KARACHI: Three Pakistani startups have won the 2020 Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators Awards, each in three different categories. The global competition that rewards businesses that demonstrate excellence in innovation featured startups from all around the world.
AquaAgro, a startup that has invented a system that can help the farmers grow their crop efficiently and save more than 50 percent of the water used in traditional farming. This startup won first prize in the Environment & Circular Economy category of the competition. The Shell LiveWIRE award of $20000 will give the required boost to AquaAgro startup and they will be able to bring more innovations in the AquaAgro system.
Ramla Kaleem Shah, the CEO of AquaAgro, informed that the agriculture sector uses 70 percent of the country's freshwater resources, and almost 50 percent of that goes wasted. Therefore, there was need to bring technological solutions into agriculture to have optimum water usage and increase crop yield and better profit margins for the farmers, she added.
The startup named EDVON that develops STEAM curricula and DIY robotics kits for K-12 students, won the Outstanding Achievement awards at the competition. Their latest Corona-fighting robot improves sanitation and compliance in healthcare settings.
According to the CEO and founder of EDVON Robotics Pakistan, Muhammad Nabeel, the basic aim is to make the robotic engineering include in schools' curriculum. "Getting our idea and startup recognized at the Global level has motivated us to do more. COVID-19 has hit us all, but some of us have been able to make this an opportunity and develop something to help people in this pandemic," he said.
Another startup of Pakistan namely Enent that won the runner-up prize bagging $10,000, is one of those clean-tech electronics startups focusing on designing innovative products that reduce Pakistan's energy wastage. The startup claims it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 18,000 tons every year while having a massive impact on grid efficiency, saving $0.5 million in electricity bills per year.
Commenting on these achievements, Shahjahan Chaudhary - a tech entrepreneur and former director of National Incubation Center, Karachi said for the last 20 years, technology is the driver of global growth and technology is disrupting every industry from cars to space to agriculture. Investment in tech can make Pakistan a prosperous country, he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020