Entrepreneurship: ‘Innovation only way forward for Pakistan’

Panelists say organisations with women generally do better

ISLAMABAD: Panelists, participants and stakeholders of a conference agreed that innovation was the only way forward for Pakistan and there was a need to synergise the digital and financial end of the market.

They were speaking at the conference “Make in Pakistan and innovation awards” at a hotel here on Wednesday.

Tameer Bank President Nadeem Hussain enlightened the audience that ever since 1947 the entire commercial banking industry had only opened 25 million unique bank accounts.

“A bank account is not just a service but it is also the centre of gravity for financial inclusion. In a country of 200 million people, there are only 25 million unique bank accounts, which means we need to put an effort to ensure that a normal citizen can open a bank account and become a part of the formal financial system and help him/her get involved with e-commerce and digital cash,” he said.

Bank Alfalah Digital Banking Head Amaar Ikhlas said that 2016 would see a clear synergy from the digital and financial end of the market. “I have personally seen Fintech ideas and we are opening our doors to integration for financial inclusion and better processes,” he said

In a session on development innovation and gender development paradigm, Invest2Innovate (i2i) Founder and CEO Kulsoom Lakhani said that “we need to think about innovation, and various other approaches can help not only gender but also development in general.

However, she also highlighted that companies with women have the tendency for better outcomes. “Having supported 21 companies in Pakistan, I have found that companies with women produce the highest revenue, generate the most business and generally do better,” Lakhani said.

Naeem Zamedar of Acumen Fund said that findings of recent research that they conducted revealed that organisations with more women had higher likelihood of success. “Maybe it is their collaborative mindset and nature that helps innovation and companies to succeed but it does seem like there is a direct relation,” he added.

Meenah Tariq, an entrepreneurial consultant told The Express Tribune that “the conferences such as this create space for a lot of crucial conversation that doesn’t happen otherwise or happens in silos and thus doesn’t impact change in the broader sense”.

“By bringing together various stakeholders of innovation and entrepreneurship, they are encouraging collaborations between organisations that have the same agenda - the agenda of innovation and growth,” she said.

Junaid Nasir of Nitro Cam, said the conference had been extremely beneficial in terms of marketing and connecting with individuals and organisations.

“We met with several CEOs who would like to collaborate with us, which is one of the many positive outcomes of this conference,” he said.

Innovation and Community Lead at i2i Saad Hamid, while talking to The Express Tribune said that “such conferences are a great opportunity for innovators, entrepreneurs and makers to gather at one place and look at the future through a holistic lens.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2015.