In a bid to provide start-ups with a free of cost workspace, incubation, acceleration, 'Jazz xlr8 programme' seed funds and access to 50 million plus mobile customers, the National Incubation Centre was inaugurated here on Tuesday.
State Minister for Information Technology and Telecom Anusha Rahman inaugurated the National Incubation Centre launched by JAZZ under the public-private partnership of the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom through National ICT R&D Fund and Team-up.
The NIC in the first year will house 40 start-ups with access to a state-of-the-art global facility. Services include free broadband internet, silent rooms, gaming zone, curriculum for start-up education, best business leaders as mentors, and an innovation lab designed on international standards. The Centre will also give entrepreneurs access to industry leaders and world-class mentors, who will help start-ups realise their full potential. It shall provide Pakistani start-ups with the resources required to build sustainable companies, which will boost the economic growth of Pakistan.
Addressing on this occasion, the IT minister said that the NIC would provide state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities to foster economic growth through innovation and wealth creation. Furthermore the initiative would encourage an ecosystem of indigenous product development in the arena of ICTs. This initiative is in pursuance with vision of the government which endeavours to encourage entrepreneurship-led growth. "These tech start-ups will help us as a nation better embrace the innovation-centric knowledge economy," she added.
She further said it will effectively link talent, technology, capital and skill in order to accelerate the development of new businesses and thereby help the commercialisation of technology. The minister also announced setting up of four more Incubation Centres in four provincial capitals together with Innovation Centres, one each for IoT, Robotics and Fintech.
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