The National Incubation Center at LUMS (“NICL”) aims to bolster the start-up ecosystem of Pakistan by incubating a greater percentage of start-ups that survive and scale to address a large commercial opportunity and attract investment capital for growth. NIC accomplishes this by:
- facilitating problem solvers in high impact areas for Pakistan: 1) Agriculture (AgriTech), 2) Education (EdTech), 3) Environment (CleanTech), 4) Financial Inclusion (FinTech), 5) Healthcare & Lifesciences (HealthTech), and 6) applications utilizing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning;
- upskilling talent through its rigorous applied entrepreneurship Foundation Program, developed and delivered by LUMS faculty and international experts, under the patronage of NICL Foundation Council comprising of role model entrepreneurs and venture capitalists;
- inspiring start-up founders through its Entrepreneur in Conversation series and providing on-going mentorship via successful LUMS alumni, with subject matter or functional expertise; and
- enabling access to global investors.
With LUMS at its epicentre, and support of Ignite, Ministry of Information, Technology and Telecom, and Fatima Ventures, NICL fosters a start-up mindset by creating an innovation district to unleash invention and entrepreneurial talent that solves big problems, and serve as a collaboration platform between industry and applied academic research.
In addition to its incubation and acceleration programs, NICL supports economic development by providing tools, skills and market access to marginalized communities, especially youth and women in tertiary cities of Pakistan.
LAHORE UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES – Learning Without Borders
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan’s premier educational institution with a proud history of achievement, and ambitious plans for the future. Since its inception in 1985, LUMS has strived to achieve excellent standards in education while encouraging research and intellectual growth in the country. LUMS has played a key role in setting high standards of academics and producing professionals who can compete with counterparts from any university across the world. A large alumni base within corporate sector is strongly connected and engaged with LUMS.
Research and innovation are an integral part of the university’s vision with a strong ethos of entrepreneurship and it has provided a platform for researchers to make new discoveries. LUMS is proud to house researchers that include faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students. LUMS has 200+ PhD faculty members and 100+ active PhD students who are actively involved in numerous fields of research. During last five years, LUMS faculty members have won 600+ externally funded grants worth more than PKR 5 billion. The university has also established strong ties at national and international level with 400+ knowledge partners.
LUMS Learning without Borders agenda aims to create an environment of inclusion, unity, and boundless knowledge to develop innovators, leaders and change-makers who can contribute to the community and economic development of Pakistan.