The minister was accompanied by Syed Junaid Imam – CEO Ignite, Shabahat Ali Shah – CEO NITB, Syed Fakhar Ahmed – Chief Corporate & Regulatory Officer, and Aamer Ejaz- Chief Digital and Strategy Officer, Jazz. The visitors were welcomed by Parvez Abbasi – Co-founder Teamup and Project Director NIC and were given a tour of the facility, during which they met with some of the NIC startups. The minister exchanged ideas with the startups and appreciated their commitment to their work. The Honorable Minister assured that the Ministry of IT and Telecom would continue to extend maximum support to the NIC project in the future. He stated that such projects are integral to the economic and social prosperity of the country, and all stakeholders need to collaboratively work towards accelerating the growth of the ecosystem. The honorable minister also commended the efforts of the NIC team in empowering the youth through its incubation program and bootcamps. He appreciated how the incubation program has led to women empowerment and contributed to helping more women start their own businesses. He emphasized the importance of female participation in various fields and urged the NIC team to continue to strive for increased women participation in the startup space. “I am extremely pleased to see this world-class facility, the amazing team behind it, and the brilliant ideas these young entrepreneurs are working on. Indeed, the future of the country lies in empowerment of youth and encouraging female participation. The Ministry would like to ensure all possible support to this wonderful cause in the future as well.”– Syed Amin ul Haque, Federal Minister IT and Telecom. Aamer Ejaz – Chief Digital and Strategy Officer, Jazz also said during the occasion “Jazz is committed to uplifting the startup ecosystem in Pakistan. Our aim is to lead the digital revolution in this part of the world and address the major socio-economic challenges faced by Pakistan.”