The National Incubation Center (NIC), Pakistan’s state of the art award winning innovation hub, and the Jazz xlr8 program has started accepting applications for its sixth cohort starting 7th June, 2019.
Starting from its upcoming cohort, the NIC will be offering a flagship program by MSI USA to harness true global entrepreneurial spirit in the incubatees through behavioral change.
Launched in February 2017, the NIC 121 startups powered by 257 entrepreneurs (48 women founders). During this time, the Jazz xlr8 accelerator has on-boarded 14 startups, and given them support to scale. Over the last two years, the NIC startups have created significant economic & social impact; raised funding & generated incremental revenue of close to PKR 800 million and have generated over 2,200 jobs (with 26% direct female employment), in this short span of time and have also represented Pakistan at numerous international forums.
With two cohorts successfully graduated, third, fourth and fifth cohort still undergoing the incubation cycle, the National Incubation Center and Jazz xlr8 program is all set to bring in a diverse community of leaders and innovators in its sixth cohort who believe in building a better future!
From innovative thinking to evolving into sustainable & scalable businesses, the National Incubation Center offers world-class environment enabling startups to design & implement impactful solutions. The Jazz xlr8 accelerator on-boards select late-stage startups and gives them the support and the training to rapidly scale.
Innovative startups working in diverse fields are encouraged to apply for the program, specifically those working in Education, Fin-Tech, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Agriculture, Gaming, 3D Animation, Mixed Reality (Augmented & Virtual Reality) as well those working towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) among others.
The National Incubation Center is holding its Open House on Friday June 21st 2019, as part of its ongoing campaign for the Sixth Cohort, all aspiring entrepreneurs will get the opportunity to interact and connect with the team, mentors and the start-ups. The session will include presentations about the NIC, discussions on the importance of mentorship at the NIC followed by open-ended conversations with our start-ups.
NIC Offerings
With its long-term commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, NIC provides equal opportunity to people from all walks of life and takes pride in supporting women entrepreneurs and the differently-abled through its endeavors.
Selected startups will undergo weeks of intensive curriculum exclusively designed for startups. Start-ups are trained in areas of product development, design thinking, digital growth, how to market the product to the right audience, how to pitch to potential investors and much more.
The program is focused on actionable training where startups are mentored by industry veterans and thought leaders from across industries. The state of the art facility fosters innovation, through one-to-one mentor sessions, tech talks, and allows startups to connect with some of the best industry experts.
Startups can also apply to the Jazz xlr8 programs, which selects startups from across the country and provides support to scale in the form of user insights, marketing support, global network of mentors, and access to Jazz’s digital platforms.
The startups part of the Jazz xlr8 program have received Jazz’s support in terms of Jazz employee mentorship, payment infrastructure and many of them have been sponsored to attend the 4YFN in Barcelona to showcase their services at one of the most prolific startup and technology events in the world.
Details can be found on NIC’s website. nicpakistan.pk/
Applications for the sixth cohort will remain open until 6th of July, 2019.
