Startup to empower entrepreneurs

Islamabad:The initiative financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany and specifically aims to scale up Accelerate Prosperity’s existing model of technical support and financing to businesses into new geographies such as Punjab and across exciting sectors such as education, health, tourism and green economy, prioritising digitization and environmental sustainability, says a press release.

KfW Development Bank and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), in collaboration with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) and Accelerate Prosperity (AP) launched the ‘Start-up Pakistan’ initiative to support the growth of Start-ups and SGBs in Pakistan. AP will also be leading efforts to bring together the ecosystem as a whole and work together to conduct capacity building and improve investment readiness efforts for businesses across the country.

Azfar Manzoor, Special Secretary, Minister of State for Information, Technology and Telecommunications who was the chief guest at the event highlighted the Government’s efforts to extend every possible support for creating job opportunities for the youth. He noted, “Pakistan, with its substantial youth population, is ideally situated to harness entrepreneurship as a key engine for economic growth and job creation. Prioritizing the development of small and growing businesses will not only foster a stronger entrepreneurial culture but also open up more employment opportunities.” In his opening remarks, Dr. Sebastian Paust, Head of Development Cooperation at German Embassy noted, “Start-ups are catalysts for innovative economic growth, but they need a conducive business climate - still a big challenge here in Pakistan.