Nine PITB-supported start-ups valued at over $70 million

Exclusion from tax net beneficial for entrepreneurial culture: Saif

LAHORE: Pakistan’s economy and business culture has grown enough for a billion-dollar idea to emerge from a young entrepreneur, Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) Chairman Umar Saif said while talking to participants of the 10th Plan9 Launchpad expo.

Initiated by PITB in 2013 as a tech-incubator, Plan9 has nurtured nine startups valued at over $70 million with combined investments of $2.5 million after five years.

“Pakistan’s youth has a potential to develop a startup, just like Skype,” Saif said, adding that the government’s decision of providing tax relief for startups has been beneficial for the startup ecosystem.



The Launchpad expo is a bi-annual event where aspiring entrepreneurs present their ideas to the incubator in hopes of attracting financing and business support. The five-day expo is a big hit with tech savvy entrepreneurs whose ideas are scrutinised by Plan 9 officials and selected on the basis of their utility and potential for problem solving.

A total of 120 applicants out of a 1,000 have been selected this year after getting their ideas vetted. Plan9 will now take the applicants through series of workshops to mentor the brains behind the ideas and teach the applicants necessary skills like team-building, product knowledge, supply chain, social media marketing, pitching the idea to financers, costing, financing and networking.

During the weeklong 10th cycle a panel of expert judges will screen and choose the successful candidates for further grooming and eventual incubation.

“Plan9’s first Launchpad attracted 400 applicants in 2013, out of which only 15 startups were selected,” programme manager Zainab Tariq said, adding that the number is increasing each year.

Co-founder of Nazdeeq.com Madiha Nasrullah, told The Express Tribune that participating in such expos expands business knowledge, networking and legal understanding of would-be entrepreneurs.



“Such measures will help the domestic tech industry bridge the technological and creative gap between Pakistan and rest of the world,” she predicted.

Madiha, whose start-up is providing logistics and payments solutions in Pakistan for Amazon shoppers, further said that the Launchpad expo is a stepping stone for new entrants in the field and not the final destination.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2017.

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