Daily Times

LAHORE: Technology giants such as Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft will mentor and support Pakistani entrepreneurs and startups at the 2018 edition of Momentum Pakistan, a mega event being held in Karachi on February 19 and 20 next year.

“This event could be game-changer for Pakistani entrepreneurs,” said Shaheera Jafri Batool, a Lahore-based entrepreneur.

Amir Jafri, the person behind Momentum Pakistan, said the theme of the 2018 edition will be “How to boost your startup?” “How to start a business without money has long been a problem for entrepreneurs in this part of the world, whereas in other countries, companies help innovative startups with resources and tools,” he said. He said international companies were arriving in Pakistan to tap into talent as most of Pakistan’s talent remained undetected due to lack of opportunities, mentorship, exposure and connectivity with the right people. The online world is one such untapped area, where the youth could have several opportunities to learn new skills, he said. The two-day event will comprise of workshops, one-on-one sessions with successful startups, and a great line-up of national and international speakers from various industries. Representatives of Facebook, Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft will be attending the event. The Facebook team will share insights about their FbStart programme that helps startups build and grow their business. Amazon will provide startups with data centre facilities. Amazon will offer free cloud service to selected entrepreneurs besides conducting a series of hackathons with developers and workshops with startups.

Published in Daily Times, December 9^th 2017.