Daily Times

Every year, Forbes’ lists continue to recognise the potential and achievements of bright minds from across the globe and introduce them to the entrepreneurial world.

This year, focusing on how the pandemic has changed the market, Forbes is highlighting small startups with under $10 million in revenue or funding, but having an infinite drive and enthusiasm.

Pakistani entrepreneur Mariam Nusrat’s startup may be small but its impact is big — as both the founder and the venture are making waves at an international level.

Marium is the founder of GRID (Gaming Revolution for International Development). A current resident of Virginia, United States, Nusrat holds a master’s degree in economics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) as well as from the George Washington University in the United States. Through her startup, she has been successfully leading an interdisciplinary team of Pakistan-based game developers and designers for the last six years. GRID aims to solve major world problems by creating games that stimulate positive behavioural change. The team has created eight portfolio games that can be played in five different languages and has a gaming audience in 18 different counties with about 15 thousand downloads.

Marium believes that behavioural change “cannot be born, contextual realities cannot be ignored, and innovation cannot wait [until] tomorrow.” Thus, GRID covers 60% of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The games cover a variety of topics, including reproductive health, climate change, health pandemics, animal welfare, STEM learning, and structural racism. Mariam is also an education specialist with the World Bank. She and her startup had captured considerable media attention even before entering the Forbes’ list. She has presented her startup before former US president Bill Clinton, the World Bank president, and several other famous authors, innovators, and a TEDx audience. She is also the recipient of several prestigious awards. Nusrat’s addition empowers and inspires Pakistani women. Her favourite quote this year is: “Why can’t “run like a girl” mean” win the race?” She is also working on another initiative called Breshna, to be launched on July 16, that allows people to create games without writing a single line of code.

What is the Forbes’ 1000 list?

The list is based upon the public’s nominations and is screened by top business minds and entrepreneurial superstars from across the globe. These new faces will number 1,000 by the end of the year.