The leading investors announced investments in Pakistani start-ups at a conference where 175 start-ups from all over Pakistan participated. Umar Saif, CIO of the Government of Punjab and Chairman PITB inaugurated the Start-ups Conference that was organised by Momentum Connect (Pvt) (Ltd) at Expo Centre, Karachi.
The chief guest Imran Khan, chairman of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC), urged the youths to dream big, never compromise on their vision, stand up in the face of defeat and handle pressure because these are the qualities of big leaders.
According to Umar Saif, Jan Koum should be a source of inspiration for youth to be innovative. He also urged them to use the available resources and make Pakistan proud. Hana Habeyb, Director, Microsoft, appreciated the inspiring energy and passion in the start-ups.
Asif Jafri, co-founder of 'Momentum' said that Pakistan is a land of opportunities and innovations. "Together, we shall produce many million dollar ideas out of Pakistan," he said. Suraj Kumar, the technical project leader of Momentum event hoped to receive more entries by 2018 as future is all about entrepreneurship and technology.
The conference was concluded with the distribution of cash prizes for the winners. First cash prize of rupees 1 million was awarded to Social Champ; second winner Campus Feed received Rs 700,000 whereas 3rd winner got Rs 300,000. Jehan Ara from 'Pasha' received the lifetime achievement award from Jafri Brothers whereas Humayun Bashir, an advisor to 'Momentum' and Amer Hashmi, vice chairman of Arfa Karim Foundation were also present.