Nabeel A. Qadeer Resigns from PITB

Nabeel A. Qadeer, Director Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development at Punjab Information Technology Board, PITB, has resigned from his position after a tenure of five years, said a press statement.

His major milestones during his time at PITB include:

• Nov 2012 – Laid down the foundation to Plan9
• March 2013 – Initiated Network Partnership Program
• 2014 – Owing to the success of Plan9, he was promoted as the Joint Director at PITB
• 2014 – Initiated PlanX – Tech Accelerator
• 2014 – Started TechHub
• 2014 – Laid down the foundation for WhizKids Program
• 2015 – Project Manager ATX+PAK Entrepreneurial Exchange Program
• 2015 – Grew TechHub to TechHub Connect
• 2016 – Promoted to Director Entrepreneurship at PITB
• 2016 – Started Herself – an initiative to empower women
• 2016 – Began e-Rozgaar – training centers for freelancers
• 2017 – Secured a $20 million fund between PITB and 1839 Ventures, Austin

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Over his tenure of five years, Nabeel is said to have created a huge impact in the world of entrepreneurship and IT.

Impact at PITB:

• Launched 4 Projects: Plan9, PlanX, TechHub Connect and e-Rozgaar
• Launched 4 Initiatives/Programs: Whizkids, Network Partner Program, Atx+Pak Entrepreneurship Exchange Program and Herself.
• Since his joining of PITB in 2012, Plan9 has held 11 launchpads to date and graduated 10 cycles comprising of 130+ startups gross valued at $70M+, creating 1200+ jobs across Pakistan. Out of these, 30 startups successfully raised investment worth $3.2M.
• Nabeel launched ATX+PAK Entrepreneurship Exchange Program sponsored by the US State Department in partnership with the City of Austin, Texas. The ATX+PAK Program has sent 4 cohorts to Austin in 2 years graduating 22 startups. It was ranked as top grant program by the US embassy.
• Nabeel proposed government backed Venture Capital fund and brought $20M venture capital fund to Pakistan in partnership with 1839 Ventures
• Nabeel was also the driving force behind MoU signing with Mayor of Austin, Steve Adeler making Lahore and Austin Twin Science Cities.
• Sowed the seed of entrepreneurship at grass root level by taking Plan9 Whizkids initiative to 50+ schools impacting more than 700 children
• He is the force behind the rise of incubator culture in Pakistan. Under his leadership 22 universities across Pakistan were brought on board as Network Partners of Plan9 setting up incubation centres in universities impacting tens of hundreds of students.
• During his tenure, he fetched 26 international partnerships for Plan9 including giants such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Capital Factory, DFID, City of Austin, Australian Government, Acumen, EO GSEA , 3 Day Startup, Startup Turkey and Global Entrepreneurship Network.
• Not only that, Nabeel A. Qadeer is also responsible for bringing Facebook Developers Circle to Pakistan.
• It was during his leadership, that 5 PITB Roundtable Conferences were held in a short span of 3 years roping in 150+ CEOs from the IT industry of Pakistan bridging the gap between the government, IT industry and academia. It was the third PITB RoundTable Conference that yielded the first IT Policy of Pakistan in the year 2016.
• E-Rozgaar Program launched 22 successful centers across Punjab.
• Nabeel A. Qadeer is a firm believer of women empowerment and he proved it by launching the initiative called Herself. The program graduated 4 cohorts in one and a half year training 200+ women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. His impact on women entrepreneurship amplified with Herself’s partnership with WCCI in the year 2017.

He is also the brains behind ‘Idea Croron Ka‘, a Shark Tank inspired pitching show that brings startups and investors together.

“Having served the Government of Punjab for 5 years and having the pleasure of working closely with Dr. Umar Saif on various initiatives, I have now decided to move on. I strongly believe that it’s people who define organizations. If I will miss anything at PITB, it would be my teams that I built with a lot of effort. I see ambition and vigour in them that makes me believe I need to do much more for the youth and that’s where I am headed to next.”

While we are not sure of his future endeavors, rumor has it that he might start his own entrepreneurial venture apart from driving Idea Croron Ka.