Pakistan’s First Specialized Incubator for FinTech All Set to Kickoff Fintech Disrupt Challenge 2018
Worldwide, there’s been a dialogue on specialized incubation and acceleration programs, and rightly so, since there are now over a dozen incubation centers in every other city, with loosely defined categories for startups. Some of the popular categories, worldwide, have been the like of those under tourism, clean/green-tech, hardware-based, food, governance, fashion and many more. Taking the lead on this locally on the fintech front is Fintech Factory, Pakistan’s first incubator and accelerator specializing in FinTech.
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Fintech Factory, with its partners, is all set to kickoff its roadshow to induct the first cohort. The first batch is entirely funded by the Karandaaz Fintech Disrupt Challenge 2018 and is due to start by the end of June 2018. Currently, the schedule for the awareness seminars and induction drive is as follows:
a- Awareness session in Karachi: 30-Apr-18, @Avari Towers Hotel
b- Awareness session in Peshawar: 02-May-18, @NIC Peshawar
c- Awareness session in Abbottabad: 03-May-18 @TechValley Abbottabad
d- Awareness session in Islamabad: 08-May-18 @The Hive
The application deadline is 15thMay 2018, and the organizing team is taking sessions across various cities to garner interest from the fintech community and to answer any questions that the potential participants may have.
The next chapter is the Ideathons, which will be held across May-June 2018, with selected startups’ induction into the Accelerator program towards the end of June.
Read: CreditFix Wins Big at FinTech Disrupt Challenge 2017: Karandaaz Pakistan
Following a rigorous program, closely monitored by the participating partners, the final pitch for funding is due to be held in October 2018. Fintech Factory shares,
“Our partners share the same ambition of reshaping the Digital Finance Landscape of Pakistan”
The consortium includes TPS, JS Bank, The Hive (Islamabad) Takaful Pakistan, RapidCompute and Sybrid and each of the participating companies are bringing their expertise to the table for this program.
Read: RapidCompute: Being Rapid on a Cloud First Cert for PCIDSS3.2
Finance industry veterans and knowledge experts in the field, who are serving as mentors for the program include:
1- Jake Kandall – Director, DFS Labs
2- Tariq Hameed – Senior Director, Alvare & Marshall
3- Qasif Shahid – Founder & CEO Finja
4- Gias Khan – CEO, Eman Modaraba
5- Ben Leon – Entrepreneur, DFS Labs
6- Shahzad Shahid – CEO, TPS
7- Habibullah Khan – Director Content, Penumbra
8- Amaar Ikhlaas – Head of Branchless Banking & Digital, Bank Alfalah
9- Mohsin Termezy – USAID SME Expert
10- Furqan Qureshi – Consultant at furqanqureshi.pk
11- Hasnain A. Shaikh – Chairman & CEO Inov8 Limited
12- Rizwan Hussain – Executive Director EFU General Insurance
13- Zia Baber – PHD Scholar University of Toronto
14- Faisal Aftab – Advisor to Member Planning & Regional Connectivity, Ministry of Planning Development & Reform – Government of Pakistan
15- Imran Khan – Managing Director & Co-Founder at RapidCompute
To increase the awareness and interest among professionals and budding startups, Fintech Factory is all set to take on these cities. The conducting awareness seminars in Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar & Abbottabad.
Register today for a session close to you and stay tuned to IDG Pakistan for more updates as we take you around with Fintech Factory!
Image source: Fintech Factory
