PITB inks three MoUs with Austin, USA to boost entrepreneurship in Pakistan

Lahore : Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) inked three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to explore new avenues of partnership for entrepreneurs after the launch ceremony of  a new venture named as ATX+PAK here at Arfa IT Tower last day. Chairman PITB Dr. Umar Saif who is also Vice Chancellor of the IT University Lahore and the heads of the start-ups 3-Day, Capital Factory and Tech Ranch based at Austin signed and exchanged the papers of the MoUs.

Dr. Saif while addressing the ceremony appreciated the steps being taken to expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem all across the world. He said that this partnership was a wonderful opportunity for both parties to learn and gain experience and share up to date knowledge. He well explained the journey of tech ventures covered by the PITB’s flagship projects such as Plan9, PlanX and Tech Hub Connect. He said, “This partnership means a lot to us. It is a wonderful opportunity for our start-ups to learn and gain experience from. I think this is just the beginning of something great. It has only been possible because of the brilliant team of PITB, that today we stand here partnering with exceptionally amazing companies of the Austin.”

Elaborating the PITB’s various projects Dr. Saif told that the smartphone monitoring of the extended programs increased the preventive vaccination of various diseases coverage area from 15% to 91% while monitoring of the attendance of doctors, teachers and students in public hospitals and schools of Punjab province. He also pondered on the mechanisms of crime mapping system and other initiatives devised by the PITB for the Punjab Police.

Senior Public Information Officer and Founder of the ATX+Pak Launch program Ms. Alicia Dean said that the primary goal of the ATX+PAK Launch Pakistan tour was to explore collaboration, partnership and investment opportunities between the innovation/start-up ecosystems in Austin and Pakistan. “This includes focus on job-training and other programs to increase equity and access to the start-up/innovation economy by under-represented communities and to explore opportunities in other key industries that are in alignment with the strategy for economic growth including: Cultural Tourism, Creative (Music, Film, Gaming, Wearable Tech), Fashion (Design, Production/Manufacturing, Fashion Start-ups) and Transportation Innovation. The city of Austin has one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial infrastructures in the US and we feel it fits well with the budding start-up culture that we have in Lahore.” She added.

The other delegates included Ali Syed, Touchdown Austin Coordinator at Capital Factory, Christopher Scheetz, CEO of 1839 Ventures LLC Investment Fund, Joe Troyen, Founder of PenPal Schools, Kevin Koyme, Founder and CEO at Tech Ranch, Kim Moore, International Program Manager of ATX+Pak Launch Program, Preston Stewart, Global Business Expansion Coordinator at the city of Austin, Ricky Holm, CEO of Chocolate, Milk & Donuts and Severine Cushing, Director Operations at Tech Ranch.