Haripur, December 31, 2021 (PPI-OT):Applications can be submitted via online portal (http://ric.hec.gov.pk)
TRANSFORM YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL DREAMS INTO SUSTAINABLE START-UPS!
Encouraging entrepreneurship is one of the key objectives of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan. The HEC has recently launched the Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project to help in accelerating the economic engines of the country.
Innovator Seed Fund (ISF) is an initiative under HEDP that aims at engaging entrepreneurs and upcoming aspirants who want to convert their business ideas into action.
ISF will provide a package of support and seed funding to early-stage startups through HEC-recognized Business Incubation Centers (BICs) at universities.
The grant winners will receive up to $35,000 in seed funding in addition to support through BICs in the form of entrepreneurial training, legal training and support, financial education, business development service provision, and investment readiness training. In addition, successful start-ups will be connected to a range of funding sources that can help them meet their capital needs during the scale-up phase post program.
15 promising early-stage start-ups will be funded and provided the training and incubation services required to transform them into investable ventures through ISF, every year. As part of the strategic aims of the project, a significant proportion of the grants will be awarded to startups with female founders.
How can you participate as an entrepreneur, mentor, business developer, service provider or investor? Please check out the recordings of ISF Pre-launch Webinars or navigate through the ISF webpages here to learn more.
Applicant Eligibility:
The lead applicant must:
Either be a student, recent alumni and/or faculty members / researchers of the Higher Education Institutions (public and private).
Have endorsement from one of the HEC established Business Incubation Centers (BICs).
Not have received commercial sources of funding prior to applying for ISF grant.
Have an SECP registered business concern.
The final awardees will have to enter into a tri-partite agreement between the Startup, the BIC and the HEC. The applications for the ISF program will be routed via the Business Incubation Centers established by the HEC in different public sector HEIs of Pakistan. For details regarding HEC Established Business Incubation Centers (BICs), please visit: https://bit.ly/3m6nvZh
The ISF grant is targeted at early-stage startups which will benefit majorly from a $35,000 grant and entrepreneurial training.
KEY PRIORITY AREAS
The priority sectors for ISF support include but are not limited to:
Agriculture, Food Resources and Agri Tech
Banking, Microfinance and FinTech
Creative, Digital Media, Arts and Culture
Education and EdTech
E-commerce and Smart Retail
Emerging Technologies
Health Care and Health Tech
Housing, Construction and Manufacturing
Sustainable Development, Climate and Energy
Transportation and Logistics
Other sectors that have potential for growth and impact
Budgets for ISF awards will be up to $35,000 with a project duration of 1 year (depending upon the project modalities and execution plan).
Applications can be submitted in response to a call for concept notes. Submissions must be made to the HEC online portal (http://ric.hec.gov.pk) in accordance with the guidelines provided in the call for proposals document under “Downloads” section.
Once the required details are filled online, please upload all the required documents in .pdf form and submit the application before the deadline. The portal will be live from December 16, 2021 and will be accepting Concept Notes till January 15, 2022.
For more information, contact:
The University of Haripur
Hattar Road near Swat Chowk, Haripur,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Tel: +92-995-615384
Fax: +92-0995615384
Email: registrar@uoh.edu.pk
Website: http://www.uoh.edu.pk