The Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has launched Rs 10 Billion Pakistan Innovation Fund (PIF) to promote innovation and entrepreneurship culture among youth in the country.
The initiative was taken in line with the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal.
The fund will provide early-stage financing of Rs5 million to Rs20 million to innovative startups and small companies in the domains of education, health, agriculture, women entrepreneurship, governance, and technology.
However, innovative proposals from other sectors will also be considered if they meet the evaluation criteria.
With the help of the Pakistan Innovation Fund, a thriving ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship is set to be created in Pakistan by promoting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship especially among youth.
The fund aims to address critical economic issues and support individuals, startups, researchers, SMEs and small scale businesses by helping them turn their innovative ideas into commercial businesses. T
he main objectives of PIF are to support the future engines of economic growth in Pakistan and create indigenous products and services for import substitution as well as increase exports.
The Minister has invited startups, entrepreneurs, incubators, and investors to submit proposals to benefit from this opportunity.
Interested applicants can submit their ideas by downloading the form through https://www.pc.gov.pk/web/pif and sending the filled-out form at “Member Governance, Room 320, Pak Secretariat, P Block, Islamabad”.
The applicants must also submit a copy of proposals online at the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Gz4eyU23gf6OVtYcYo7s0jtbVijfS9JJIAATqBvR0ow/edit.
April 30 is the deadline for submitting both soft and hard copies to the Planning Commission.
The launch of PIF is an important step to promote the culture of innovation and risk-taking for business development in Pakistan.
The Ministry looks forward to working with all stakeholders to set a precedent in making Pakistan a knowledge-based economy.
