Karachi: Pakistan's top six startups were announced during the finale of the Shell Tameer Awards 2021, a nationwide contest was held at Shell House to recognise the best young entrepreneurs in Pakistan. This edition of yearly competition saw 125 applications and 20 finalists were shortlisted in six award categories. The finalists presented their pitches to an expert jury of diverse professionals who selected this year's winners and runners-up in each of the six award categories.
The winners under six categories were; TrashIt in Circular Economy, Enent in Clean Energy Solutions, Civixa in Empowering Women, Asani.io in Technology Innovation, Elixis in Transport & Mobility, and Boltay Huroof in Bright Idea.
TrashIt by entrepreneur Anusha Fatima is a tech based waste recycling startup enabling communities to reduce their waste footprint while creating opportunities for the informal waste pickers in the supply chain.
Asani.io by Ansab Naqvi is a technology innovation providing water management solutions to households and industries through their smart app and IoT based technology. Elixis by Mohammed Ahmed is promoting sustainable mobility through locally built electric bicycles to help reduce environmental impacts of commuting.
Enent by Osama Shakeel is clean tech startup focused on designing innovative electrical load management products that can reduce electricity bills and power loss up to 20%. Civixa by Alveena Sohail is women-led startup providing AI based data management solutions to help organizations achieve their business objectives through a data driven approach.
Boltay Huroof by Hafiz Sheikh Umer Farooq is a tech-based social enterprise aimed at improving accessibility and digital inclusion for the blind and low-vision community through their braille translation software.
The runners-up of the final round were also announced which included; International Services Pak in Circular Economy, Renew Power Projects in Clean Energy Solutions, Beetee in Empowering Women, CricFlex in Technology Innovation, vCarpool in Transport & Mobility and Eco Stabilizer in Bright Idea category.
As part of the event, a panel of high-profile leaders engaged in an insightful discussion on 'The role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in shaping the future of Pakistan', covering the benefits of having a youthful population in Pakistan, the government starting structured incubators and introducing three-year tax relief for start-ups, and how the private sector has a key role to play in the start-up ecosystem.
Moderated by Sidra Iqbal, the panel of experts comprised; CEO & MD of Shell Pakistan Limited - Haroon Rashid, Chairman & CEO of Unilever Pakistan Limited - Amir Paracha, CEO of Dawood Hercules Group - Inam ur Rahman and Chairman NCCPL - Humayun Bashir.
The Chief Executive Officer of Shell Pakistan Limited, Haroon Rashid, said, "It is encouraging to see many young innovators enthusiastic to help solve diverse and important issues that challenge our country. We are proud of the winners today and feel honoured to be part of their journey towards sustainable businesses, social change and progress of our nation. We prioritise and invest in Shell Tameer, our flagship program for enterprise development, which aims to strengthen local economies."
Since the launch of Shell Tameer in 2003, 86 Pakistani entrepreneurs have won Shell Tameer Awards receiving seed capital and media recognition.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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