Start up success stories

[Dubious]

Meet the woman who has been at the forefront of Pakistan’s tech industry for over a decade

PASHA President Ms Jehan Ara


Jehan Ara wears several hats. She is the president of the largest tech association in Pakistan, runs a Google-funded incubation space, and is an outspoken advocate for cyber freedom and net neutrality. Despite modestly describing herself as a “person of average intelligence”, Ara is widely known and respected throughout the country and synonymous with developments in Startups, technology, and entrepreneurship.


Ara’s formative years were spent in Hong Kong, where her father worked as a banker, and where she obtained her primary education. After college, she got a job and worked in Hong Kong for several years, eventually moving to a regional-level role for a “major media firm”. However, once her father retired and decided to move his family back to Pakistan, she had no hesitation in quitting her job and joining them. This was in the mid-90s.

Ara’s work and exposure to new media prompted her to start a multimedia company shortly after her return to Pakistan, in partnership with a friend. Once the paperwork was done, she started meeting senior-level execs from companies such as IBM, and convincing them of the need to establish an online presence as a necessary equation in their marketing mix. Back then, internet reach in Pakistan was almost negligible due to high costs – and not everyone was convinced of her plans.

Eventually her firm started gaining traction and securing clients. It helped that it was one of the first companies in Pakistan to offer such services, thereby capitalizing on their early start. At the time, Ara also decided to join the Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA), as she believed it was necessary to be part of the association representing the space in which her company was trying to establish itself.

The name PASHA is actually a misnomer. While it started off as a trade association, the body is now actively involved in a number of outreach initiatives. These are part of their vision to promote technology-based startups as well as to be an advocacy group lobbying for better policies at the federal level.

As Ara’s business grew, so did her active engagement with PASHA. In 2001 she was offered the chance to be the president of the association, which she attributes to her non-political nature and neutrality with almost everyone else in the organization. At the time, the position was an honorary one, as PASHA had yet to evolve into an advocacy and training organization it is today.

The original incubators

For the next few years, Ara laid the foundations for PASHA to play an active role in the support and development of the tech community. She was motivated by a belief that the sector could dramatically reshape Pakistan’s economy by providing value-added services and jobs. By now the internet had well and truly permeated into the social fabric of Pakistan, helping churn out scores of graduates interested in the sector as well as establishing a healthy entrepreneurial spirit. The demands of her position grew to such an extent that, in 2007, she quit the company that she had established and accepted a full-time position role as PASHA’s president. There was no looking back.

It was no coincidence that PASHA’s aggressive entrance into nurturing startups in Pakistan came at the same time of Ara’s promotion to a full-time role. “Initially we started hosting events such as the startup insider series, Launchpad series, and the social innovation fund,” Ara tells Tech in Asia. “These competitions offered a significant sum of prize money, as well as mentorship opportunities.”

As the popularity of these competitions grew, so did the quality of presenting teams. “We noticed a lot of young, dedicated, and talented individuals with futuristic ideas, and our belief in Pakistan’s IT sector further strengthened,” she says. “The necessity of having a full-time incubation space grew as just hosting a few events per year was not enough. We needed to do more to catapult these products, help nurture them, and bring them recognition on a global stage.”

The concept for the future birth of PASHA’s own technology incubator, The Nest I/O, was now agreed upon in principle by all members of the board.

Early success for PASHA came in the form of a firm commitment from Google to donate funds to help build The Nest I/O. While this was admirable, Google was unwilling to finance the whole project, as the company wanted PASHA to remain firmly associated with it and for them to take a relatively minor role. Despite Google’s seal of approval for The Nest I/O, Ara found it difficult to convince other companies to earmark funds for the project. After several firms politely declined, redemption came in the form of Samsung, who agreed to sign on and match Google’s commitment. Ara proudly claims that it was the first time that the Korean company had committed funds for an external incubation space anywhere in the world. The US State Department also weighed in at the last minute with some funding, prompting PASHA to declare that they had raised enough cash to comfortably sustain itself for a period of three years.

Community spirit trumps all


According to Ara, one of the best parts of the startup ecosphere in Pakistan is the strong sense of community spirit that they all embody. When The Nest was conceptualized, she was inundated with offers of pro-bono help from established entrepreneurs who wanted to offer their expertise to teams that were just getting off the ground. An example of this camaraderie are the regular sessions conducted at The Nest by entrepreneur and angel investor Imran Moinuddin, who is also the co-founder of DotZero, another incubation space based in Karachi.

“Ordinarily you would believe that he [Moinuddin] is our competitor as he runs a similar center,” she says. “However, all of us believe in working collectively and collaboratively.”

The sense of community building was one of PASHA’s core focus areas before deciding to build this space and it is clear that these close-knit ties have been critical in helping the incubation center get off to an impressive start. Startups have a wide range of mentors that they can reach out to at any time, there is a regular ‘speaker series’, and the curriculum taught at The Nest I/O has been developed exclusively by volunteers.

“We’re teaching them how to pitch, how to identify and develop your customer, and different types of business models,” says Ara. “While still a work-in-progress, the curriculum is designed to benefit all incubatees and has been drafted by expert practitioners in the field.”

Offers of pro-bono support have also been invaluable in helping The Nest I/O to save costs, as the other alternative would be to engage a training company to impart the skills that early-stage businesses need – and that would mean high consultation fees. Ara is happy to channel the money saved to other productive uses.

