Ignite National Technology Fund, a public sector company, showcased two startups with defence-related products and two Ignite-funded projects at the 11th International Defence Exhibition and Seminar, or “IDEAS 2022”. Many people stopped by Ignite's booth, which featured startups and sponsored initiatives in the defence industry. Bioniks, a company that makes the best, most affordable and most reliable artificial limbs in Pakistan; and VTOL Dynamics, a company that offers drone-based solutions for inspection, mapping, surveying, surveillance, and agriculture, were among the startups from Ignite's National Incubation Center Karachi.

One of the projects that received funding was the 5G SDR, a versatile method for tactical communications (5G air-interface testbed: development of waveform and IP components) from the CASE Institute of Technology. Another project that received funding was the Multimodal sensing enabled real-time intelligent wireless camera networks for secured spaces from the Al-Khwarizmi Institute of Computer Science (KICS) at the University of Engineering & Technology (UET) Lahore.

IDEAS (International Defense Exhibition and Seminar), which is the largest Expo in Pakistan and a hallmark of the defence sector, attracted over 300 high-profile international participants from over 35 nations this year in addition to hundreds of local exhibitors. A conference that served as the event's climax offered a perfect chance to demonstrate Pakistan's technical potential.

Ignite Communication Manager Nadeem Nasir said, “Ignite has been providing both local and international networking events to our startups to pitch their business ideas and products to local and international customers and investors. IDEAS provides an opportunity for our defence related startups and projects to demo their products to visitors and potential customers.” Ignite just opened its eighth aerospace technology incubation centre, and the incubator's entrepreneurs will exhibit at IDEAS 2023 next year, he continued.

Ignite has built a network of seven national incubation facilities across Pakistan's major cities, including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad, and Faisalabad. Additional incubation centres will open by next year. These incubators have so far supported more than 1100 startups, which have produced more than 117,000 employment, more than Rs 9 billion in total income, and more than Rs 15 billion in capital during the previous four to five years.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk