Entrepreneurship is not an alien concept in Pakistan. According to SMEDA, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up 99% of the economic establishments in Pakistan.
It, therefore, comes as a surprise that Pakistan’s performance is poor in almost all of the formal entrepreneurship indicators such as human resources, innovation, social economy, knowledge, and initiative.
Challenges such as digital access, financial facilitation, openness, adoption, and protection to business freedom can be held responsible for such poor performance.
Odds such as lack of an empowering policy framework, low ease of doing business, and intrusion from the government can be beaten by factors that enable and promote entrepreneurship. One such enabler is Startup Early, a Pakistani education initiative.
Conceived and initiated with the vision to foster an entrepreneurial mindset in Pakistan, Startup Early is on a mission to instill entrepreneurial spirit within the next generation of the country.
Considering entrepreneurship as a key driver for change, Startup Early is equipping students in their elementary and high school years with the necessary skill set that will help them succeed in a digital world and a global economy.
Through a number of effective online courses and programs, Startup Early is making an effort to build practical and soft skills that will help boost the confidence and creativity of students from a young age.
Hamza Ansar, the man behind the initiative, shares his insights, saying, “We see entrepreneurship as a key vehicle for change, and an opportunity for students to live a life filled with passion and on their own terms, while solving issues in their communities to make a positive impact on their world and to screed in a global economy.”
What is the Startup Early Entrepreneurship Challenge?
Startup Early’s Entrepreneurship Challenge is a virtual event held annually for individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 who can acquire the skills to successfully improve their ideas, products, or services.
A team of young students or individuals pitch their innovative ideas to seasoned entrepreneurs who then provide their feedback on the concepts. Under this program, students are able to join a community of like-minded students and compete for winning the challenge.
The categories for this challenge are:
- School Level (15–19-year-olds)
- College Level (20–24-year-olds)
Through this program, students can reap benefits that help them in the long run such as:
- Networking opportunities
- Access to informational sessions
- Merchandise from sponsors
- Internship opportunities
- Participation certificates
- Monetary prize
- Discount coupons for Startup Early’s offerings
The judging criteria for this challenge are based on numerous features that include innovation, as well as global and community impact. Initiatives related to one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals will be given preference by the judging panel.
What is the Student Ambassador Program?
To provide younger students a chance to gain great exposure at the Startup Early Entrepreneurship Challenge ‘21, Startup Early is launching a Student Ambassador Program.
This will provide the ambassadors a chance for greater involvement with the organizing team of the event, aiding in numerous parts of the event.
Students who wish to participate can reap benefits such as gaining critical leadership skills, building communication skills, taking advantage of networking opportunities, and more.
Students with good communication and interpersonal skills – who are enthusiastic about entrepreneurship and exhibit qualities such as punctuality, flexibility, reliability, and friendliness – are preferred for the Ambassador Program.
The Student Ambassador Program can help students get additional benefits such as:
- Access to informational sessions
- Merchandise from sponsors
- Internship opportunities
- Participation certificates
- Monetary prizes
- Discount coupons for Startup Early offerings
All student ambassadors will be required to bring in maximum registrations for the event.
Bootcamp
The Bootcamp under the banner of Startup Early’s Entrepreneurship Challenge was a series of informative sessions planned to help the participants learn integral and unique skills that would help them in their respective entrepreneurial journeys. The Bootcamp comprised a total of 5 sessions which were:
- Valuation of Startups
- Mind Your Mindset
- How to Pitch Your Idea?
- Hacking Brand: How to build your brand under limitations
- Insights into the life of an Entrepreneur and Q&A regarding Demo Day
These sessions helped the participants polish and perfect their ideas for their Demo Day submissions and also their entrepreneurial journeys as a whole.
Demo Day
The Demo Day was the final and the most important segment of the Entrepreneurship Challenge, which took place on Saturday, 21st August’21. Out of the initial teams that had registered only 15 made it to the Demo Day.
The day was spread over the course of 2 rounds, where initially the teams had to present their ideas in the form of a 2-minute elevator pitch, and then a detailed 8-minute presentation accordingly in the second round.
The ideas in consideration spoke to the highly qualified aspect of the teams and potential entrepreneurs in the country, where revolutionary Medicaid, transportation hubs, and even NFTs were involved.
The selection for the winners was tough as all ideas inhibited the required qualities of becoming successful businesses one day and such was the feedback imparted to all the participants by the esteemed panel of judges present.
This year’s edition of the Entrepreneurship Challenge has set the benchmark for editions in the future and the team at Startup Early is geared to conducting the competition annually to do their service by aiding aspiring entrepreneurs as much as they can in their journeys to assist Pakistan in exploring the potential hidden in the youth living here.
Special Thanks
To make the event a massive success, Startup Early extends the heartiest gratitude to the sponsors of the Entrepreneurship Challenge namely ProPakistani, Eikon7, Unilever, Careem, and teamup.
