“This partnership means a lot to us. It is a wonderful opportunity for our startups to learn and gain experience from. I think this is just the beginning of something great. It has only been possible because of the wonderful team of PITB, that today we stand here partnering with exceptionally amazing companies at Austin.”, said Dr. Umar Saif, Chairman PITB on the occasion when Plan 9 signed MOUs with Austin Startup Incubators  3Day Startup, Capital Factory and Tech Ranch .

The deals were cracked when recently on an event the representative from Austin, Texas came to Pakistan. The event had workshops. It was from 14 November to 21 November. During their stay the delegation was hosted by the tech incubator.

Austin Startup Incubators  “3Day Startup” aims to help entrepreneurs and explain to them how to start their business. It will tell them how to introduce their product in the market and gain good profit.

“Capital Factory” provides them a chance to startup their business and push their business to heights.

“Tech Ranch” is a sort of help centre that provides all facilities to entrepreneurs so that they can work effectively.

The Plan9’s partnership with the foreign establishments Austin Startup Incubators will help our local industry as it will provide a wide web of network, experienced counsel and opportunity for growth to young and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Plan9 in Pakistan is recognized as one of the largest technology incubator.  The firms through their partnership came together to work towards boosting the entrepreneurial spirit across the platforms.

These contracts are to boost up entrepreneurship in Pakistan. These are too develop the ideas into models and then into something unique so that the business and country both may flourish

The post Plan9 Signs MOUs With 3 Austin Startup Incubators appeared first on Techlist.

Just a couple years back, development of entrepreneurs in Pakistan was difficult. To access mentors, business trainers and investors was not so easy for startups.

Now, however, the whole scenario has changed and startup founders have a choice to get incubation. There many Incubators and accelerators in the country making an impact on Tech industry of Pakistan.

Plan9

Punjab government Initiative, based in Lahore, Pakistan initially started in August 2012. Plan9 offer 3 month program to all startups in which it provides free office space, consultancy and mentoring. Another good thing, they don’t take any equity. Plan 9 has incubated more than 102 startups till now, and the numbers are increasing.

The Nest i/o

Based in Karachi, Associated with Pakistan Software House Association (PASHA), The Next i/o is a technology incubator launched in early 2015. The Incubator provides free office space and mentorship, while they are not taking any equity.

LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship

The LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship (LCE) is a tech incubator associated with the LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences), Pakistan’s topnotch university based in Lahore. The Incubator has four month program where it provides, free office space, counseling, mentoring and many other benefits.

It does take a small equity percentage for each startup accepted into the program.

i2i (invest2innovate)

Started in 2011, Based in capital city Islamabad, i2i (invest2innovate) is an accelerator for early and mid-stage startups looking to make a social impact. The program is spread over four months but it does not require startups to be present in-house. It has option of working remotely. Invest2Innovate features a total six in-person sessions spread across many cities in Pakistan. They take equity in the range of 1.5 to 3 percent from each startup accepted into the program.

PlanX

PlanX is the largest tech incubator in the country, also sister incubator of Plan9 (Initiative of PITB (Punjab Information Technology Board) Pakistan. Located in Lahore, program is six month longer but provides continuing support, free space and consultancy to mid-stage startups without taking equity.

Microsoft Innovation Center

The Microsoft Innovation Center primary concern to utilize technical skills by using Microsoft tools, It has programs in both Lahore and Karachi. Microsoft Innovation Center offers accepted startups a wide range of free Microsoft enterprise software products. And also provides coaches and mentoring to each startup.

Technology Incubation Center

The Technology Incubation Center is an initiative of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), located in Islamabad. As its associated with technology university, most of the startups housed in the incubator have a focus on hardware, engineering, and big data.

It also offers startups free office space and mentorship, taking a small equity percentage in return.

DotZero Ventures

DotZero ventures started in August 2013. They are budding entrepreneurs and startups. It provides 24×6 space, mentoring and networking. It has raises funding for tech startups.

Its founding members recently launched an angel investment fund to encourage the growth of the investment landscape in Pakistan.

Basecamp

Basecamp operates an invite-only co-working facility based in Peshawar. There are a number of events, including Startup Weekend Peshawar and TEDx Peshawar, and it hopes to promote entrepreneurship through community-led efforts. KPK is lucky by having such kind of incubators.

Founder Institute

The Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur training and startup launch program, operating a local chapter in Karachi and Islamabad.

Founder Institute program structured over three and a half months, with startups meeting once a week. Each startup must contribute 3.5 percent equity to an “options pool” and pay a one-time fee of US$250 to be accepted.

Nspire

Founded in May 2015, A private tech incubator started by NetSol , A leading  software company in Pakistan. Recently many startups incubated in Nspire and going to be launch soon this year.

