[The following article was published as a press release]
The Commonwealth Policy Dialogue
Rethinking Youth Entrepreneurship, Job Creation and National Development in Asia
Saturday, 11th August, 2018, saw a big step taken towards the acceleration of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Pakistan. Superior Entrepreneurial Expo 2018, held at Expo Center Lahore brought together the industrial sector and academia of Pakistan on one platform and was marked by the presence of a number of notables from Pakistan and abroad.
Besides the launch of Pakistan’s premier startup reality show, Idea Croron Ka Season 3, more than 150 startups exhibited their products to an audience of 20,000+ people.
The major highlight of the event was The Commonwealth Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship for Asia Region. It was the first time in its history that The Commonwealth held a policy dialogue in Pakistan on the pressing issue of uplifting the entrepreneurs of Pakistan.
Driven by Nabeel Qadeer, Chief Innovation Officer The Superior Group; Lead, content Producer and Host Idea Croron Ka – Pakistan’s premiere startup reality show, and Co-founder Innovation District 92, The Commonwealth policy dialogue roped in delegates from across the globe and the IT industry of Pakistan.
The delegates participating in the dialogue were:
Arif Zaman - Executive Director, The Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network;
Sushil Ram – Programme Manager, The Commonwealth Secretariat;
Kishva Ambigapathy - Chairman, The Commonwealth Entrepreneurship Youth Innovation Hub;
Alicia Dean - Strategic Marketing Communications Consultant, City of Austin;
Jehan Ara – Longest serving president of Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA);
Syed Ahmad – Member National Steering Committee, National Center of Artificial Intelligence;
Qasif Shahid – Cofounder and CEO FINJA;
Jamil Goheer – Co-founder Kualitatum;
Saad Fazil- CEO VentureDive;
Badar Khushnood – Cofounder Bramerz;
Zaeem Yaqoob – Executive Director Student Affairs and External Relations, Beaconhouse National University;
Adnan Shahid – CMO PTCL;
Bashir Sheikh – Co-founder and Co-CEO Inov8 Ltd.
Faizan Mahmood – General Manager Innovation, The Superior Group;
Abeer Saqib – Manager Business Analysis and Intelligence, The Superior Group.
The discussion revolved around:
- Facilitating the up-and-coming entrepreneurs to reach out to industrialists at a national level;
- Developing a positive outlook of Pakistan at a global level that is otherwise distorted from security perspectives;
- Signifying the youngest populated country in Asia;
- Tapping the hidden youth potential of Pakistan;
Nabeel Qadeer also put forth the current issues being faced by the aspiring entrepreneurs of Pakistan.
He concluded the dialogue by proposing to strategize our collective efforts by:
- Setting up a center at Innovation District 92 (backed by The Superior Group) to provide a single and unified platform for all stakeholders to engage in workshops where networking will be promoted among stakeholders.
- Developing a national plan with full government engagement in the plan to promote youth.
- Pitching initiatives at an international level.
- Technical assistance to be provided by The Commonwealth for effective policy making at government level.
- Ensuring a policy for entrepreneurs at national level that is owned by each stakeholder thus contributing towards fulfillment of said purpose.
With The Commonwealth extending its hands, Pakistan looks forward to a promising future of its entrepreneurs.