Aitizaz Hassan ISLAMABAD, May 18 (INP-WealthPK): Nine Pakistani women startups owners will raise investment in the United States under the “Accelerator Program for Women Entrepreneurs”. The program has been launched by The Indus Entrepreneurs Islamabad (TIE) in partnership with the US Embassy for eight weeks from May to July 2022. The participants will share their business ideas with renowned global entrepreneurs for business collaboration in Pakistan. During the program, women entrepreneurs are provided with the growth stage start-ups with the necessary tools, coaching and mentoring. It also provides its women entrepreneurs access to global investors and venture capitalists. The core program revolves around networking, mentoring and investor engagements in leading US ecosystems like San Francisco, Austin, Seattle, Boston, Washington DC and New York. Program Manager Fatima Murtaza told WealthPK that the nominated representatives will seek business funding in the US. The women entrepreneurs will be given an opportunity to appear in business conferences and visit the well-known entrepreneurs’ offices like Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and PayPal. Fatima said women entrepreneurs own startups in e-commerce, EdTech, health, and fashion sectors. They will also visit local US-based incubators such as, 9 Mile Labs, Kiwi Tech, Angel Pad and Alchemist. The participants will be provided multiple networking opportunities throughout the eight-week period and will be pitching to selected US-based investors. “The Accelerator Program will connect women-owned Pakistani start-ups with American business tools, coaching and mentoring. The program received an overwhelming response from 450 women-led businesses. Later, 75 shortlisted startups went through a rigorous process of mentoring workshops and pitching competitions from which the top 12 startups were selected for a Founders Institute Accelerator Program. The TIE Islamabad is a leading driver of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan. The Indus Entrepreneurs was founded in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals, and has since evolved into one of the largest global organizations with the express mission of fostering entrepreneurship. Currently, there are nearly 11,200 members, including over 2,860 charter members, in 57 affiliate chapters across 14 countries. Indus Entrepreneurs Islamabad operates Pakistan’s only self-sustainable co-working space for women. Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haque has appreciated the Accelerator Program for Women Entrepreneurs. In a statement, he said that the gender gap in startup funding is quite prominent in the Pakistani ecosystem. The visit of nine women entrepreneurs to the US is a great step to dispel the element of gender disparity. 272 startups have graduated from Ignite’s National Incubation Center with a total investment commitment of Rs8 billion and a cumulative revenue of Rs3 billion. Ignite is the tech innovation arm of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication. These nascent companies have created more than 100,000 new jobs in last three and a half years.