Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani young innovators and entrepreneurs can apply for the Prime Minister National Innovation Award 2023 to back the best business ideas of the youth till February 15 which is the last day.
National Innovation Award is a flagship program by the Prime Minister’s Youth Program (PMYP) aimed at motivating the youth to utilize their energies for the development of the country.
According to PMYP source, young innovators and entrepreneurs aged between 15-30 may submit their proposals through www.pmyp.gov.pk by 15 February and can win a grant package of up to Rs 2 million and technical support with incubation options.
Financial Assistance Under Prime Minister National Innovation Program
Under this project young Pakistanis can submit their innovative ideas in the field of Food Security, Water Management and Sustainability, Urban Planning, Sustainable Energy, Climate Change and Environment, Information Technology and Telecom, Innovative Governance and Reforms, Medical and Health Sciences, Sociology and Philosophy, and others.
A total of 250 innovators would get the chance of ‘Idea Pitching Training’ for their innovative ideas arranged by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). However, 50 ideas will be finalized for the award.
To ensure transparency, the selection of awards will be made through an open, rigorous, transparent, competitive, and merit-based process.
The maximum funding provided to a single startup is about Rs. 2 million to be divided into two phases. First an amount of Rs. 1 million will be provided to the top 10 selected ideas each, while the rest of the 40 ideas will get up to Rs. 0.5 million each in funding.
In the subsequent phase, all 50 winners may also request supplementary funds up to Rs. 1 million along with the award money as per their requirements to scale up their innovative ideas through Business Incubation Centers (BICs) as a follow-up program.
The additional funding will be given through respective BICs and will be tied to startup deliverables and the approved budget.
The higher Education Commission (HEC) recently held a series of five Pitching Training Bootcamps under PM’s National Innovation Award (PMNIA) in 5 regions. Each camp was hosted by an institution at the relevant location, comprising IBA, Karachi; BUITEMS, Quetta; ImSciences, Peshawar; NUST, Islamabad and UET, Lahore.
National Innovation Award provides an open opportunity for all Pakistani youth to propose innovative ideas and get funding and technical support from industry experts, along with a six-month incubation opportunity to transform their ideas into a flourishing business.
The objective of the innovation award is to motivate youth to use their innovative skills for the micro-economic development of the country while it will also assist to improve Pakistan’s ranking in the Global Innovation Index and would address the issue of unemployment through promoting entrepreneurial culture among majority of the youth.
The National Innovation Award is a flagship program of the Prime Minister’s Youth Program, which is being executed by the Higher Education Commission.
