Prime Minister’s “Startup Pakistan programme” to be launched soon

In its efforts to empower youth and boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the country, Prime Minister Youth Affairs Programme (PMYAP) is going to launch “PM’s Startup Pakistan” programme, according to state-owned APP.

APP citing sources of govt’s officials familiar with the youth programme, reported that the programme is aimed at engaging youth in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Eco System culture. Govt will focus on developing national startup ecosystem for enhancing entrepreneurial activity in youth by promoting conventional and technical startups at universities/technology institutes through this programme, a govt official told APP.

For the uninitiated, Prime Minister Youth Programme announced to launch “Startup Pakistan Programme” for the youth back in March. At that time, the officials working for its foundations said that the programme will not only provide technical and vocational training to the students in both high-tech and demand-driven trades but will also ensure to increase the employment after the training ends.

Later on, PMYP confirmed steering committee members of the program. A notification was issued by the Prime Minister’s office whereby Special Assistant to PM on Youth Affairs, Muhammad Usman Dar was appointed as the Chairman of Startup Pakistan Program. He is supposed to lead a team of 13 members including one secretary — Omar J Ghani, who is a startup funding expert.

An official closely working with the team of Startup Pakistan program told RadioPakistan that Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) will find the topmost business ventures in the local and international market for the Startup Pakistan programme.

Meanwhile, the official also said that the government is planning to enroll at-least one million students in different technical institutes, universities and Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority’s (TEVTA) training centers to equip them with ICT skills.

In addition, he also disclosed that the students will be adjusted in various government sectors for internships, including Naya Pakistan Housing Project, Pakistan Tourism Board, and Ministry of Postal Services.

It is worth mentioning here that the incumbent government is applying efforts to export human resources to other countries. And these efforts have yielded positive results so far. As countries like Japan, Romania, Germany, and Qatar have started taking interest in importing skilled-labor from Pakistan.