IGNITE Created 11000 Jobs, Raised Over Rs. 4 Billion in Investments for Startups

IGNITE formerly known as National ICT R&D Fund has created over 11000 jobs, besides incubating 117 startups across five incubation centers which raised over Rs4 billion in investments to scale their operations and refined their products.

This was revealed by Yusuf Hussain CEO IGNITE before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology & Telecommunication which met with Ali Khan Jadoon in the chair here on Monday. The committee was given a briefing on IGNITE and National Incubator Centers purposes and achievements.

IGNITE Created 11000 Jobs, Raised Over Rs. 4 Billion in Investments for Startups

Mohammad Yousaf further said that IGNITE financed proposals/ideas with Rs 3 billion during the last one and a half year while attracted additional Rs 4 billion from the private sector. Ignite collaborated with the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom (MoITT) established five National Incubation Centers (NICs) across the country.

The committee was informed that a Chinese firm had offered to invest $56 million in the technology for its commercialization at 82 loss-making feeders but demanded profit sharing. The committee was further informed that K. Electric is under process to deploy ElectroCure technology on trail basis.

ElectroCure:

It is a meter-less smart metering system that provides real-time monitoring and metering of the electricity infrastructure preventing electricity theft through meter tempering, on transmission and distribution lines, billing irregularities. The technology was deployed in MES Peshawar and MES Rawalpindi for over a year and reduced over 90% of losses incurred during the electricity transmission.

Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui informed the committee that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Energy Minister were given a briefing on the technology.

The committee was informed that under the Ignite supervision ‘Fly High with Wi-Fi’ has been developed which is a low-cost internet service provision to underserved areas in Balochistan, interior Sindh and FATA through drones. The prototype has been completed and currently being tested. The technology would facilitate 2G and 3G within a radius of 5 km.

Integry:

Another Ignite sponsored products provide ready to use integrations that one can drop in his/her app. Users can then bring their data from other apps into an app and have a 40 percent reduced churn, double the LTV and which is also incubated at the Alchemist, a famous accelerator in the USA. Integry has been a part of the NIC Islamabad and investment commitment of Rs 94.5 million.

Mauqa.online is an impact based startup providing an on-demand service that matches temporary workers to household help in Islamabad. It is Uber for the blue-collar workforce, employed from slums across within cities. 15,000 hours served in a span of 12 months by employing and training over 50 uneducated, underprivileged domestic helpers (90 + percent are women. The startup rose over Rs 18.9 million in funding.

PakVitae:

A nanotechnology-based startup that has developed a patented water filter which uses no energy. It purifies water to 99.9999 percent purity and provides clean drinkable water at less than 1 paisa per liter. It will affect millions of people who do not have access to clean drinking at the most affordable price. This technology develops products that have the capability of purifying water. The technology fetched investment commitment of Rs 2.6 billion and generated Rs 5 million.

Fine trading and Living led by a woman entrepreneur, is impacting the lives of people at the bottom of the pyramid. They sell household needs to daily wage earners with a very unique model of providing customers with goods on day one without any deposit and collect daily installments. The startup achieved an investment commitment of Rs 30 million.

Aero Craft Engine

Aero Craft Engine led by Dr. Sarah Queshi a PhD from Cranfield UK leads a company that has developed a patented design for attachment to engines of jetliners to suppress water vapor trails at high altitudes. This simple invention has huge impact on global warming as frozen water vapor is at least 5 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. Aero Craft Engine raised over Rs 23 million investments.

Bera offers indigenous craft of Peshawari shoemaking with a mix of century-old skills and modern fashion. Offering luxurious Peshawari chappals, Bera develops its products with quality materials offering comfort and market-dominant design. Bera has raised PKR 5 million in funding.

DarEwro

DarEwro a Peshawar-based startup has an app that picks up food, medicine and clothes for you. They partner with local businesses to pick up orders and deliver them directly to customers’ homes. DarEwro has raised Rs 3.9 million in funding.

Aprus

Aprus is an electrosurgical instrument that has been developed to remove tumors, cut tissues, and seal blood vessels with increased hygiene and precision. Over 100 units of this device have been deployed across clinics and hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and have been utilized in over 70,000 surgeries. Aprus secured funding of R30.5 million through NIC Peshawar.

Bykea

Bykea is a logistics startup that has two offerings. It provides on-demand ride-hailing service through which users can travel around the city by taking a bike ride. The second service provides parcel delivery on either Cash on Delivery (COD) or non-COD. Bykea raised over Rs800 million to scale its operations.

Gul Technology has developed an IoT enabled Smart Helmet to protect miners from catastrophic incidents. The helmet detects poisonous gases, monitors body biorhythms and location, and helps guide uneducated and semi-educated miners to safety. The startup raised Rs14 million.

The Committee also inquired about the weak signals of the cellular companies especially in some areas in the Baluchistan and Qallat. In this regard, the Committee directed that the issues regarding weak signal should be improved and ensure uninterrupted network services all over the country.

The minister also informed the committee that they are working on cybersecurity policy which would help in overcoming this menace.

The committee expressed serious concerns over the cyber crimes in the country. Committee chairman said that joint efforts needed to overcome the menace of cybercrimes as every day it appears in different nature. The committee decided to call all the four major stakeholders including PTA, IT Ministry, Interior and Information in the next meeting for a comprehensive strategy to overcome the menace of cybercrimes.