Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, and the Hult Prize Foundation, a global organization encouraging youngsters to use social entrepreneurship to address the world’s most serious problems, have indicated a desire to work together to promote entrepreneurship in Pakistan.
In this regard, a virtual meeting between the two parties was convened to discuss the possibility of bilateral cooperation to support the nation’s startup culture. They consented to formally sign a Letter of Intent and offer assistance to Pakistani enterprises and young people.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman of the HEC, addressed the participants and discussed the HEC’s activities, and initiatives to assist academia-industry links and finance Pakistani young in their entrepreneurial endeavors. He pledged that HEC would give the Hult Prize Foundation its full support in its efforts to tap into the potential of Pakistani youth.
Noshaba Awais, director of HEC’s Research & Innovation Division, stated that the youth bulge in Pakistan, which makes up over 60% of the population, will be used to boost the economy of the nation. She declared that encouraging entrepreneurship is the key to utilizing the youth bulge.
HEC initiatives
She emphasized HEC initiatives aimed at creating a startup ecosystem in Pakistan, such as the creation of Business Incubation Centers (BICs), Offices of Research, Innovation, and Commercialization (ORICs), and the Innovator Seed Fund (ISF). According to her, there are 38 BICs in higher education institutions in Pakistan, and they have helped launch more than 800 startups. She stated that this is the right time for promotion of collaboration with Hult Prize,”
Senior Director of Programs at the Hult Prize Hamdi Ben Elmi and Director of Human Resource at the Hult Prize Carla Osnaya discussed the goals of the Hult Prize Foundation, saying that the Foundation has been working to promote social entrepreneurship and youth empowerment in a range of countries. According to them, the Hult Prize encourages young people to tackle the world’s most pressing problems through Social Entrepreneurship. Each year, one team receives $1 million USD in funding to make their idea a reality.
They emphasized that the Foundation has a significant influence in Pakistan, because it works with 100 universities, over 9,000 student entrepreneurs, 10,000+ student volunteers, and over 1000 experts. Muhammad Osama from Bfreeze, a Pakistani business that received the Hult Prize in 2020, shared his thoughts on the Hult Prize Foundation’s contribution to the commercial success of his enterprise’s goods.
