The Australian government is working with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to assist Pakistani start-up entrepreneurs learn the business acumen and management practices necessary to run small and medium enterprises.
The announcement came from Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson during a concluding ceremony of Plan9's 8th Launchpad at the Arfa Software Technology Park on Sunday. The Launchpad tried to assess a total of 150 start-ups from Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad with 15 to be chosen for incubation in the Plan9 centre for the next session.
Board Chairman Doctor Umar Saif and a Plan9 team hosted the ceremony. The Australian diplomat said her government was pleased to continue support Plan9 to promote a culture of entrepreneurship by encouraging the youth, specifically women, to contribute to the economic growth of Pakistan.
In 2015, the Australian government partnered with Plan9 to deliver Australia Awards Short Course on business incubation management which saw participants exchange innovative ideas with professionals in Australia and Pakistan, strengthening industry-academic links and helping to build public-private partnerships in business incubation. "I have met many young entrepreneurs in Pakistan with bright ideas and I am excited that we are bringing these ideas to life with Plan9. We hope the acquired skills, knowledge and the exchange of experience with business incubators will contribute to the advancement of small and medium enterprises in Pakistan to support the country's economic growth and future development," the diplomat said.
Plan9 Founder Dr Saif said that after four years of continuous hard work and determination, Plan9 was entering the eighth cycle of incubation and had expanded from tech start-ups to include two new categories - social entrepreneurship and Ed-Tech.