ICCIA organises Best of Entrepreneurship Series programme

KARACHI: The Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture (ICCIA) organised the first programme of 2022 of the Best of Entrepreneurship Series on Thursday, a statement said.

The programme was held under the theme of fintech ecosystem and opportunities in financial markets, with the aim to highlight the challenges and explore different opportunities in the fintech arena.

The programme provided a conducive platform for young startups, aspiring entrepreneurs, students, international organisations, and businesses to get inspired by the success stories and learn about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the fintech industry.

At his closing speech, ICCIA Events Management Department Head Muhammad Idris thanked all the speakers and partners, saying that the ICCIA is honoured to provide this platform to the stakeholder, who are working for the promotion of entrepreneurship culture in the fintech ecosystem and opportunities in the financial markets.

He conveyed thanks and appreciation of the ICCIA Secretary General, Yousef Hasan Khalawi.

Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) joined hands with the ICCIA as co-organiser for the Best of Entrepreneurship Series in Pakistan.

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has participated as strategic partner and the UN Women as knowledge partner.

The programme was attended by more than 100 participants from 25 universities, business schools and incubation centres, as well as representatives of banks and fintech industry.

Representatives of University of Karachi, IHBM, MAJU, SZABIST, Iqra University, DHA Suffa University, ICMAP, Federal Urdu University, KNS Academy, FUUAST, SEED Venture, Pakistan Bank Association, Buoyant Capital, National Incubation Centre, YPay Financial Services Pvt Ltd, MasPearls Inc Synergizer & Brandscenario Magazine, Karachi Global Market (KGM), SGS Pakistan (advance Technology Testing laboratory) and KisanPlace (Farmers Tech) Solutions Pvt Ltd participated in the event.

The Consul General of Malaysia Khairul Nazran Abdul Rehman, was the Chief Guest of the event where ICCIA International Relations Director, Aalia Jafar; IsDB Group ICD Personal Officer, Jawad Mehmood Khokhar; and FPCCI Immediate Past President, Mian Nasser Hayat Maggo delivered speeches at the opening session.

Haball Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Omer Bin Ahsan; CIRCLE Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sadaffe Abid; PayFast Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Faisal Alam; Abhi Co-Founder and Chief Operation Officer, Ali Ladhubhai; and entrepreneur/angel investor Roger Dawood Bayat, were made presentation about their motivational stories and different stages of their entrepreneurial and success journey.

Thematic areas such as economic development through women empowerment, youth engagement, capacity building, and any societal contribution that enhances the quality of life of individuals with the integration of technology within financial services, were discussed and highlighted by the speakers.

The speakers recommended calling upon the ICCIA to establish an Incubator Centre and work with the stakeholders within the startup community including Academia to groom young entrepreneurs.

The Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture (ICCIA) launched the Best of Entrepreneurship Series in Pakistan, with the aim to highlight entrepreneurs of all stages, whether they have an initial business idea, want to scale up their startups or explore entrepreneurial opportunities for the future.

The first programme of this series was held on December 2, 2021 at ICCIA Headquarters, Karachi, Pakistan. The programme had presentations from Bykea, Asqurr, Penumbra, Bionks, and National Incubation Centre.

Over a hundred participants attended the event, including industry leaders and development organisations as well as students from 16 universities and institutions; including FPCCI, Board of Investment Pakistan, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Standard Chartered Bank, IBA, Stimulus.

The programme also included participants from SZABIST, DHA Suffa University, Karachi Global Market (KGM), Eden College, IoBM, University of Karachi, Jinnah University for Women, Iqra University, Virtual University, Biz International Today and Entrepreneurs.pk.

The ICCIA will organise a series of workshops for this initiative, i.e., four programmes will be held every year, one programme in each quarter of 2022.

In this regard, the ICCIA has chosen four cross-cutting themes that will bring leading entrepreneurs to share their entrepreneurial journey, learning experiences, best practices, and key insights.

The four workshops will be organised in the major economic centres of Pakistan, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Sialkot, and Gujranwala on the themes of fintech, ecommerce, green economy and microfinance.