of now successful startups that were until 2017 just an idea, or a struggling case. They all got a push through mentoring, funding and support from successful ventures at the Momentum Tech Conference in 2017. The serial entrepreneur, mentor, co-author of “New Success Secrets”, “L.E.G Formula” and the founder of Global Social Entrepreneurship Foundation, Muhammad Siddique, compiled data on such projects, says the Momentum Tech Conference 2018 has even more opportunities for the enterprises from its last year’s edition. He says the enterprise world is ready to help the Pakistani entrepreneurs to say goodbye to their excuses. “This year, Fortune 500 mentors and representatives of world’s top online brands will be in Pakistan to help startups,” he said. Of the long list of the online startups, there is the Nearpeer.org. This is an online professional courses portal where the users can learn at a self-directed pace. The startup won the second prize at the Momentum Tech Conference 2017. Its co-founder Ammar Ali Ayub who with his friend, tried to be a job provider while graduating from LUMS. Now, he has a team of 25 people and provides jobs to many dozen people. Ammar’s advice to startups is: never give up. Must Read: Vivo X20 Plus UD With The World’s First Under-Display Fingerprint Sensor Launched In China For CNY 3,600 Ali Gohar Wassan is the co-founder of TheUniPedia, an online portal for universities entry test preparations with self-assessment, explanations and dedicated tutors to enhance the learning level of students. Ali Gohar is himself is a university dropout but he saw an opportunity in directing the people to the university education, and in the process now he provides jobs to hundreds of tutors and a full-time seven people team. Ask him about his secret to success, and smiles: have mentors, leave out excuses and be fair to yourself. He says meetups like Momentum Tech Conference are never to be missed. “It is the venue where from we got payment solutions and universities connections. Also, at the conference will be Sehat.com.pk Marketing Director Bilal Mumtaz. His online medicine supply is a real breakthrough in Pakistan’s health system. The startup came into being when his project won a $150,000 seed money from a Canadian university, and since then the project has achieved many landmarks and has faced and overcome critical issues like fake medicine supplies. His priority is to provide cheap, good quality medicines to the people in rural areas at their doorstep in the quickest possible way. His secret success is: my network is my net-worth. The online journey has brought Hyder Khan to Hyderabad from his hometown Badin. This under-30 startup star is running two projects: one, software development and two, accounting consultancy. Just one year ago, he had invested Rs5,000 in his online business and now, he has a team of six people for both businesses. Qasim Asad Salam’s TheCampusFeed.com is also a new rage among the university students. The idea emerged when this LUMS student was in the final year, and had been finding very hard to connect with other students. He thought of connecting with other students through a social network where everyone could speak on any issue maintaining anonymity. The idea was realized into a reality when it won a Rs300,000 prize at the Momentum Tech Conference 2017. That was a great push, and now the project is being run by six people. His advice to the struggling enterprises: be passionate, do not chase money and be extremely hardworking. Last but not least stands Sameer Ahmed Khan whose application SocialChamp.io won the first prize at Momentum Tech Conference 2017. His application caters to need all social media users. His story and struggle is very inspirational. A spate of failures did not deter him from working again and again and at the end of the day, he met with success. Such success stories and connections are learned and earned at the events like Momentum Tech Conference. This year, the event is going to be held on February 19 and 20 in Karachi.
