ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunications has established National Incubation Centres (NIC) across the country to provide a nurturing environment to technology based business ideas to prosper and become viable contributors to our community and economy. Pakistan’s first largest NIC at Islamabad is up and running, under the public-private partnership providing a comprehensive eco-system for start-ups, incubators and accelerators. After the successful launch of NIC Peshawar, NIC Karachi is LMKT’s second venture into the national incubation space. The Karachi incubation centre is expected to start operations in the second quarter of 2018. Ignite – The Technology Fund has awarded the Lahore University of Management Sciences a project worth Rs 560 million to set-up the NIC in Quetta. NIC Quetta is the last of the five regional NICs that the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom is funding through Ignite for the promotion of entrepreneurship in the country. The Islamabad IT park key features include space for 5,000 IT professionals, a data centre, incubation centre, business centres and support infrastructure. Fourteen software technology parks are providing nearly 1 million square feet of space to IT companies with state of the art redundant facilities in numerous cities and more are in the pipeline in various phases. While talking to state-run media, Minister for Information Technology & Telecommunication Anusha Rahman said that in the first three years of the tenure, the ministry of IT has been working on IT infrastructure and is still working on it as only strong infrastructure could take the IT sector to the next level. Ignite CEO Yousaf Hussain said that NIC aims to present an opportunity for startups that seek to solve meaningful problems with the help of academia and the corporate sector. While talking to media, he said that the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication has established NICs across the country to transform and thrive in this age of global competition and pervasive change. Yousuf Hussain said that “there are 140 projects which are going to be executed but in the last one year, we have funded 30 projects”. He said the establishment of the NIC would assist in channeling the entrepreneurial drive amongst young graduates of the nation, adding that innovation is the need of the hour and by empowering “our youth with the necessary digital skills and entrepreneurial acumen, we can enable them to tackle society’s most challenging problems”. Responding to a question he said, “We are working with universities, industries and startups because with collective effort, we can deliver effectively and efficiently.” He thanked the present government for taking important steps for the IT industry and said that 3G and 4G has given boost to IT industry. Published in Daily Times, April 8th 2018.