On Saturday February 18, the British Deputy High Commission Karachi hosted the national final of the Enterprise Challenge Pakistan (ECP) which brought together some of the brightest minds from across Pakistan to compete for seed funding to upstart their entrepreneurial ideas.
The final featured eight of the most promising start-up ideas, which were selected from regional competitions held throughout the country. The top team was awarded a cash prize of £1500, runners-up received £1000 while the remaining six teams received £500 each. The participants also received mentorship and networking opportunities with potential investors.
Martin Dawson, the British Deputy High Commissioner of the British Deputy High Commission Karachi, said the following:
“The Prince’s Trust International and SEED Ventures are playing an important role in supporting young people to realise their dreams by providing opportunities to develop the skills, confidence and business acumen to succeed in life, and contribute in creating a vibrant and prosperous Pakistan.”
The winning team of the National Final was team ‘Believers’, an all-girls team from University Model School Peshawar. Their business idea is to provide a transport service by the name of ‘Sahulat’ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for women by women. The team impressed the judges with their innovative solution and their well-researched business plan.
The team ‘Paper Planet’ from Deaf Reach School, Karachi, secured the runner up position. Their business idea is to make recycled paper using the process of paper mache. This is the first time that children with speech impairment participated in the challenge.
“For the first time in six cycles, ECP is proud to bring onboard Deaf Reach School – a school for students with speech and hearing impairment. It is one of our proudest achievements”, remarked Maha Salman, Programme Manager, Enterprise Challenge Pakistan.
ECP is funded by The Prince’s Trust group of charities – which was founded by His Majesty King Charles III, formerly The Prince of Wales – to tackle the global crisis in youth unemployment by empowering young people to learn, earn and thrive.
The Prince’s Trust International has been supporting young people worldwide since 2015. The trust was founded by His Majesty King Charles III, formerly The Prince of Wales, to tackle the global crisis in youth unemployment, building on four decades of experience in the UK. The trust empowers young people to learn, earn and thrive, providing opportunities to develop the skills and confidence to succeed and deliver tangible employment outcomes. By collaborating with a network of local partners, the trust develops programmes and interventions to help young people to build their own futures.
· Social, Entrepreneurship and Equity Development – SEED is an ecosystem development organisation and is working in Pakistan to develop the enterprise and social enterprise landscape in the country. The organisation has over a decade of experience working across the entrepreneurial ecosystem with different domain players. ECP has been a driving force in the development of the start-up ecosystem in Pakistan and has supported hundreds of young entrepreneurs in bringing their ideas to life. This year, ECP saw a 20% increase in female participants, reflecting the program’s commitment to promoting gender equality in entrepreneurship.
Comments from the winning team – Team Believers: Winning the Enterprise Challenge Pakistan National Final is a dream come true for us. The mentorship and networking opportunities provided by ECP have been invaluable in helping us bring our ideas to life.