Zong 4G inaugurates state of the art 4G Research Lab at LUMS
Zong 4G inaugurates state of the art 4G Research Lab at LUMS. As part of its sustained efforts at transforming country’s digital landscape, Zong 4G, Pakistan’s No.1 Data network, has officially inaugurated its 4G Wireless Research Lab at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). The state-of-the-art facility will provide students of Pakistan’s top-ranked university the opportunity to advance their academic endeavors along latest technological lines, greatly enhancing the school’s learning and research capabilities. TheZong 4G Research Lab comprises of latest broadband wireless equipment, including a commercial base station to support teaching and research into mobile and wireless networking systems. This includes a fully functioning separate 4G network along with exclusive SIMs that connect via the dedicated network. Must Read: Who Were Behind The ATM Skimming? FIA Arrest Four Suspects In addition to supporting academic research, the Zong 4G Research Lab will also serve as a one-of-a-kind hub for innovation, greatly contributing to the promotion of start-ups arising from the university’s National Incubation Centre. By coupling state of the art technology with Zong 4G’s super-fast network capabilities, the aim of this partnership is to help provide a joint platform to support some of the most promising ideas and solutions on the horizon of Pakistan’s fast changing digital landscape. As the pioneer 4G network in Pakistan, Zong 4G has been at the forefront of leading Pakistan’sdata revolution from the ground-up, enabling students and young entrepreneurs. Over the last few years, Zong 4G has invested heavily in the Pakistani market and its telecom infrastructure, making it Pakistan’s most reliable and state-of-the-art technological platform. Through this partnership, Zong 4G aims to leverage its high-speed internet capabilities to help nurture and support some of Pakistan’s brightest minds, for many years to come. Serving more than 70% of Pakistan’s 4G subscribers, Zong 4G continues to deliver an unparalleled customer experience, by bringing to life the endless possibilities of the country’s digital potential. This vision has been supported by the company’s aggressive expansion, making 100% of its network 4G enabled. Having built the country’s fastest and largest 4G network, Zong 4G has expanded its seamless 4G connectivity to over 300 cities of Pakistan.
LUMS Hosts Startup Weekend Lahore 2017
LUMS the internationally renowned event, the Startup Weekend, which enables potential and aspiring entrepreneurs to work in an interactive environment to make their ideas a reality, was held at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) from November 10 to 12, 2017. The event witnessed a rigorous 54 hour marathon of intensive team working, networking and socialising, providing a platform to transform startup ideas into applicable businesses. The Startup Weekend not only assists the participants in practically carrying out their ideas but also helps them reach global markets. Day one was all about getting to know each other with fun packed ice breaking sessions and interactive talks to ensure a friendly environment so that everyone feels comfortable. The event was opened by Prof. Dr. S. Sohail H. Naqvi, Vice Chancellor LUMS followed by Faisal Sherjan, Director National Incubation Centre, Lahore, Huamyun Mazhar, Founder, Chairman and CEO CresVentures addressing the participants followed by an introduction of the coaches, speakers and guests. Of the 120 participants, 63 gave a 60-second pitch about their business idea and attendees voted for the top pitches. The event was attended by renowned entrepreneurs such as Humayun Mazhar, CresVentures; JehanAra, President P@SHA and The Nest I/O; Fahad Yaqoub, Tech Expert and Head of Engineering Quixel and Saj Khan, Former Head Convo. Read Full Story: 10 REASONS TO ATTEND THE LUMS OPEN DAY The ideas that had immense potential and were selected are Liticle • dreamX • Xhaust • Venueology.com • Oostad • Pet cash fishing farm • Find key • Virtual surgery • Pak-freight • Idea jozindagibadal de • Viraas • Millionaire media • Timekeeper • Base plan • Color your life • Serge • Trev card • Cake factory • V swat The day was closed by a dinner and a networking night where the budding entrepreneurs were given a chance to connect with renowned entrepreneurs. Of the 60 ideas presented on Day 1, 20 were shortlisted and teams were formed among the remaining participants. A healthy community building exercise took place as people selected new team members. The second day of the event was all about interacting and working on the ideas that were selected on the first day. The participants formed teams and rigorously started working on their ideas for the final presentations that were to be held on day three. They all gathered in the Smart Lab of the Computer Science department at the LUMS Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering and worked in teams, providing each other