The speaker series is one of the most popular initiatives at The Nest I/O, with Ara ensuring that all sessions are free and open to the public. To help further build the ecosphere, the sessions are recorded and uploaded on its website, thereby building an important repository of information available to anyone who is interested. “The aim is to make this space a hub of networking and events,” she says. “This helps in everything from job placements to investment opportunities whilst also allowing the incubatees to benefit from the increased synergy.”

But why so much emphasis on community building, you may ask? Why not allow companies to learn on their own two feet, and bounce back from failure? Ara says that a couple of healthy success stories convinced her that this would be the best model moving forward.

She cites Farhan Masood, the founder of SoloInsight, as an example of how collaborative efforts can help firmly build the ecosystem. Masood, who built an internationally-acclaimed biometrics solution which was recognized by MIT, was initially cast out by his partner who did not believe his idea was commercially viable. After being encouraged by PASHA to participate in a startup competition, Masood went ahead and pitched his product. He won first prize, and secured a sum of seed investment, which he used to streamline his service.

Ara, who remains in close contact with Masood, says that if he hadn’t taken a leap of faith and believed in himself, we probably would not have seen the successful company that is SoloInsight. “While his achievements are completely down to hard work and dedication, there is no doubt that encouragement from us and the rest of the community did help him,” she says. “If any of us can play a small role in someone’s success, it makes the entire community feel very good.”

Another example of a success story that Ara cites is the craft shoes startup Markhor. The PASHA social innovation fund, which recognizes businesses that have a social impact, awarded Markhor a sum of US$10,000, which it used as seed capital. Further support and mentorship came in the form of incubation at Plan 9, where the company got feedback and advice for almost all aspects of the business, including branding, operations, and finance.

It is clear that this collaborative model is here to stay. Ara wants to see The Nest I/O teeming with activity and encourages people to visit, hang out, or even plan their next event there. “Simply mentoring an average of fifteen to sixteen startups per quarter is limiting our outreach and not doing justice to the effort and resources pooled in to establish it,” she affirms. “We want to do much more.”

As for Ara herself, she is determined not to sit back and rest on her achievements. Her next project is to propel incubation and mentorship beyond the three traditional domains of Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad and into other cities such as Peshawar and Quetta. “We must work proactively to ensure that smaller cities are also given the same opportunities that the larger ones enjoy,” she says. “Only then will a true community finally emerge.”


This woman has almost single-handedly galvanized Pakistan’s tech industry.


@Armstrong @Magnet @Jungibaaz @S.U.R.B. @Horus @Leader @Jazzbot @IBRIS @Emmie @WAJsal @TankMan @waz @MastanKhan @dexter @HRK @Wolfhound @Umair Nawaz @qamar1990 @WebMaster @Spy Master @S.Y.A @p(-)0ENiX @Slav Defence @slapshot @Secur @Side-Winder @rockstar08 @RescueRanger @Taygibay @Malik Abdullah @PWFI @Pboy @Pukhtoon @Spring Onion @Pboy @liontk @Pakistanisage @ZYXW @Marshmallow @Patriots @Pakistani shaheens @Pak47 @Muhammad Omar @Men in Green @Manticore @LoveIcon @Luftwaffe @krash @KingMamba @JonAsad @Imran Khan @Jango @Indus Falcon @Hyperion @Gunsnroses @Gufi @ghazi52 @farhan_9909 @farhanalee7 @Emmie @EAK @Durrak @DRaisinHerald @DiehardPakNerd @Dr. Stranglove @Atanz @Devil Soul @Developereo @Desert Fox @AUz @Icewolf @Darth Vader @Crypto @DESERT FIGHTER @cb4 @Bratva @BATMAN @batmannow @balixd @B06 @Azad-Kashmiri @AZADPAKISTAN2009 @Areesh @air marshal @Al Bhatti @Aether @A.Rafay @قناص

 

[Dubious]

Pakistan’s accelerator Invest2Innovate hails over 200 jobs created by social impact startups

Osman Husain
4:19 pm on Apr 29, 2015

Pakistani startup accelerator Invest2innovate (i2i) began operations in 2011, and in the past few years has mentored 16 young businesses. Graduate startups from i2i have raised US$700,000 in investment so far, according to the accelerator.

The Islamabad-based accelerator counts 35 mentors in its network, including 15 who are active investors.

“The i2i accelerator has a clearly defined policy of working only with startups that are socially innovative,” explains communications manager Saad Hamid. “However, at the same time, we do not accept businesses for mentorship that are not already up-and-running.”

One of the most important metrics of success at i2i is the number of new livelihood and employment opportunities created by its startups. Since the first incubation process, over 200 new jobs have been created by the startups and the businesses they run, as shown in the accelerator’s own infographic (below). Fashion startup Popinjay is cited as one of i2i’s biggest success stories, with revenue that increased by 600 percent since graduating from the accelerator, as well as employment of 160 rural artisans and trainers who make its handcrafted products.

The focus on socially-innovative businesses is of paramount importance to Pakistani society. Poverty affects approximately 40 percent of people living in the country, with around 77 million estimated to be food-insecure. The International Food Policy Research Institute ranks Pakistan as one of the 26 countries in the world where unemployment, coupled with rising food prices, have combined to present a serious challenge for policy makers.

