A virtual meeting between the two parties was held to discuss the possibility of bilateral cooperation to support the nation’s startup culture.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, and the Hult Prize Foundation, a global organization that encourages young people to use social entrepreneurship to address the world’s most pressing problems, have both expressed a desire to jointly work to advance entrepreneurship in Pakistan.
In this regard, a virtual meeting between the two parties was held 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 entrepreneurs and young people.
In his remarks to the audience, HEC Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed described the HEC’s initiatives and efforts to support academia-industry linkages and provide funding for Pakistani youth businesses.
He pledged that HEC will give the Hult Prize Foundation its full support in its efforts to tap into the potential of Pakistani youth. According to Noshaba Awais, director of HEC’s Research & Innovation Division, more than 60% of the world’s population resides in Pakistan.
HEC is committed to using the youth bulge to support the economy of the nation. She declared that encouraging entrepreneurship is the key to utilising the youth bulge. 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, “Now is the perfect time to promote cooperation with Hult.”
Senior Director of Programs at the Hult Prize, Hamdi Ben Elmi, and Director of Human Resources 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 variety of nations.
They claimed that the Hult Prize challenges young people to use social enterprise to find solutions to the world’s most pressing problems and that one team is awarded $1 million each year to help bring their idea to life.
They emphasised the significant impact the Foundation has in Pakistan due to its involvement with more than 100 universities, over 9000 student entrepreneurs, more than 10,000 student volunteers, and more than 1000 experts. Muhammad Osama from Bfreeze, a Pakistani business that won the Hult Prize in 2020, shared his thoughts on the Hult Prize Foundation’s contribution to the commercial success of his enterprise’s goods.