During the past decade or so, you might have noticed an influx of ventures and incubation centers that help startups maximize their potential. Well the trend isn’t new, it has just been relabeled from venture capital to startup incubation. This is a multi-billion dollar global industry, and nowadays, these venture firms or incubation centers target young and innovative businesses.
Over the years, a slight variation in the industry is that venture firms now provide technical support as well as human resources to help startups from the ground up. Even in Pakistan, it has become very easy for young innovative talent to seek out incubation centers which specialize in specific skills sets.
According to estimates, the venture industry is over $600 million in Pakistan and our country is ready to enter the billion dollar club by the end of 2017. Financial figures report an explosive growth in this sector and there is still massive potential for far more growth. Pakistan has over 30 million internet subscribers and they are expected to rise to 56 million by 2019. Our market has as much potential as any other emerging market.
What Has Arpatech Ventures Achieved?
Arpatech Technology Ventures is a relatively new entrant in the startup industry. The company has its own venture wing which incubates potential prospects. It incubates dozens of startups each year. The company has now gone in all directions ranging from online shopping to online pharmacy and from grocery shopping to video curation. Emerging after the massive success story of EatOye.pk, Pakistan’s largest online food ordering portal.
Some of the success stories from their incubation center are:
Sheops
Launched couple of months back, this women only shopping store stands apart from the rest of the E-commerce community. Since then, Arpatech has been working on empowering women providing a specialized platform to female entrepreneurs so that they can convert their business ideas to reality.
TazaMart
An online grocery store which has been gaining in popularity as it expands to other cities. The online store has made a name for itself due to its customer support and quality that it provides. It received an overwhelming response during Ramazan. TazaMart is already planning bringing leading retail stores on board by arranging for online portals.
Jambo.pk
It’s an online shopping store which intends to stand out from the rest of the pack. Powered by Arpatech, it brings a user friendly interface and makes shopping a much more fun experience. Despite being at the soft launch stage, Jambo.pk is already gaining customer trust. It offers genuine products, discounted prices and instant deliveries.
It is a store which meets the corporate and domestic consumers’ demands. The store has even launched some very succe campaigns like the Air conditioner campaign in Ramazan which resulted in hundreds of ACs being sold at discounted rates. The campaign offered free same day delivery and installation.
Medonline.pk
It’s an online pharmacy, something not commonly seen in Pakistan. People can now order medicine from the comfort of their home and have it delivered right to their doorstep. Such a service would be very useful for peoplewho require regular medicines like diabetes and blood pressure patients.
Arpatech’s Next Big Thing: Rava.pk
Arpatech Technology Ventures is currently investing in Rava.pk, a video curation site. The idea aims to legalize online video content by incorporating live feeds from leading English and Urdu channels. Arpatech Technology Ventures wants to establish a culture of legality where piracy could be abolished and viewers can enjoy authentic content.
What’s Special about Arpatech
In a short time of incubation and startup support, Arpatech has already helped along some potential startups to become country-wide businesses. That bodes well for Arpatech’s potential to boost any startup idea from the incubation phase to a full-fledged business.
