Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunications Anusha Rahman said on Saturday that 3G technology will be available across the whole country in 2018. She was addressing the inauguration ceremony of the National Incubation Center (NIC) at Lahore University of Management Sciences.
"The launch of yet another National Incubation Center at LUMS after Islamabad is a testament to government of Pakistan's resolve to bring a digital revolution in Pakistan," she said. She said that the centres will be established in KPK, Karachi and Quetta as well. The ministry has started working to introduce 5G technology. She said they are working hard to connect far flung areas of KPK and Balochistan through information technology. The information technology can be exploited to provide education and health facilities to the people of Pakistan she said, adding that both public and private sectors should work together.
Vice Chancellor of LUMS, Professor Dr S Sohail H Naqvi, said "The establishment of NIC at LUMS is a tremendous milestone on a journey we at LUMS embarked on when the LUMS Center of Entrepreneurship (LCE) was established in 2014. At that we dared to set a vision for ourselves to become the largest breeding ground of sustainable, high-growth commercial and high-impact social ventures in Pakistan. The establishment of the NIC allows us an accelerated implementation of this vision. Building on the success of LCE, we are extremely excited to provide young Pakistani entrepreneurs an enhanced and expanded opportunity to nurture their business ambitions."
Addressing the audience, Yusuf Hussain, CEO Ignite, spoke of the role of National Incubation Centres in the knowledge economy of Pakistan and how these would become breeding grounds for sustainable growth and drive Pakistan's economy forward with 4th Industrial wave technologies. Sharing his thoughts, he said, "For corporations, this is a singular opportunity to transform and thrive in this age of global competition and change by partnering with and invest in start-ups that solve meaningful problems. With the track record of its management team, Maker space, Design Lab, deep R&D resources, and organic VC linkages, NIC Lahore is poised to graduate true 10x start-ups and become one of the best incubators in Asia."
During the event, Director NIC Lahore, Faisal Jalil Sherjan shared the vision and mission of NIC Lahore, and took the audience through the facilities offered at the new center.
He highlighted that NIC Lahore will house the first ever Makers Lab in Pakistan, a modern facility equipped with the latest technologies and smart equipment to bring ideas to life. He further added that this 23,000 square feet space will not only house the incubator and accelerator but will also provide business acceleration services to incubated companies, a Smart Lab, a Design Thinking Lab, a Usability Lab, various libraries and an in-house auditorium.
"NIC Lahore will be more than just an incubation space. It will foster creativity, design and encourage its selected incubates to develop companies that have high growth potential.