LAHORE – The National Incubation Centre (NIC) at LUMS has announced the appointment of its advisory board, chaired by Mr Saleem Ahmad, Senior Advisor at Afiniti, world’s largest applied artificial intelligence company.
Ahmad, along with his team, will bring extensive leadership and expertise in entrepreneurship to both NIC Lahore and NIC Quetta.
Mr Ahmad is an alumnus of LUMS, LSE and Wharton and brings over 25 years of experience in investing and managing private equity, hedge and venture funds globally. Other members of the Board include Dr Ayesha Khanna, Co-founder and CEO of ADDO AI; Ms Zehra Hyder Ali, Founder and CEO Ghonsla; Mr Ali Mukhtar, Founder and CEO Fatima Ventures; and Mr Ahmed Hussain, Director and Chief Strategy Officer at Service Sales Corporation. Dr Alnoor Bhimani, Dean Suleman Dawood School of Business, LUMS, will continue to provide oversight as NIC’s Interim Director.
The NIC offers incubation and acceleration programmes for innovative businesses. The Centre’s vision encompasses the creation of stronger linkages with LUMS’ Centres, academic programmes, faculty and students; the incubation of start-ups with strong potential for growth and impact; and enabling entrepreneurs to enter partnerships with domestic and international organisations. The renewed vision for NIC focuses on developing high impact solutions for Pakistan in the areas of agriculture, education, environment, financial inclusion, health, and applications based on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
NIC’s on-going recruitment campaign for its sixth cohort of start-ups also aims to highlight these opportunities for future incubation (for details please see: www.niclahore.com/apply).
NIC will engage participation in programmes to power the formation of innovative and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems in Pakistan. It will be establishing its footprint as the leading incubator, accelerator and entrepreneurial hub in the nation. The Advisory Board and its emergent strategies for NIC will strengthen the LUMS community, help the country’s entrepreneurial space, and boost its economy and global stature. NIC looks forward to opportunities for collaboration within LUMS and beyond.
Wha is NIC?
The National Incubation Centre (NIC) is contributing to the economic development of Pakistan by promoting entrepreneurship, especially among youth and low-income communities at the risk of social and financial exclusion. Launched under the partnership of Ministry of Information and Technology and Telecom, Ignite, Fatima Ventures and LUMS, the NIC Lahore regularly conducts training workshops to kindle the spirit of entrepreneurship in the youth of Pakistan. The centres both at Lahore and Quetta foster creativity, design and encourage selected incubatees to develop companies that have high growth potential.