Apart from mentoring startups, i2i also works as an advisory body for the World Bank, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, and the US Institute of Peace, to design strategies and workshops for entrepreneurship-related activity in Pakistan. Amidst all this, social impact by creating jobs and solving real issues remains the primary focus.

Next up for i2i is regional expansion. The plan is to use all its experience in Pakistan to open an accelerator in Bangladesh, a country with similar dynamics and an established need for socially-innovative startups.

Editing by Steven Millward and Paul Bischoff; top image by ILO


Social impact accelerator i2i hails over 200 jobs created

 

[Dubious]

Pakistan startup wants to create social networks around local events

A few years after graduating from university, Talha Izhar found himself in an uncomfortable and unforeseen situation. Over the course of the past few years his friends had slowly trickled out of Pakistan; some had left for higher education, others had been offered jobs, while the rest had simply joined their families in pastures new. Izhar, who worked as a software consultant at the time, wished to make more social networks but did not have the time or opportunities to do so. Unaware of events and meet-ups happening in his home city of Karachi, he was not in a position to make new friends or acquaintances.

For Izhar, this barrier to information turned out to be far more intriguing than he initially envisioned. While not exactly teeming with cultural activities, Karachi is still an urban metropolis of approximately 20 million people and a significant middle class segment. There is significant interest in the food and entertainment industry but a lack of awareness sometimes prevents event organisers from reaching as many people as they would like, with Facebook being the primary social network used to promote events.

Inspired by social networking site Meetup, Izhar quit his job to start work on a new app which he hoped would help facilitate offline group meetings. The venture, titled Jus’ Plan It, aims to carve out a niche in event planning and community meets by giving an overall listing of activities happening nearby. “Unless you are invited to an event on Facebook, it is difficult to find out exactly what is happening nearby,” Izhar tells Tech in Asia. “We want to give individuals and businesses the opportunity to attract a wider audience.”

Jus’ Plan It team

Group chats
How the app works is fairly simple. Initially you have the option of either creating an event or browsing through existing ones in your geographical location. If you choose to create an event, you can set it as as invite-only, or public, where anyone with the app can view it. The events can also be filtered according to their category, such as meals, film screenings, outdoor activities, travel plans, shopping trips, and parties. For public events, the app allows organisers to advertise their meets to all users within a maximum radius of a hundred miles and also gives the number of available users in the specified range.

Izhar is quick to explain that his venture is not simply a clone of Meetup. “They [Meetup] are focused on interest-based communities while we help our users plan and create events more effectively with friends and family,” he says.

The most intriguing feature of Jus’ Plan It is the option for a group chat among all an event invitees. Akin to a WhatsApp group chat, the feature allows users to converse freely and send images to one another but does not give away personal details such as their phone numbers. For Izhar, this will be crucial in evoking trust and camaraderie, as well as allowing organizers to relay crucial information in the case of any unforeseen circumstances.

There is certainly a rising interest in the local community for greater information and transparency about events and networking opportunities happening nearby. Websites such as Happening.pk and KiaSceneHai.pk both aim to bridge this gap by giving a comprehensive listing of events, talks, and festivals in the major cities of Pakistan. However, Jus’ Plan It takes this a notch higher with a fairly well-designed user interface and greater freedom to add events in the database.

While there are certainly plans to monetize, for now Izhar is concentrating on providing a hassle-free experience. Once there is significant traction, users may find sponsored events as well as discount offers when planning meets such as meals, shopping, or travel excursions. The aim, however, will always be to strengthen ties and bring local communities closer together, he explains.


Pakistan startup wants to create social networks around local events

Pakistani startup bags funding from Silicon Valley investor for social media wifi logins

Wifigen – the Pakistan-based Startup which provides innovative wifi solutions to customers and businesses alike – has just announced that it received an undisclosed amount of funding from a Silicon Valley based investor, valuing the company at US$1 million. The investor behind this funding round is John Russell Patrick, former vice president at IBM and an early stage investor in Uber.

Wifigen was initially incubated by Lahore-based Plan9 as part of their fifth cycle and provides free public wifi in exchange for some customer information. How it works is fairly straightforward. Companies who embed Wifigens’ solution into their existing wifi hotspot will then have the option of offering their clients free use of the service as long as they login with one of their social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn. Clients who choose to ‘check-in’ or share their location will also be offered discounts, or even free products.

Wifigen team

For businesses, the solution offered by Wifigen is a potential treasure trove of information and analytics. All customer-inputted data is transferred to a “cloud band account”, which can then be used by the business to determine invaluable information such as demographics, history of visits, and overall satisfaction levels. Wifigen also allows restaurants and cafes to display their menu directly on a user’s smartphone once he or she logs in so they can order with just a few clicks.

The company bagged its first contract halfway across the world in New Zealand, which also provided the catalyst for the first round of investment. Wifigen believes that their solution has the potential to be a game-changer, as it facilitates direct communication between businesses and customers, and provides value addition to both.

Wifigen plans on using this investment round to market their service aggressively in Pakistan, where they still have not established a public presence. International expansion is also on the startups’ bucket list – after successful implementation of their solution in New Zealand, their next target country is Australia.


Silicon Valley is betting on Pakistani startups to make their presence felt


A bit scary if you ask me!

 

[Dubious]

Popinjay dreams of making poverty a thing of the past for Pakistani women

When it comes to earning money, women in Pakistan have historically received the short end of the stick. Because of the country’s conservative culture, girls typically find it hard to get an education or progress beyond low-paying jobs. In fact, the Global Gender Gap report published by the World Economic Forum just last year saw the Muslim nation rank a dismal 141 out of 142 countries in terms of economic participation and opportunity for women.

