Dr Umar Saif, Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board has said, “For me, entrepreneurship is a way to empower the youth of Pakistan, which is why I fight for it every single day! Remember you are the future of this country, don’t let us down!”
Plan9 is known as the new foreground for futurpreneurs! Punjab Information Technology Board’s tech incubator established it with the vision to mandate the up and coming entrepreneurial spirit in Pakistan. All those who require a well-deserved opportunity to those who have a shining chance to succeed. Plan9 was founded in August 2012 to ensure the sustainable growth of early stage, tech-product based startups – showcasing commercially viable technology and incubating several companies through a highly strenuous vetting event – the LaunchPad. The Launchpad aids and abets several deserving and innovative businesses by an infamous flagship competition that marks the beginning of the six-month-long incubation cycle. It is conducted across the major three cities of Pakistan but is luckily open for contenders who meet the strenuous eligibility criteria. Aspiring entrepreneurs looking for access to mentorships, capacity building, and investors are also encouraged. Since its inception, Plan 9 has provided these opportunities to over 100 startups. Evaluated at $70 million, startups incubated at Plan 9 have proceeded to raise investments of over $2.5 million. Most significantly, these young ventures have been able to create employment opportunities across various sectors in Pakistan.
Meet the startups that have been incubated in Plan9’s 12th Cycle
1. Galaxy Lollywood – Filmi Dunya
Galaxy Lollywood aims to become the largest provider of authentic film news in Pakistan. Spread overall social media platforms, it has all the masala mashup necessary for your daily infotainment diet. “I might be an Economics graduate from LUMS, but cinema is where my heart truly belongs. Always up for a discussion on films and I guess you could call me a Pakistani Cinema aficionado,” states Momin Ali Munshi, the founder of Galaxy Lollywood.
3. YUGO.pk – The World Awaits
YUGO.pk aims to become a household name for outbound travel, which is not only convenient but also customer-centric. It is a market place for online travel in Pakistan that offers comprehensive solutions for online ticketing, rescheduling, travel and tours. Yugo promises to offer low prices with no hidden cost, free cancellation and a selection from over 500,000 hotels worldwide.
4. Venuehub.pk – Venue @Single Click
Asad Qamar, the founder revealed that his venture is a web-based online portal to plan, consult and book a venue or complete event at a single click. The aim of VenueHub is to provide exclusive Venues and quality events with respect to specified requirements or budget. Everyone in the society is in a great rush and want their events memorable and as quick as can be. To fill that gap VenueHub.Pk is providing hassle-free planning to their customers and also providing them doorstep service with all things done.
5. AutoTechnica
AutoTechnica is a vehicle body shop that focused on keeping vehicles (cars and jeeps) clean and protect them from dust, rain and sunlight. The idea behind the venture is to change the culture of the automotive industry with new and better people and resources.
6. BCD
The BCD team are putting together a device to detect breast cancer at early stages to reduce the percentages of numbers of deaths per year. In a country like Pakistan where there is stigma associated with discussing female health issues, this device will be a great way to both raise awareness as well create meaningful impact in the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated.
7. Cyber Security
Co-founder cyber security, Muhammad Umer Ramzan says that the start-up is an independent information systems and web security auditing company. It provides a comprehensive cyber security solution to the business community while upholding the values of integrity, conformability and availability. Cyber security pulls on the latest emerging technologies to serve its global and local clientele for their web, mobile and desktop applications. Of Cyber Security’s mission, Mr. Ramzan says “We understand how important it is to keep focused on your true purpose. With threats growing more advanced and sophisticated on a daily basis, it’s impossible for you to stay abreast of all the latest protection techniques while still having the time and resources to devote to your actual business, the thing you’re passionate about. We relieve you of the worry and hassle, taking on the full responsibility for all of your information security needs.”
8. Pak Karubaar
Rubeena Omar, the founder of Pak Karubaar asks, “Do you remember when our mothers used to buy an item and pass it down from one generation to the next – bringing the item to its full potential by reusing it?” “We gave that concept a twist”, she says. “Many of us have new or slightly used items at home that may not be used to their full potential for various reasons. Maybe it’s an unwanted shadi gift, or an online purchase from abroad gone wrong. What is useless for one person might be the requirement of another. We are the bridge between buyers and sellers, the ‘Car First’ for reselling. Our items are verified, making it reliable for the buyer. At Pak Karubaar, we also realize Pakistani artisans are talented, but not given the rightful exposure. So handicrafts are also often displayed, along with other products. Our contribution to society: Resell Reuse Reduce.”
