Engaging youth: Importance of entrepreneurship stressed

US delegation visits ICCI, discusses business opportunities between countries.

Pakistan should focus on encouraging its youth towards entrepreneurship because unemployed youth is a recipe for disaster. This was stated by Ken Morse, adviser to US President Barack Obama on entrepreneurship while addressing the business community at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

A delegation comprising Morse, Jason Pontin, the editor-in-chief of MIT Technology Review, Deirdre Coyle, a co-CEO of AllWorld Network and Azhar Rizvi, chairman of the FPCCI standing committee on innovation visited ICCI to discuss the importance of entrepreneurship development in the country.

Morse said entrepreneurship offers the best option to Pakistan for engaging its youth in productive activities and to create more jobs. He assured that the US is ready to cooperate with Pakistan for entrepreneurship development in the country.



ICCI President Shaban Khalid briefed the delegation on ICCI activities related to entrepreneurship and youth development. Khalid said ICCI has formed a Young Entrepreneurs Forum (YEF) to focus on encouraging the youth towards entrepreneurship. He said YEF organises workshops, trainings and mentorship programmes for youth development.

Pontin said entrepreneurship has been identified as one of the most important vehicles for economic wellbeing of individuals and communities and added that the MIT Enterprise Forum Pakistan (MITEFP) has been established to develop an entrepreneurial eco-system in Pakistan.

He said there are plans to start an MIT Technology Review in Pakistan which will highlight Pakistani entrepreneurs’ success stories at the international level.

For this purpose, we are looking for the support of local publishers, partners, sponsors and advertisers, he added.

Coyle said Pakistan has great potential for entrepreneurship and said they are trying to put Pakistani companies on a global stage by announcing the ranking of the 100 fastest growing companies of Pakistan. “We want to show the world that Pakistan is open to business and help change its negative perception,” she said.

She was hopeful that joining the AllWorld ranking, Pakistani companies will get global visibility, attract new customers, investors and talent from all over the world and become part of a prestigious group of successful entrepreneurs.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th,2013.