National Incubation Center at LUMS, Lahore (NICL) held its capstone Investor Summit held recently, bringing together Pakistan’s most prominent investors to meet with its Lahore and Quetta cohorts of aspiring entrepreneurs.
The event, streamed live to the public via Facebook, was the culmination of a rigorous, months-long Foundation Programme, delivered by esteemed LUMS faculty to equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to ensure success. The Programme directly aligns with NICL’s mission to inspire, enable and facilitate problem-solvers in high impact areas of development such as agriculture, healthcare, finance, education, and the environment.
“We are striving at the grassroots level to feed the pipeline in Pakistan’s rapidly emerging start-up ecosystem,” said Saleem Ahmad, Chairman NICL and NIC Quetta. “Our goal is to also incubate talented youth from diverse socio-economic and demographic backgrounds, ensuring access to those who may otherwise be excluded from such opportunities.”
Mr. Ahmad also highlighted the much-needed socio-cultural solutions and indigenous offerings created by this cohort. “I’m personally moved by the mix of start-ups including many conviction-driven social ventures catering to physical disabilities and psychological wellness issues including abuse,” he said.
Some of these social ventures included eco-friendly and affordable shoes for children born with a clubfoot; an online application for children to encourage and simplify the learning of Urdu through art; a mobile application that keeps track of the socio-emotional learning of children; a software that converts books in multiple languages into braille for visually impaired individuals; an eco-friendly and sustainable packaging service for e-commerce enterprises;a prosthetic bionic hand that will facilitate amputees to complete their tasks with ease; and a safe space where young women/girls are taught their rights through art therapy.
The 23 judges attending the Investor Summit included top venture capitalists and seasoned angel investors, as well as successful start-up founders who have themselves raised significant capital in Pakistan.
Speaking during the Summit about social impact in entrepreneurship, AatifAwan, Founder and Managing Partner at Indus Valley Capital and member of NICL’s Foundation Council, commented, “There’s a false dichotomy where people think that either you’re a social impact start-up, which means you cannot raise VC money or scale fast enough, or a company just for profit. I don’t believe that dichotomy needs to exist. I feel you have maximum impact when you can figure out self-sustainable motives. The ‘why’ founders are doing something determines how much impact it will have.”
Interested investors and venture capitalists can view all 24 pitches on the NICL Facebook page (@NICLSolveTogether) and get in touch at Invest.NICL@lums.edu.pk for more information on the start-ups.
Graduates from Cohort Six have already started garnering investor interest, reflecting the recent interest in start-up investment in Pakistan.
NICL is set to welcome Cohort Eight in September and is also collaborating with Stanford Seed to offer Stanford Seed Spark, a four-month online programme for early-stage entrepreneurs.
Daily Pakistan Global Web Desk
KARACHI – The Pakistani rupee continued its positive trajectory against the US dollar in the interbank market on Thursday with the local currency’s recovery relating to crackdown launched against hoarders and outflows of the foreign currency through unlawful means.
During the intraday trading, PKR moved up against the USD, and hovered at 287.73, with an increase of Rs1.04, in the interbank market.
Yesterday, the Pakistani rupee appreciated 0.36pc to settle at 288.75.
Last week, the government said a crackdown to prevent cross-border smuggling was initiated across Pakistan. The country’s central bank also stepped up supervision of the foreign exchange market, ordering banks to set up separate entities to conduct forex transactions.
The SBP also introduced structural reforms in the exchange companies’ sector to provide better services and to ensure a transparent system.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/28-Sep-2023/today-s-currency-exchange-rates-in-pakistan-dollar-euro-pound-riyal-rates-on-sept-28-2023
KARACHI - The price of a single tola of 24-karat gold in Pakistan is Rs 202,600 on Thursday.
The price of 10 grams of 24k gold was recorded at Rs 177,700. Likewise, 10 grams of 22k gold were being traded for Rs168,730 while a single tola of 22-karat gold was being sold at Rs196,807.
Note: The gold rate in Pakistan is fluctuating according to the international market so the price is never been fixed. The below rates are provided by local gold markets and Sarafa Markets of different cities.
City | Gold | Silver |
Lahore | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Karachi | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Islamabad | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Peshawar | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Quetta | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Sialkot | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Attock | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Gujranwala | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Jehlum | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Multan | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Bahawalpur | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Gujrat | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Nawabshah | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Chakwal | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Hyderabad | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Nowshehra | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Sargodha | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Faisalabad | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
Mirpur | PKR 202,600 | PKR 2,495 |
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