The idea of entrepreneurship as a career path in Pakistan is usually not very appreciated, be it because of the acute mindset of society, or assuming that the probability of success by taking risks will be low. For addressing these issues in creating an entrepreneurship friendly environment in the country, Habib University hosted both an informative and inspirational lecture.
The event was organized by HU’s School of Science & Engineering as part of their SSE Public Lecture Series on 26th October 2016, titled Being Entrepreneur-Centric in Pakistan: What Will it Take to Build Pakistan’s Entrepreneur-Centric Eco-System.
The lecture was meant to discuss about what really an entrepreneur-centric eco-system is and how can that system be created in Pakistan. This term was defined as ‘creating an environment that has a culture of appreciating and supporting an idea.’ The idea which is an initiative to solve problems of one’s society. The individuals starting a business and legitimizing that as a career also referred to as a start-up are also encouraged.
LIVE on #Periscope: #Entrepreneur talk – held by the #SSE. Panel Introduction time. https://t.co/EEhDCYX3Hc
— Habib University (@HabibUniversity) October 26, 2016
LIVE on #Periscope: #HUFaculty Gulraiz Khan asking the first question https://t.co/DDobCNKL6b
— Habib University (@HabibUniversity) October 26, 2016
To give a broader view about new start-ups, Shoaib Iqbal from Sukoon, Mubariz Siddiqui from Wukla, Muhammed Waqas from WonderTree, Saim Siddiqui from Procheck, Sennen DeSouza from InvestorsLounge and Sana Khan Niazi from Paimona were welcomed by moderator Fawzia Naqvi and HU Faculty member Gulraiz Khan to discuss the stories of their initiatives and challenges they faced. They were asked to describe their journey from what motivated them to their initial steps and the obstacles they had to face.
LIVE on #Periscope: Fawzia Naqvi asks why take this crazy risk? https://t.co/5hgvF1YGOE
— Habib University (@HabibUniversity) October 26, 2016
The huge turnout of students, faculty, staff as well as external audience were given some guidelines for setting up their start-ups they would wish to pursue. Emphasized points included doing research about the product or service, consumer interest, as well as doing critical thinking on every aspect of the business. The key idea shared was to always reflect on feedbacks and constantly improve yourself. These start-ups advised to increase the exposure to students from school level so that an entrepreneur-centric environment is created in Pakistan.
LIVE on #Periscope: Where do you want to be in 5 years? https://t.co/sKlAzQe3R4
— Habib University (@HabibUniversity) October 26, 2016
LIVE on #Periscope https://t.co/WHf4XmdaRd
— Habib University (@HabibUniversity) October 26, 2016
The second panel during the latter half of the event featured incubators, investors and industry experts, namely Jehan Ara from P@SHA and The Nest I/O, Nadeem Hussain from Tameer Bank, Naeem Zamindar from Acumen, Fawzia Naqvi from Open Society Foundations and HU Faculty member Dr. Shoaib Zaidi.
LIVE on #Periscope https://t.co/PTHmI4zq0y
— Habib University (@HabibUniversity) October 26, 2016
The idea of an entrepreneurship-centric eco-system in Pakistan was presented from the perspective of the people who had been in this industry now for a while.
LIVE on #Periscope https://t.co/ZOqXCzRR5e
— Habib University (@HabibUniversity) October 26, 2016
Both panelist participants were also kind enough to share their thoughts post event:
