Faced with the onslaught of zealous PTI youth, the Ministry of IT (MOIT) has directed the National ICT Research and Development Fund Company (NICTRDF) to set up state of the art incubation centres in all the four provincial metropolises, an official source said.
The incubators will be established in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. The state-owned company has already established an incubator in collaboration with a local Telco in the federal capital. The startups and youth are being imparted practical training to become entrepreneurs.
While chairing the board of directors meeting of the company, the Minister of State for IT Anusha Rehman said that establishment of new technology incubation centres would help youngsters become entrepreneurs and earn a reasonable livelihood.
The board approved awarding the contract to successful bidders after due deliberation, except for Balochistan. The board directed the company to initiate a bidding process afresh for the incubation centre to be built in Quetta.
The source said that the government wants to utilise the MOIT to provide more entrepreneurship and job opportunities for the educated youth and lessen their support for the PTI. The initiatives were planned over the last two years but have been expedited to show positive results before the next general elections.
The MOIT has recently brought in a renowned entrepreneur Yusuf Hussain to head the NICTRDF Company. Hussain’s joining has resulted in wonderful results as many projects which faced inordinate delays were cleared and financing was provided and will yield results within the next few months, the source added.
Chief Executive Yusuf Hussain apprised the board that the company has received very encouraging feedback from the industry for the advertised incubation centre projects. He said sealed bids were submitted by more than thirty consortia for the establishment of four new incubation centres. He said the bids have been reviewed on a technical and financial basis.
The board agreed that to keep the momentum and industry interest going, RFPs will be floated for IOT, Robotics and fin-tech speciality innovation centres at the earliest as well.
