KARACHI – Momentum Pakistan 2018 is a one-stop shop that operates through a mega event by bringing opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs of Pakistan.
The two-day event, which kick-started today in Karachi, aims to bring together several local and global stakeholders.
“An entrepreneurial ecosystem is vital for the success of startups and entrepreneurs anywhere in the world but the culture of such an ecosystem has yet to gain roots in Pakistan,” said Amir Jafri, the founder of Momentum Pakistan-2018.
“We’re trying to bring about a change in the culture. Our agenda is to navigate structures for the startups and advocate for them to local and global companies.
“In the process we have convinced several companies and startups to create a greater level of connectivity through opening their Application Programming Interface (API) to other startups,” he added.
The event features representatives from Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft who are providing technical support, tools, mentoring and funds to the startups and entrepreneurs.
In addition, the list continues to grow as more and more influential and learned people join the mentoring club.
The latest to the list is Tcat Houser, the American author of 50+ books, and serial entrepreneurs, Sajid Tarar, the billionaire Pakistani-American entrepreneur, and the co-founder of Zapya, one of the world’s biggest peer-to-peer file sharing app, Steve Gu.
The purpose of the event is to convince Pakistani companies, such as banks, telecom operators and Fintechs, to share their APIs with local startups.
“The culture is changing and companies like Telenor and Mobilink have started sharing their APIs with local vendors. That was not the case earlier. We can see the culture evolving as the companies continue to explore new ways of data sharing. Through momentum we are helping this new wave gain momentum, said Amir Jafri.
What is API?
APIs are the defined interfaces through which interactions happen between an enterprise and applications that use its assets. An API approach is an architectural approach that revolves around providing programmable interfaces to a set of services to different applications serving different types of consumers.
Adding to the conversation, Amir Jafri said world-class companies like Facebook Google and Amazon have opened their APIs access to other vendors the world over.
Sharing his favorite example of Google, Mr Jafri said: “Take the example of Google maps. Other vendors need not go to Google seeking access to its map APP. Instead, they read Google map API and connecting it with their programme.”
Indeed, Pakistan has a lot to gain from such initiatives. Just because of this connectivity regime, ride sharing applications like Uber and Cream have revolutionised the ride-sharing the world over.
“Successful startups do not happen in isolation. All startups need APIs. Like, if one startup is about payment and billing services, they will need one API of the billing system, and in this way, both the parent company holding the API and the new startup are the beneficiaries,” Amir Jafri said.
Services for startups at the event
The event will also provide startups one-on-one meeting opportunities with investors in its segments ‘Office Hours’. There will be scores of incubators, accelerators, investors, startups, featured startups, global cloud companies, top tech companies, top Fintech (payment enabler) companies, Higher Education Commission funded project showcase, speakers, pitches and signing of memorandum of understanding between investors and startups under the one roof.
How to signup if you are a startup?
Startups and entrepreneurs can sign up for admission to this free without any fee.
The two-day event will have warm-up sessions for the participants so that they can get the maximum from the representatives.