9. Traverous
The Traverous co-founders themselves hail from far off places in Pakistan. Eman Ehsan (Bhakkar, Punjab) and Qandeel Abbassi (Jacobabad, Sindh), first met at NUST while they were undergrad software engineering students. They had a couple of things in common – their love for travelling and a dream to build their own business. Ehsan and Abbassi worked together on a few other endeavours before launching Traverous. Presently, Traverous is being used by over 2000 travelers. It is a social travel journal app custom built for travellers so that they can revisit and share their travel experiences. Travellers from over 50 countries have made travel journals of over 800 beautiful destinations around the world. The best part about Traverous is that the whole process is automated. All you have to do is launch the app before your trip and at the end of it, click upload. The product is a beautifully animated video of your journey that looks as though it has been shot by a drone – complete with your own videos and pictures that you may have taken over the course of the trip.
10. Qurbani App
This is quite revolutionary for the state of Eid celebrations as this start-up has launched Pakistan’s first application to buy and sell livestock. In their own words, “Qurbani App is Pakistan’s first dedicated platform for Qurbani lovers to share their beloved animals with the community. The founders of this mobile app have a long and historic tradition of livestock farming in their family. We are launching this app to facilitate the community of Qurbani lovers, which ranges from peasants to feudal lords, butchers to livestock farmers and from white-collar professionals to overseas Pakistanis.”
11. Ami
A portable management company for infants powered by a battery source that can be controlled and monitored via a mobile application.
12. Sparktronic
CEO Sparktronics, Muhammad Fasih Waheed says he doesn’t remember any of his toys in a single piece. “I’ve has been developing several gadgets to solve everyday problems since my childhood, It was my passion that led me to study electronics. During my studies, I saw that it was a problem for my father to switch the pump on and off to fill water in the overhead tank and remain vigilant all the time during filling. So I developed a product that would automatically operate the pump. I was happy but my mother wasn’t because it had a long wire, my mother never liked any open wires. So I began developing an automatic wireless water tank filling system back in 2016. I tested out the first prototype at my home. I looked around and saw that it was the problem of almost every home and then installed it at many of my friends’ home and named the product Tankimatic”, he says. Tankimatic is a must for electricity and water conservation. The waste of water and electricity due to non-availability of any such system is very common. The accumulated waste of many homes in a city becomes huge. This system will contribute greatly to eliminate the water and electricity waste in Water tank filling. As of now we have installed hundreds of Tankimatics’ in Karachi. Our customers are more than satisfied with our product. We hope to expand in other cities soon. Sparktronics aim is to make Tankimatic affordable and available to every home of Pakistan where it is required.
13. Soulters
Soulters is a company that aims to revolutionize event networking and management via a mobile application. It aims to equip users with all of the tools and technology they need to engage event attendees in a single platform, thereby saving precious time and enabling the app users to deliver an incredible event. The company says “We’re your partner in outcomes of your event. Soutlters informs you when you have reached your goals. We have ROI based goals, which are achievable through soulters.”
14. IOT Cloudware
IOT Cloudware aims to optimise local manufacturing and production in the business sector. Shaf Ali, founder of IOT Cloudware, has more than ten years of experience in the conventional and advanced industrial automation systems in the oil and gas industry. In Jan 2018, Ali launched IOT Cloudware, a young company that has started generating revenue in a short span of 5 months. Industrial automation is costly, especially when most industrial automation systems are based on Microsoft technologies and are hardware dependant. Currently, Pakistan imports all the required hardware and software, paying in dollars and incurring government-mandated duties, making the process much more expensive.
15. Last but not least, ProperGaanda
An up and coming Digital Media Company, ProperGaanda, is an independent recorder of Pakistan’s peculiarities, amplifying the voice of progressive Pakistanis from all over the world while still focusing on creating quality entertainment content. Currently, PG churns out visual and written content based on politics, culture, satire and entertainment. ProperGanda has achieved many milestones with the company’s work even being mentioned in the New York Times! Propergaanda co-founder Hamza Ghaznavi shared with Profit, Pakistan Today his raison d’etre: “Unlike everyone else – with the same run of the mill content on all social media feeds – we wanted to produce quality and authentic content that resonates with people’s lives, ideally leading to social change.” At its heart, PG is a voice of the people, by the people, for the people!