Startups and Influencers Gather at Telenor Velocity’s First-Ever Industry Meet

In continuation of its efforts to enrich entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country, Telenor Pakistan hosted ‘Meet & Greet’ event for its startup accelerator program Telenor Velocity.

Launched in February 2016, Telenor Velocity focuses on making the Telenor’s scale and superior assets to supercharge promising Pakistani startups. It’s a 6-month, program that covers all aspects necessary for startups to survive, compete, and scale. The shortlisted startups get the opportunity to enjoy Telenor’s in-house expertise, physical and digital distribution channels, payment solutions, market intelligence, and access to customers to throw their product in the market for growth and overcome the barriers holding back their business.

Startups and Influencers Gather at Telenor Velocity’s First-Ever Industry Meet

The event brought together aspiring startups, industry influencers, bloggers, and business network mobilizers from across the country to explore and propel entrepreneurial endeavors in Pakistan. The event also featured startups of the first Velocity batch sharing their success stories and insights into the Pakistani digital marketplace.

Dr. Syed Ismail Shah, Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), was present at the Telenor Velocity event as the chief guest.

Caption: Dr. Ismail Shah while shedding light on the PTA’s performance during recent years

Caption: Dr. Ismail Shah telling about “Speed Test App” as one of the milestone achieved by PTA

Caption: The recently launched “Smart Pakistan Initiative” by PTA was also discussed as the success story of PTA

While addressing the audience, Dr. Shah stated:

“Telenor Velocity is one of the first Telco Startup accelerators in Pakistan. It gives me great pleasure to see how dedicatedly Telenor Pakistan is contributing the best of its core competencies toward digital empowerment. The idea behind Telenor Velocity is powerful enough for other industry players to be inspired from. It is initiatives like these that we need to bring Pakistani youth into entrepreneurial ecosystem and reach our convergent developmental goals faster.”

Dr. Shah ended his presentation with a beautiful message for audience and entire nation as he said:

There is dire need to at least appreciate initiatives like Smart Pakistan and Speed Test App and consider them as achievements rather than criticizing therm; optimistic approach will definitely help Pakistani society to do wonders and improve our country’s standing at international platforms.

Other notable speakers included Monis Rehman, CEO Naseeb Network & Rozee.pk, and Junaid Iqbal, Managing Director Careem.

Caption: Monis Rehman, CEO Naseeb Network & Rozee.pk while sharing his success story of Rozee.pk

Caption: Junaid Iqbal, Managing Director Careem shedding light on the fact that that how he localized this international project

One of the key highlights of Meet & Greet was a panel discussion on Digital Opportunity by M. Nasrullah, VP Convo, & Omer Bin Tariq, Director Internet & Devices Telenor.

While speaking at the event, Irfan Wahab, Deputy CEO & CMO, Telenor Pakistan, said:

“We are expanding the scope of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan by providing some of our industry’s finest services to new and promising start-ups. We believe in fostering these rich minds and hope that Telenor Velocity will prove to be a huge stepping stone for driving the spirit of entrepreneurship forward.”

The gathering precedes the intake announcement for the 2nd cohort of Telenor Velocity accelerator program to start in Q3, 2016. Application will open online on Telenor Velocity website. Telenor Velocity will be looking for stellar startup companies with innovative products or services. The selected startups will get the opportunity to grow with Telenor Velocity’s go to market accelerator program.

Caption: The first badge of Telenor Velocity introducing their startups to the audience 

Known for innovation and initiatives like IoT Expo and Youth Forum to accelerate digital ecosystem development in the country, Telenor Pakistan has also been promoting entrepreneurship for Pakistan’s digital professionals and aspirants through programs like Telenor Velocity and Apportunity. Another initiative on intra-preneurship is the internal startup incubation program called Ignite, which is a Group wide incubator program for its employees.

And the ending must be made memorable. Telenor Velocity event ended with melodious performance of band “KHUMARIAAN” who no doubt rocked the stage.