Females who want to break this ceiling often have to resort to extreme means to do so. Saba Gul, founder of high-end handbag company Popinjay, recalls the story of a young girl named Azaada Khan, who had disguised herself as a boy for 12 years in order to be allowed to attend school in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

As a student fortunate enough to be studying in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – and so geographically separated from these realities – the story deeply impacted her. Even though she managed to land a six-figure engineering job after graduation, Saba couldn’t get the story out of her mind.

“In addition, I had always carried within me a deep love for the beautiful craft techniques I saw in Pakistan, where I grew up, as well as in my travels around the world – India, Bhutan, Ethiopia, and Sri Lanka,” she recounts. “I felt that this talent was stunted due to a lack of opportunities and connections to larger markets.”

So in 2011 – when America was still recovering from the effects of a terrible recession – Saba decided to return to her homeland and try to make a difference. She unwittingly stumbled upon her life’s mission in the process.

“I started a pilot in Pakistan to provide young women access to basic education and livelihoods. As it started gaining traction in the local community, I realized that it lit my fire like nothing had before,” she says. “Quitting my job after that was a no-brainer.”

The pilot program – which evolved into a full-fledged non-profit organization called BLISS – involved after-school classes in which girls learnt embroidery and needlework. Their embroidered fabric would then be sent to local producers to be finished into high-quality handbags, which were sold in boutiques. The proceeds would be used to fund the girls’ education, as well as recruit other students.

Their handiwork soon became extremely popular with customers not just locally, but from all over the world. In an article on Medium, Saba recalls an encouraging note from a customer from Canada:

I’ve never loved a thing as much as I love my BLISS bag. You make bags that change the world! People ask about it because it is so unusual, so lovely; it is embroidered art. When I tell them the story of families lifted economically, the bag becomes so much more beautiful.

In addition, the handbags were featured in several national and international media platforms, and even in fashion shows. On the surface, it seemed like a success, but there was a deeper issue that had Saba worrying behind closed doors – how the team was going to go about “scaling up our model after the initial proof of concept.” At that time, the BLISS team had a grand total of two people, with just 40 artisan women under its wings.

One of the talented women artisans.

Here was the problem: Saba’s goal of bringing prosperity to artisan women was highly dependent upon the organization being able to to sell more products made by them. And to sell more products, the enterprise was going to have to make a name for itself in the fashion industry, which we all know is fiercely competitive, to say the least.

“The first step to scaling was to accept that we weren’t just a non-profit dipping our toes into the world of fashion out of necessity. We were in the business of fashion. Not in the business of poverty or education, except indirectly,” Saba writes.

“We needed to be a fashion label focused on sales, not a non-profit focused solely on social impact.”

Getting down to business
A massive overhaul of both business model and mindsets was what came next as BLISS was re-branded into the for-profit Popinjay, and came online in late 2013. The name is a Middle English word that means parrot.

“We chose a parrot because it is an animal that is associated with a voice,” Saba explains. “Our parrot stands for the voice of good fashion, the voice of the artisan women whose skills and stories we spread, and the voice of the consumer who wants to create positive impact with their purchase.”

A highlight from Popinjay’s latest line of handbags.

The Popinjay brand would be defined by two things: luxe design and global impact. But before the latter could be accomplished, the former had to be established in the marketplace. To do this meant Saba had to focus on fundraising, sales, and hiring talent – advice that she got from an advisory board member and the founder of Indigenous Designs, Scott Leonard.

While this was not what she had in mind when first founding the organization, Saba knew that Leonard was right, and she began the process of developing a greater business sense.

“My breakthrough came when I started pitching Popinjay to investors who had a deep connection to Pakistan, and a great appreciation for the soul of our brand,” she tells Tech in Asia. “We secured a seed round of funding through a syndicate of angel investors within a month of starting conversations with them.”

Authenticity and passion are the two traits she believes helped convince the angel investors to bet on Popinjay:

Investors are investing in you, the entrepreneur, first and foremost, and your idea and its innovation second. The idea will evolve, and the team may change but they must have faith in the fact that you will never, ever, ever give up. Give them reason to believe this. Do your homework, know your numbers, let your passion shine, and show them the traction you have gained so far – whether qualitative or quantitative.

Since then, Popinjay bags have picked up where BLISS left off quite well, getting showcased at the Emmy awards and in numerous international publications.

Saba believes the bags stand out from the rest of the pack because they are truly one-of-a-kind:

Each Popinjay bag features a signature element: hand embroidery done in silk threads that is set in the finest leather. Popinjay products are unique in that they preserve traditional craft, while adding timeless style to the fashion-forward woman’s closet. A story is woven between the threads of our bags, creating an ever-lasting bond between the artisan woman that made it, and the woman that carries it.

Saba says that its bags can be found in most major US cities, as well as in the the Philippines and India. “But most of all, Popinjay’s success and traction is evident in the deep love our customers feel for the brand and its mission, in their desire to come back and continue to purchase from us, and in the reviews they give our products,” she adds.

Diversifying product offerings
Now that its bags have made it to the top of the world, Saba’s next goal for Popinjay’s 150 or so talented female artisans is to produce award-winning belts, shoes, and other apparel and accessories as well. “We also want to diversify the skills we teach the women, moving from only hand embroidery to also include block printing, tie-dye, and various other techniques,” she adds.

