The story dates back to 2015 when I started hustling to bring my hard core passion of entrepreneurship on mainstream media by starting Pakistan's first startup reality show.
During the course of my struggles I met Prof. Dr. Chaudhry Abdul Rehman, Chairman of The Superior Group, a serial entrepreneur responsible for establishing a network of companies across various sectors of Pakistan ranging from education to corporate to media industry. As visionary as he is, Prof. Dr. Ch. Abdul Rehman was already on the path of making entrepreneurs in Pakistan through Chaudhry Muhammad Akram Center for Entrepreneurship Development.
He was the only man in the entire media industry who understood my vision behind the show and not just extended his full support but stood strong by me.
And that’s how ‘Idea Croron Ka’ (Million Dollar Idea), Pakistan’s premier startup TV reality show, was born in January 2017. In just a matter of two seasons, ‘Idea Croron Ka’ turned out to be a major hit for becoming the go-to-platform for entrepreneurs. To date it has impacted hundreds of thousands of households featuring seventy-two startups with PKR 400 million worth of investment committed by twenty-two international and local investors on ICK board.
It was this staggering success of the show that convinced me and Dr. Chaudhry Abdul Rehman to establish a full-time dedicated space for startups where all they do is nothing but eat, breathe and sleep entrepreneurship.
And that’s how ‘Innovation District 92’ came into being on the 17th of March, 2018.
As the name speaks for itself, Innovation District 92 (ID92 as I call it), not just provides a free workspace and utilities to startups, but gives them free of cost mentorship and training from industry experts in all domains ranging from Business Development to Product Development, Financial Modelling, Marketing, Sales and Legal Assistance. And to top it all, ID92 ensures providing each of its startup with the right network of industry, clients and investors, and foreign exposure through its programs. In addition to this, startups will get a lifetime opportunity to leverage The Superior Group’s media network [Neo TV Network, Lahore Rang, Boom FM 106.6, Daily Nai Baat Newspaper] for extensive marketing. More so, to help startups stay focused and driven, it entitles them to KPI-centric stipends.
Innovation District 92 will not only be an incubator for startups and new ideas but an around-the-year co-working space for thinkers and doers. Equipped with comfortable facilities and a team to provide undivided attention to focus towards growth, Innovation District 92 is not here to compete but to rather prepare representation for Pakistan.
ID92 is not just an incubator but a complete entrepreneurial experience. My team and I have designed an entrepreneurial curriculum for university level students enabling them with hands-on experience of entrepreneurship and startup concepts which will eventually lead to incubation with us. Once they are incubated, they’ll go through rigorous mentorship, training and exposure to a network of mentors and industry experts during their five months of incubation. Once the startup has launched, it will be followed by them pitching at Idea Croron Ka leading to raising investments.
Living the vision of making an economically strengthened Pakistan, I bring you Innovation District 92 – Breeding the future generations of Change Makers!
Let's Think, Innovate, Change.