Ignite is all set to make Pakistan’s 8th incubation center functional in March 2023.
Sources informed ProPakistani that the renovation of the National Incubation Centre for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT) has been completed. Applications are now being taken from startups for the first Cohort. These applications will be scrutinized in February and classes of 1st Cohort will begin in March.
Ignite has invited applications from startups working in Aircraft and Spacecraft Systems, Electronic Sensors and C2 Systems, Avionics, Electro-Optic/IR Systems, Advanced Wireless Networks and Communication Systems, Drones, Robotics and Swarms, Flight Simulators and xR (AR/VR/MR) Systems.
Applications are also invited from startups working in the field of Information Assurance, Cyber Defense and Resilience, Artificial Intelligence, High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Big Data, Advanced Materials, Additive Manufacturing, and Rapid Prototyping, IoT & ICT Systems, Precision Agriculture Aviation Food, Materials and any related technology.
According to Ignite, National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT) is part of the vibrant Innovation Ecosystem housed inside the National Aerospace Science & Technology Park (NASTP), Pakistan’s first Aerospace Cluster and Smart City, located at Old Islamabad Airport Building, Chaklala Cantt, Rawalpindi.
NICAT with strong government, industry, and academia linkages will help foster meaningful partnerships with aerospace, aviation, and deep tech stakeholders allowing startups to accelerate their growth.
Startups will be provided free co-working space, access to R&D Labs, and industrial exposure. In NICAT, startups will get the opportunity to grow businesses with global mentors.
In this incubation center, startups will get preparation for market-fit products and investment, and pitch startups to Angel Investors & VCs. These startups will become part of the largest innovation community in Pakistan.
Ignite is also launching its first vertical incubator in Aerospace Technologies in collaboration with Aviation City Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. The Contract for the establishment of NICAT was awarded to NETSOL Technologies Ltd. in November 2022.
Ignite’s existing seven NICs in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad, and Faisalabad have incubated more than 1,150 startups so far which have created more than 117,000 direct and indirect jobs, raised funding of Rs. 15.4 billion, and generated revenue of Rs. 9.1 billion so far.