With that, she ultimately hopes to create an ecosystem of support, training, and marketing channels for artisans. “We are in it for the long haul. Our ultimate goal is to become a global brand that stands for justice, equality, and dignity while creating timeless, inspired fashion pieces,” says Saba.


Popinjay wants to make poverty history for Pakistani women

The website with the beautiful bags:

Popinjay. Handmade in Pakistan.

And another similar one on men shoes (story after 2 posts):

Markhor

 

[Indos]

Good Thread............

@Saif al-Arab , @Falcon29

Please give us success story (young entrepreneurs) from the Arab world

 

[Dubious]

The rise of Pakistan’s startup ecosystem: Shifting traditions and inward inspiration


by KALSOOM LAKHANI — 20 Dec '14, 04:00pm in ENTREPRENEUR


Kalsoom Lakhani is the Founder/CEO of Invest2Innovate, or i2i, which supports startups in new and untapped markets.

Any ‘boom’ you hear in relation to a country like Pakistan is more likely literal than figurative. The country is likely to be the butt of a snarky Bill Maher joke than depicted in a positive light.

Most news about Pakistan is negative – detailing bombings, targeted killings and political instability. While this is sadly very much part of the narrative, it is not the whole truth.

The Pakistan you read about in the news omits the vast amounts of people, organizations and companies striving to make it better. In the last year alone, Pakistani women have won a Nobel Peace Prize, scaled the world’s highest mountains, won an Emmy and brought home the gold medal in cricket.

Just two months ago, e-commerce company Markhor, which works with local artisans to produce high-quality men’s leather shoes, became Pakistan’s most successful Kickstarter campaign, raising seven times more than its intended goal, catching the attention of Seth Godin and GOOD Magazine.

There is no greater evidence of this positive change than in Pakistan’s burgeoning technology ecosystem. In a new report released by my company, Invest2Innovate – which was commissioned by the World Bank’s Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) – we mapped the number of startup competitions, incubators, university programs, coworking spaces and forums, and analyzed the gaps and challenges entrepreneurs continue to face in the country.

Three years ago, the ecosystem was relatively nascent, with just a handful of organizations. Today, the space is unrecognizable and brimming with constant energy and activity.

A closer look at Pakistan’s tech scene

Plan9, the country’s largest technology incubator launched by the Punjab Information Technology Board, recently announced PlanX, its new startup acceleration program. The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), one of Pakistan’s top universities, recently graduated the first class of incubatees from its Foundation program.

The IT trade association, Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES will soon launch Nest i/o, a Karachi-based technology incubator seeded by Google, Samsung and the US Department of State. Coworking spaces like Basecamp in Peshawar, DotZero and HQ in Karachi and TechHub in Lahore are sprouting all over the country – providing space to fledgling and growing companies.

Hackathons and Startup Weekends are producing startups like Savaree (a ride-sharing application similar to Lyft) and Groopic (a photo editing application), and online publications like TechJuice and PakWired also provide constant coverage of rising companies, events and other startup-related news.

While this phenomenon is not unique to Pakistan – we are watching startup communities sprout and thrive all over the world – there are several factors that make us hopeful about the growing ecosystem.

First, Pakistani entrepreneurs have largely led the growth of Pakistan’s ecosystem. In his book, Startup Communities, author and cofounder of TechStars Brad Feld noted that leaders of a growing startup community must be entrepreneurs who have a long-term commitment to growing the ecosystem and “must be inclusive of anyone who wants to engage with the community.”

A number of Pakistan-based technology entrepreneurs – many of whom have had some exposure to well-developed ecosystems like Silicon Valley, New York or London – have been and remain deeply committed to growing this space, often participating as judges, mentors, advisors and investors to competitions, incubators/accelerators and startups.

For example, DotZero, one of Pakistan’s first major coworking spaces, was cofounded by four successful technology entrepreneurs based in Karachi. The Karachi Institute of Technology & Entrepreneurship (KITE), established in by a Pakistani entrepreneur, is providing an alternative and innovative learning environment to students wishing to enter the technology sphere.

Second, though security issues, corruption, and political instability have increased the perceived risk for foreign investors, it has also in turn caused Pakistanis to look inward, build indigenous networks, and replicate models that have worked in other countries for the local market.

As a result, we’ve seen an ecosystem that is being built by Pakistanis for Pakistan. Moreover, given that 2/3 of Pakistan’s 180 million people are under 30 years old, we have a young population who are hungry and determined to change the environment around them. Young Pakistanis are launching local chapters of global brands like TEDx, Startup Weekend and Startup Grind, further fostering idea generation and the dialogue around innovation.

Forward and upward

This is not to say that challenges do not remain. In the report we released this year, Pakistan Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Report, we noted that while this micro-level activity is indeed encouraging, macro-level policy and infrastructure challenges continue to plague entrepreneurs and investors alike.

In the World Bank Group’s Doing Business report, Pakistan continues to drop down the list, ranking 128 out of 189 countries in the new 2015 list (versus 127 in 2014 and 106 in 2013). The current policies – from taxes to business registration to investor protection – promote an environment that is more opaque than transparent, ultimately discouraging investment and impeding growing companies.

