Strategic project: Incubation centre to foster growth, says Anusha

Hopes to achieve growth by promoting entrepreneurship


MARIAM SHAFQAT July 19, 2016
IT Minister of State Anusha Rahman.

ISLAMABAD: The National Incubation Centre (NIC) has been strategically designed to be an effective tool to foster economic growth through innovation.

This was stated by Information Technology Minister of State Anusha Rahman on Tuesday.

She was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of National Incubation Centre at the National Information Technology Board.

“The government has lived up to the aspirations of the youth. Ministry of IT is endeavouring to ensure that adequate support is provided to young talent to realise their ideas,” Rahman said.

The initiative is pursuant to the vision of the government, which is working to create entrepreneurship-led growth, the minister said.

The incubator has been funded by the National Information and Communication Technology, Research and Development (ICT-R&D) Fund.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairperson Syed Dr Ismail Shah said the ICT-R&D Fund was committed to bringing about a technological revolution in the country by motivating academia and industry to perform research and develop state-of-the-art technologies and software.

It is the largest public-private partnership by the ministry and it would not be the last, he said.

“40 companies will be provided with guidance and funding at the centre,” Shah added.

“The fund believes in efficient mobilisation of its resources with an emphasis on achieving technical excellence for economic growth,” he said.

Shah hoped that the NIC would effectively line talent, technology and capital in order to accelerate development of new businesses and commercialisation of technology.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said information and communication technology (ICT) entrepreneurs, start-ups and small to medium sized enterprises had a particularly relevant role in ensuring economic growth in a sustainable and inclusive manner.

These entrepreneurs are involved in development of innovative ICT-enabled solutions with a unique potential to make a lasting impact in economies and as an important source of new jobs especially for the youth, he said.

He added that the ITU theme for 2016 was “ICT entrepreneurship for social impact” and he was glad that Pakistan was making tangible efforts in honouring its global focus.

“I am hoping that the initiative will go a long way in providing necessary impetus to drive economic growth through innovation in the IT sector,” Zhao said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2016.

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