In a bid to build stronger connections between tech diaspora in the US, and tech talent in Pakistan, Pakistani American and OPEN Seattle tech delegation, visited the National Incubation Center at LUMS, Lahore. The delegation comprised technology executives from Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Educative, Leverify, and Data Science Dojo, looking to understand the growing entrepreneurial landscape in the country and pave the way for future collaboration.

The guests were given a tour of NICL facilities including the Makers Lab, a suite of state-of-the-art prototyping workshops; the Facebook Innovation Lab, where virtual and augmented reality solutions come to life; and co-working space, featuring a plug-and-play set-up. They also exchanged detailed insights with Foundation Council members, faculty and team at NIC LUMS.

The visit helped promote deep tech entrepreneurship in Pakistan, and focused on how disruptive technology can be applied to different verticals to create tangible and scalable impact. NICL start-ups with ideas ranging from AR- enhanced textbooks to enrich learning, a crowdfunding platform for start-up funding, to a mobile fitness game that combines virtual elements with real-world action; garnered serious interest from the audience, generating opportunities for focused mentoring and investment from the Seattle community.

“It’s heartening to see the rapid growth in Pakistan’s technology space and startup potential” said Moazzam Chaudhry, who heads Product Management at Google Cloud and is the President at OPEN Global. “There is no dearth of talent and potential in Pakistan; I’ve met some start-ups today at NICL, and am impressed with their serious passion and maturity even at the early stage!”

Speaking about promoting entrepreneurship and the recent growth in the ecosystem, Saleem Ahmad, Chairman NICL explained, “While Pakistan’s start-up ecosystem is still in it’s nascent stages, this year has been a true inflection point. There is an urgent need however, for Pakistan to develop and upskill its human capital, to sustain the venture funding momentum, create opportunities for its youth, and solve high impact problems in the country”.

NICL is a springboard for venture incubation and corporate innovation through an intersection of applied research, industry and talent, to solve Pakistan’s biggest problems.

OPEN Seattle is a community of entrepreneurs and professionals based out of Seattle, USA. They are united by our shared passion to help build a stronger and prosperous Pakistan by building strong connections between the Pakistani diaspora in developed nations including the USA and leadership in Pakistan, in both the public and the private sectors.