The good news is that these policies are neither difficult nor expensive to change – they just require the political will to do so. In fact, Pakistan’s government can and must play a stronger role in this burgeoning ecosystem to further enable entrepreneurship in the country and encourage investment.

Startup communities are indeed cropping up all over the world. This is an exciting sea change. But, particularly in the case of Pakistan, if we want to see this burgeoning micro-level activity turn into actual growth and results, an ecosystem approach is necessary.

It is important to design and build solutions that promote trust and foster transparency. Policy reform is vital. Collaboration among all stakeholders is key. Only then can real and systemic change happen.

The Rise of Pakistan's Startup Ecosystem

 

[Indos]

This one from Indonesia

Salahudin Sandiaga Uno, also knowns as Sandi Uno (born in Rumbai, Pekanbaru on June 28, 1969) is one of Indonesia's richest men with estimated net worth of $795 million.

Career
Sandi Uno graduated summa cum laude from Wichita State University, United States. He began his career with Bank Summa in 1990. A year later he obtained the scholarship to continue his education at George Washington University, USA and graduated with GPA of 4.00.[2]

In 1994, he joined MP Group Holding Limited as an investment manager. In 1995, he moved to NTI Resources Ltd in Canada and worked as Executive Vice President in the company. Unfortunately, the monetary crisis in 1997 hit NTI Resources Ltd hard and caused it to go into administration and left Sandi unemployed.

This prompted Sandi to return to Indonesia. Seeing no real future as an employee, he decided to set up and run his own business. In 1997, he co-founded PT Recapital Advisors with his high school friend, Rosan Perkasa Roeslani and in 1998, he co-founded Saratoga Capital with Edwin Soeryadjaya. Twelve years later, Saratoga Capital is one of Indonesia's largest investment firms employing more than 20,000 people.

In 2009, Sandi Uno is listed as 29th richest man in Indonesia according to Forbes magazine.[2]

On May 2011, he bought 51 percent shares of Mandala Airlines.[3]

Sandiaga Salahudin Uno - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Dubious]

Markhor shoes: A digital footprint

By Mariam Saeed Khan / Creative: Sanober Ahmed
Published: December 14, 2014

Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali preserve an indigenous craft by providing it with an international platform PHOTOS: MARKHOR COMPANY

Knowing how to effectively use various technological tools to create a market that is not limited to physical boundaries has become the new key to success. Young entrepreneurs, Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali structured their business model around the same concept and started counselling local craftsmen in their hometown Okara on how to move their business online. In the process, they ended up teaming up with a reluctant shoe-maker Muhammad Hussain and gave his handcrafted shoes a much-needed digital footprint.

In 2012, the duo launched Markhor — an online shoe brand that connects indigenous shoe-making craftsmen to global customers — but their journey was not a walk in the park. “The idea started with our small digital media company that provided assistance to people who were not familiar with technology. We would train them on how to use the internet for communication and business proposals,” recalls Ali. It was during this time that they first met Hussain who was striving to keep the craft of shoe-making alive and was convinced the internet was a dangerous tool. When they managed to finally reason with Hussain on their second visit to Okara, they did not have the finance to take the project forward and for a brief while returned to focusing on their digital media company.

Markhor shoes are made from leather and are therefore priced on the higher end. PHOTOS: MARKHOR COMPANY

Markhor’s sole focus is to build a quality brand for Pakistan that can compete internationally. PHOTOS: MARKHOR COMPANY

“When our company failed, Sidra and I took up different jobs to make money. Meanwhile, we applied for various grants and competitions as well,” shares Ali. Their big breakthrough came in September 2011 when the Pasha Fund for Social Innovation, a programme sponsored by Google Inc, awarded them $10,000. But since the money was handed in installments of $2,000 it took them a while to firmly establish themselves. “We basically launched our company at a local fast food joint. For three months we held meetings with suppliers there and in June 2012, Markhor launched its website,” adds Qasim.

The brand combines an age-old craft with modern designs to cater to a global urban clientele. All the shoes are made from leather and are therefore priced on the higher end. The ‘mark loafer’ which is made from just one piece of leather and the ‘black loafer’ which is made from full-grain cow leather both cost $235 (approximately Rs23,800). Similarly, their ‘Kaptaan Chappal’ is priced at $169 (approximately Rs17,000). “We hired a local designer and gave him an idea of what the international market demands and what works. He made sketches keeping these things in mind,” says Qasim. Initially since the designer sketched out only loafers and the shoe’s frame was designed accordingly, they invested more in tools and the raw material instead of the shoe’s design. The brand is also presently limited to shoes for men as the team strives to build a loyal clientele that can ensure a steady demand. According to the duo, women tend to switch between various brands and the project needs consistency in sales for now. So far, 60% of Markhor’s total sales have come from customers based in the United States.

Founders of the Markhor brand Sidra Qasim and Waqar Ali with a shoe-maker from Okara. PHOTOS: MARKHOR COMPANY

Markhor is an online shoe brand that gives indigenous craftsmen a global clientele. PHOTOS: MARKHOR COMPANY

Building a quality brand for Pakistan that can compete internationally remains the sole focus of Markhor. “Whoever buys from us knows where these craftsmen are from. It is [with their] stories and hard work that we have established this [online] community,” explains Ali. He elaborates that the project has ensured employment for a large number of local craftsmen and allowed them to polish their skills by learning new designs and techniques which is also the project’s top priority.

