Pakistan’s Mariam Nusrat makes it to Forbes ‘Next 1000 List’

NEW YORK – A Pakistani entrepreneur Mariam Nusrat has been featured on Forbes, the top American business magazine’s ‘Next 1000 List’.

The prestigious list, released on Friday, featured small startups with under $10 million in revenue or funding, but having an infinite drive and enthusiasm and the 34-year-old Mariam earned her spot by establishing GRID - a Gaming Revolution for International Development.

She founded the platform to raise awareness, trigger social dialogue, and inspire behavior change with digital games in development interventions and currently leading an interdisciplinary team of Pakistan-based game developers and designers for the last six years.

A statement issued by the American business magazine on Friday cited ‘An entrepreneur’s journey is not linear — it is filled with a series of twists and turns; defeat is a natural part of the process, but what differentiates entrepreneurs on the Forbes Next 1000 List is their resilience in the face of adversity.’

Maryam after placing a spot in a list based upon the public’s nominations, expressed gratitude as she took to her Twitter handle where she wrote ‘Super pumped and honored to be on the Forbes Next 1000 list! It celebrates inspiring entrepreneurs who are redefining what it means to build and run a business amid the new normal’. ‘Excited to be part of Summer 2021’s class of 250 standouts!’, she further added.

Super pumped and honored to be on the @Forbes #Next1000 list!

It celebrates “inspiring entrepreneurs who are redefining what it means to build and run a business amid the new normal”.

Excited to be part of Summer 2021’s class of 250 standouts! #Forbes #FemaleFounder pic.twitter.com/4PT9QpLUOM

— Mariam Nusrat -Founder Breshna.io (@gamingfordev) June 16, 2021

The GRID platform aimed to resolve major world problems by creating games for positive behavioral change. At least eight portfolio games have been created which can be played in five different languages and has a gaming audience in 18 different counties with about 15 thousand downloads. The games cover a variety of topics, including reproductive health, climate change, health pandemics, animal welfare, STEM learning, and structural racism.

Reports quoting young entrepreneur said she believes that ‘behavioural change cannot be born, contextual realities cannot be ignored, and innovation cannot wait [until] tomorrow.’

Mariam, the GRID founder, holds a Master’s degree in economics from both LUMS and George Washington University in the United States, and she currently now lives in Virginia. She also worked as an Education Specialist at the World Bank when she isn’t releasing the potential of video games for social change.

The entrepreneur from the South Asian country has also bagged numerous awards including the Clinton Global Initiative University Alum Award – which she got from former US President Bill Clinton.

She also holds many other awards including DC Inno 50 on Fire Award, Andrew Rice Award, the GWU Best Social Venture Prize, and the UN PeaceApp prize.

Soon after her inclusion in the Forbes list, the official handle of the Government of Pakistan also acknowledged her accomplishments in a recent tweet.

A Pakistani businesswoman Mariam Nusrat has made it to the “Forbes Next 1000 List”, which celebrates the start-ups and business with fewer than $10 million in revenue and unlimited potential to inspire.#PrideofPakistan pic.twitter.com/ayqbzx0rHQ

— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) June 19, 2021

It is worth noting that this first-of-its-kind initiative, by Forbes, celebrates bold and inspiring entrepreneurs who are redefining what it means to run a business in new normal.