ISLAMABAD: Multiple startups from different National Incubation Centers have participated with Ignite National Technology Fund in GITEX exhibition in Dubai, attracting a large number of visitors from across the world.
Ignite established a large country pavilion in Zaabeel Hall 5 at GITEX this year and selected startups from different verticals to showcase the entrepreneurial potential of Pakistan in different areas including MyTM (Fintech), MapAlytics (AR/VR), XpertFlow (AI), Empowering People and Organizations (e-services), Asani.IO (CleanTech), InstaCare (HealthTech), Brayt (Ecommerce), Edversity(EdTech), WonderTree( AR/VR), and Orbit (EdTech).
Three of these startups qualified for the Supernova pitching competition at GITEX.
GITEX is the largest technology event in the middle east, which has attracted more than 100,000 visitors from more than 170 countries this year. There are more than 5,000 exhibitors and 800 startups exhibiting at GITEX this year in different areas including metaverse, 5G, artificial intelligence, cloud & edge, cybersecurity, fintech, blockchain, data analytics and smart cities.
Inaugurating Ignite’s pavilion at GITEX, Federal Minister for IT & Telecom Syed Aminul Haque said he was delighted that future stars of Pakistan were showcasing their ideas at GITEX this year.
“This clearly shows that entrepreneurial ecosystem of Pakistan is on the rise,” he added.
The minister said Ignite had doubled the number of Pakistani startups participating at GITEX this year which reflected Ignite’s efforts towards promotion of startup ecosystem of Pakistan.”
While conveying his thoughts on the occasion, Secretary IT & Telecom Mohsin Mushtaq said that startups were creating jobs, empowering women and bringing investments. “We are witnessing growth in not only the number of startups but also an increase in our network of national incubation centers, investors’ interest and startup competitions.”
“More than $340 million has been raised by Pakistani startups till September 2022 despite the 30 per cent reduction in global startup funding,” Asim Shahryar Husain, CEO Ignite noted.
He said considering that Pakistani startups had raised more than $870 million over the last 5 years against average equity of 25 per cent, total valuation of Pakistani startups was estimated to be around $3.5 billion at present.
He said the purpose of participation in GITEX was to connect Pakistani startups with international customers and investors and to create awareness about Pakistan’s rising entrepreneurial talent.
An MoU was also signed during the event by CEO Ignite and CEO Huawei Pakistan, Mark Meng, for collaboration in technology innovation and entrepreneurship between both organizations.
Ignite and Ministry of IT & Telecom are looking forward to some exciting results from the startups showcasing at GITEX this year. One of the Pakistani startups at GITEX has already closed a deal of more than half a million dollars during the event. Another startup is expecting to close a deal by next month.