The company has also received further support from Plan9, one of the country’s largest technology incubator, and through its Kickstarter Campaign raised over $100, 000 in less than a month. The campaign also helped them cater to a wider clientele, which was earlier limited to just 500 individuals who knew the brand through word of mouth. “People were talking about us in the Silicon Valley which is the capitol of innovation,” says Ali. The campaign lifted his spirits and further strengthened his confidence in the brand. “Things will change slowly. People are talking about us in places we would have never thought we’d be able to reach,” says Qasim. The campaign has also helped market the brand within Pakistan.

“You have to be at the right place at the right time and it is not coincidental,” says Ali about the success of his brand. “It is all part of a God’s plan.” Although Qasim’s parents were not supportive of the venture in the beginning, they warmed up to it after witnessing their daughter’s achievements. “Starting a company is not an easy task whether you’re a man or a woman. But being a girl from a small town, I had to face a lot of challenges,” shares Qasim who belongs to a family where most of the women’s career choices were limited to teaching and she was expected to do the same. The duo who have survived against several odds is now known among their friends as the ones who never give up. Those who approach them for help are never turned away either.

Mariam Saeed Khan is presently a student of Political Sciences and Media Studies at the Lahore School of Economics.



Markhor shoes: A digital footprint - The Express Tribune


Website for the shoes: Markhor

 

[Dubious]

Inaaya is a fashion startup endorsed by Amal Alamuddin

Osman Husain
1:00 pm on May 15, 2015

For ten years Naushaba Brohi, founder of Pakistan-based fashion Startup Inaaya, was an employee at a local television channel, producing shows centered on lifestyle and fashion. Describing the job as one she “hated”, Brohi found herself at a crossroads. She needed the money to tend for her two-year-old daughter, but found it impossible to motivate herself to work a “dreary and lifeless” job.

As Pakistan found itself engulfed in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis caused by deadly floods in late 2010, Brohi was motivated to do something meaningful. She made a life-changing decision to quit her job and travel to the affected areas. “At the time I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was, I’m healthy and I have two good hands. If nothing else, at the very least I could prepare meals for the starving families,” she tells Tech in Asia.

It was during this trip to the flood ravaged region of rural Sindh that Brohi witnessed firsthand the depth of suffering amongst the local community. At one point a woman begged her to take her daughter back to the city and give her a job. “I found this difficult to digest,” says Brohi. “I knew more could be done to empower the community.”

The silver lining of Brohi’s visit to the affected region was that she noticed the remarkable design and aesthetic standards of local artisans. Women were highly proficient in weaving cloth, making jewelry, and stitching bed sheets. More importantly, they adhered to cultural traditions that were centuries-old and had been passed down from generation to generation. She instinctively felt that much could be done to harness this potential by providing the local women with the right guidance and access to a mass consumer market.

Innaya founder Naushaba Brohi flanked by her team of rural artisans

Prior understanding helped
Brohi’s exposure to the fashion industry as well as experience gained from frequent international travel helped her realize there was a large market for ethnic goods and crafts. “Retail outlets such as Anthropologie and Pottery Barn frequently stock products sourced from rural communities in South Asia,” she affirms. “I knew the opportunity was there and I needed to grasp it.”

Despite candidly admitting that, at the time, she had “no idea what she was doing”, Brohi proceeded to place an order for floor cushions, intricately detailing the design and color palettes she wished to be incorporated. Her workers – women in rural Sindh – were confused. Why would a woman from Karachi be interested in their products? What was her agenda? Brohi – who had the advantage of being able to converse with the women in their local dialect – did her best to alleviate their concerns. She assured them that they would be paid in cash up front and that she wasn’t out to take advantage of their plight. Slowly, the rural artisans began to trust her.

“I didn’t know what would stick, what would sink, what would swim. Ended up doing a bit of everything and hoped for the best,” says the founder.

At the same time, Brohi approached home and lifestyle outlets in Karachi and pitched the idea of stocking these products in their stores. One store manager offered some words of advice. “Don’t waste your time making cushions. They won’t sell. People here want clothes, make those instead,” she recalls being told.

After quickly pivoting her model and diversifying the product range to include clothes and jewelry, Brohi went back to the same store. A couple of days later she received a call from the manager informing her that the stock had sold out completely. “He wanted to know how soon I could send another batch,” she adds, smiling.

Buried under issues of logistics and operations, the entrepreneur had not given much thought to building an online presence or investing in brand identity. It was at the behest of her ‘techie’ brother, Yasir, that a website and Facebook page was set up. After scouring through available domain names, they settled on Inaaya – the name of her four-year-old daughter.

Traction for Inaaya came from concerted efforts to have an active and visible presence on social media as well as tapping networks for publicity in the local market. Clothes and accessories made by the label were frequently featured in product shoots for magazines and, slowly, Brohi witnessed demand for her products rising significantly. An active social media presence helped – many of her clients were from western markets that had happened to stumble across her site. Most were highly impressed by what they saw and demanded more. Supply began to lag behind and Brohi struggled to keep up.

As interest around Inaaya spiked, so did requests for products to be featured in international fashion events. Brohi’s clothing and jewelry lines debuted in events held in the UK and US, to mostly rave reviews. Her seminal moment came in 2013, when Hello! Magazine featured Amal Alamuddin – then engaged to actor George Clooney – wearing traditional Sindhi jewelry designed by Innaya. The news went viral and the fashion label was covered by Vogue India and a host of local publications. “I made hay while the sun shined,” she laughs.