assistance in areas they were good at, creating a dynamic environment that promoted creativity and innovation. The teams were assisted by mentors from diverse entrepreneurial backgrounds providing them with valuable advice and insights about their business ideas and constantly guiding them on the details. The mentors who assisted the participants were Omar Farooq, Happa Studios; Abid Malik, Director Indus Ventures; Fahad Yaqub; Syed Ali, CEO 7vals; Khurram Samad, GenIT; Abdullah Ahmed, Software House; Saj Khan, Senior Programme Manager Scrybe; Awais Younas, CEO SPM Consulting; ShayanZaeem, Co-founder Fizz.io and Abbas Yousafzai, Co-founder CTO Yotascale. The third day was all about adding final touches to the ideas followed by a formal presentation. The final ideas, selected at the end of the first day, continued to be mentored during the first half of the day. They worked rigorously on their final presentations assisted by mentors from the previous day. Additional mentors, such as Dr. Amena Hasan, CEO of Business for Social Progress, Maha Rehman, Development Consultant and Dr. Mahrukh were also available at the venue to assist the participants. The latter half of the day consisted of presentations where each team was given 5 minutes to pitch their ideas to the judges followed by a 3 minute Q&A session. Syed Babar Ali, Pro Chancellor LUMS also made an appearance and stayed at the venue for most of the presentations. The panel of judges consisted of some of the most well reputed entrepreneurs such as JehanAra, President P@SHA and The Nest I/O; Tosheeba Sarwar, Business Executive and Advisor; BadarKhushnood, Co-founder and Partner at Bramerz and Murad Akhter, Co-founder and CEO Tintash. The event was closed with a dinner followed by a closing ceremony where ESurge was declared the winning idea followed by Viraas and Base Plan as runner ups Viraas and Base Plan as runnerups.
Ufone Supports Rizq to Fight Hunger and Reduce Food Wastage
Ramazan is a time of reflection and kindness. Continuing on its tradition of supporting estimable people and institutions, which in turn help the less fortunate in Pakistan, Ufone is supporting Rizq, a social entrepreneur project, this Ramazan. Rizq was started in April 2015 by a group of friends who met at LUMS while studying for their economics degree after Huzaifa Ahmad shared his desire to channelize excess food to the underprivileged who cannot afford daily meals. Huzaifa’s friends and partners, Musa Amir and Qasim Javed, were instantly on board and the three entrepreneurs came together to build a bridge between surplus food at restaurants, weddings, and households (usually thrown away) and families living in slums of Lahore. Ufone is supporting this worthy cause and will purchase media space on television channels and digital media throughout Ramazan, to be used to promote Rizq, free of cost. This will help secure more support for their endeavors by spreading the message of their cause across Pakistan. Ufone highlighted the partnership at an event held on Wednesday, 7th June 2017 at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore. Attendees included bloggers, and representatives from local print, electronic and digital media. Rizq has two primary objectives, to decrease food wastage that is rampant in our society and to feed under nourished people particularly children. As step one, the Rizq team identifies an area within Lahore, usually slums and villages, and maps the community. Next, food drives are advertised on Rizq’s official Facebook page and website encouraging people to contact them if they have any extra or leftover food items from parties or otherwise to donate. When created, Rizq’s Facebook page generated 5,000 likes overnight. As step two, food is collected from partner restaurants, bakeries, caterers and households. The food usually comes in large containers, which are then taken to a store where it is checked for quality, and sorted into small packages for easy distribution. Lastly, food packages are distributed to mapped communities. On average, Rizq serves 200 to 250 meals every day, and the team aims to bring this up to 2000 meals per day. During Ramazan, Rizq targets arranging 2-3 Iftar dastarkhwans on different locations each day to make food available for deserving people. In order to expand their operations, Rizq needs Rs 1.5 million to buy a cold storage van and a cold storage facility to manage larger quantities of food. The team has been managing with fridges till now, which restricts them to sell/distribute food immediately. This is the first time in Pakistan a food bank has been established to channelize excess food and the project has the potential to reduce poverty and transform people’s lives. Ensuring meal availability means the families can now utilize their money for other facilities like sending children to school, or buying medicines for ill family members. Ufone hopes to create greater awareness of the remarkable work being done by Rizq and hopes this will kindle a spirit of sharing and generosity in others.