Tech Incubator

Located in Lahore, they claimed to be first privately-managed incubator in Pakistan. It functions on a rolling basis, accepting startups all year round.

The tech incubator takes a big amount of equity, though. Startups have to part with 10 percent just to use its co-working space and a lot more if they wish to get mentoring, consulting, and potential investment.

WeCreate Pakistan

WeCreate Pakistan is an entrepreneurial community center exclusively for women looking to start or expand an existing business. The program based over 15 weeks and is backed by the US Department of State.

Telenor Velocity

Velocity is Telenor Pakistan’s initiative. The digital incubator selects startups from their network partners, who are usually other incubators, and help the selected startups get access to market, distribution, payment gateways etc.

Jazz’s ‘National Incubation Center

Mobilink and TeamUp to Setup National Incubation Center in Islamabad,  under the National ICT R&D Fund and will be aligned with the government’s vision of a Digital Pakistan. The service provider Teamup will run this incubation under the direct guidance of Zouhair Khaliq and Parvez Abbasi leveraging mobilink’s connection and resources.  Mobilink has collaborated with LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship (LCE) to provide support and mentorship.

The post 15 Startup Incubators and Accelerators in Pakistan appeared first on Techlist.

The Nest i/o is a technology incubator in Karachi, Pakistan launched by P@SHA

You know how every time you have to do something new, everyone tells you to get “expert advice”, may it be buying property, a new move in your business or a new skin treatment that you want to try out. It makes you think there really is something to it.

It is the same when you are an entrepreneur. To avoid make a mistake which will take months or years to discover on one’s own.

So why does an entrepreneur need a mentor? To put it in one line, insights and options, these are the two basic and very important things that a mentor provides to fill in the gaps in your knowledge.

A Mentor Has “Been There”

Most startups, especially the ones that are in the technology space, have very young minds behind them with little or no experience but a lot of enthusiasm. Getting advice from someone who has been there, done that can go a long way for such a new business.

A Mentor Opens Doors

Not literally though! Doors of opportunities, yes! When you are just starting out your venture, you need any and all help you can get for your business to get past some barriers and make connections with the big guns of the industry. A good mentor on your side can get you in the office of a senior executive and in that government department you really want to reach.

A Mentor is Not a Teacher or a Boss

A mentor is there to guide you and support you but he cannot run the business and it does not belong to him. He is not there to help you solve every big and small problem of your business but only to challenge you to think differently and help you figure out your strengths and weaknesses.

Mentoring is an adult-to-adult relationship and should never be treated like a student-teacher or a boss-employee relationship. This means that as the owner of the company, an entrepreneur makes the final call and cannot hold anyone else responsible for a bad choice or a mistake made.

A Mentor Urges You to Think

When you are working on developing a strategy, it is always wise to use an external advisor during such deliberations. Because of a mentor’s ‘external view’, is he able to ask you difficult questions that will make you think outside of your limits and elements that you might be overlooking.

A Mentor Questions Your Pre-Conceived Notions

A good mentor challenges your pre-conceived notions; he shows you the other side of the coin. For example, instead of suggesting a new or particular solution or strategy, the mentor asks why you want to take up the strategy that you planned to do so in the first place. It happens ever so often that the enthusiasm of starting off with a new venture already can blind an entrepreneur to obvious flaws in the business plan and chase after a segment with a barrier to entry.

Role of Incubators and Accelerators

One of the main reasons that incubators and accelerators exist is to give you access to mentors; because exactly how many industry experts can you find on your own right?! It is a blessing that only someone who has reaped its fruit would be able to elaborate. Now, business incubators/accelerators provide different types of mentorship: there are talks and speaker sessions with an audience comprising a whole bunch of entrepreneurs and there are meetings which are although one-on-one but with multiple entrepreneurs at one time. This opportunity not only allows entrepreneurs to gain knowledge from the mentor’s expertise but also allows them to network with the mentor and access him for more or continual advice in the future.

There Should Be More Than One Mentors

‘The more the merrier’ applies to mentors as well, especially when you are seeking specific advice. Areas such as accounting, patents, intellectual property are good examples where advice from a mentor with a particular background would be more helpful than knowing about it ‘just from experience’.

Important to note here is that this habit of seeking advice from mentors should not be limited only till the time you are still small and setting up your business. I have seen founders of big businesses reaching out to their ‘gurus’ before signing off a term sheet for a third round of seed investment. This is called mentoring relationship and I don’t see why it shouldn’t be among the most precious relationships for an entrepreneur.

Moreover, mentorship need not be in person. A Pakistani entrepreneur could be following the life and activities of a successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and taking inspiration from him for his own business but this kind of mentorship will of course be limited.

In the end, every entrepreneur should remember that your business needs a different mentor for every different stage of your business. Moreover, a mentor is there to help you learn what you want to achieve in the future as opposed to helping you solve a problem in the present.

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