Amal Alamuddin wearing jewelry designed by Inaaya

An arduous path to success
Despite what may seem as a straightforward journey of concept, planning and execution, Brohi admits she faced several challenges and repeatedly questioned her decision to be an entrepreneur. “There were times when I yearned for stability and a recurring income. The fact that I have a young daughter who depended on me didn’t help. My family thought I was mad and pleaded that I go back to a regular job,” she adds.

An initial lack of business acumen was also a stumbling block and proved to be a hurdle in pricing products correctly. “I only accounted for expenses in sourcing raw materials and didn’t take into consideration other overheads such as traveling costs, phone calls, and deliveries. This hurt my bottom line,” says Brohi.

Redemption came in the form of an invitation to be part of the Islamabad-based social enterprise Accelerator invest2innovate. Urged to apply by i2i founder Kalsoom Lakhani, Brohi initially thought that it would be an exercise in futility. After an immense amount of cajoling, she decided to apply, albeit “half-heartedly.”

Having recently graduated from the accelerator, Brohi admits that the three-month-long program has helped her immensely. Access to mentors who understand the business and the opportunity to learn key skills in logistics, operations, and finance has helped her to fine-tune the model. What is her advice for other budding entrepreneurs? “Keep a close eye on your financials and projected cash flow stream. That’s crucial.”

Brohi is similarly ecstatic about the impact that Inaaya’s success has had on the local community of artisans. After providing the team with smartphones, she coordinates with them via Whatsapp, saving her the eight hour journey which she would normally undertake to meet them – multiple times a month. Most of her workers now also have bank accounts – no mean feat given the fact that almost 86% of adult Pakistanis don’t have one. “Financial inclusion and empowerment of my workers remains a priority area,” she adds.

So what’s next for the fashion label? Brohi reveals that her plans are to streamline the business so that everything works smoothly and efficiently. She wishes not to repeat the mistakes made in the past and focus on building a quality brand that both local and international audiences can identify with. Expanding her pool of workers is also a key area – the entrepreneur reveals she is in advanced negotiations with a government-run agency which would provide her with access to a much bigger pool of talent. By tapping into that, she is confident that Inaaya’s product line will significantly diversify and other impoverished artisans will have the opportunity to benefit.


This fashion startup has been endorsed by Amal Alamuddin

 

[Dubious]

Autogenie is Pakistan’s first on-demand car maintenance service

For Hamza Abbas, founder of vehicle repair and service startup autogenie, his first job as a fleet manager alerted him to the difficulties that come with maintaining a car or a truck. Whilst working at a logistics firm, Hamza was tasked with managing and servicing a large fleet of delivery vehicles, where he found his biggest obstacle was maintenance – reliable mechanics were few and far between and there was no service which Hamza could utilize on a recurring basis.

As a result, the supply chain had inefficiencies – vehicles would sometimes not be available as Hamza sourced mechanics to keep them running. A time consuming and cumbersome task. Furthermore, costs for regular maintenance were often inflated by unscrupulous mechanics, affecting the firm’s bottom line. “If I was facing this issue, I’m sure others had similar concerns,” he says.

Hamza moved quickly to research whether his idea could be validated in Pakistan. He spoke with members of his family who were involved in the distribution and logistics business, and they told him such a service was absolutely necessary. Hamza was also approached by friends and acquaintances when they heard he was thinking of launching an on-demand vehicle repair business which further validated his idea.

“There are approximately 2.2 million vehicles in Lahore alone, and the existing state of repair workshops is fragmented and derelict,” says Hamza. “I knew there was a large market I could capitalize on.”

Hunting down mechanics
Hamza and team moved quickly to sign up mechanics, while inducting them into the startup after a process that the founder describes as “thorough and meticulous.” Soon, a website was also online. Now, people no longer had to visit their neighborhood mechanic for vehicle repair and maintenance. Appointments could be booked online, where a customer would briefly describe the nature of the job requested, and a trained automotive technician would visit their home or workplace to do the task.

Autogenie also does more than simple repair and maintenance. For its premium members it offers roadside assistance. It also helps customers with regulatory and tax compliance requirements, submitting tax duties and documents on their behalf when needed.

Autogenie Team

Apart from periodic maintenance and repair, Autogenie also provides detailed analytics that help user determine the amount spent on repairs, downtime, and recurring faults. This level of detail was simply not available before.

The Pakistani startup is picking up on the web-connected, on-demand services boom around the world that covers everything from cleaners to hairstylists, valet parking to laundry. Compatriot startup Beautyhooked is another local example. In similar territory to Autogenie, two on-demand car maintenance apps in China recently raised US$10 million a piece in series A funding, so it’s a niche with a lot of potential.

Hamza reveals that Autogenie is currently pitching its services to corporate clients, whilst also signing agreements with various businesses to diversify the product range. Customer traction has also forced investors to stand up and take notice – with the startup currently in negotiations to raise a funding round.

Pakistan’s first on-demand car maintenance service

 

[RAMPAGE]

Jesus! What's with the bare bellies?

 

[Dubious]

Popinjay dreams of making poverty a thing of the past for Pakistani women

Markhor shoes: A digital footprint

@Aether

 

[Hyde]

@Aether

and it is an interesting idea and I will get back to you on Gmail. In the meanwhile let me do a little bit of research and I will give you my answer soon