The IBA Entrepreneurship Society, in collaboration with the IBA
Centre for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), held the grand finale
of its one-of-a-kind, nationwide business plan competition “INVENT –
The Nationwide Entrepreneurial Challenge” on Saturday, August 24,
2013 at IBA Main Campus.
Officially sponsored by the Securities and Exchange Commission of
Pakistan (SECP), the event was attended by Mr. Muhammad Asif Arif,
Commissioner SECP, as the chief guest. Of the 350 teams that
initially registered six months ago, 16 finalists managed to
progress through to the final stage and presented their business
plans to a panel of esteemed judges at the finale.
INVENT is one of the largest business plan competitions in Pakistan,
the aim of which is to encourage ethical and sustainable
entrepreneurial ventures amongst students across the country.
Comprising over six months of rigorous trainings and workshops
across Pakistan, students honed their entrepreneurial skills and
developed feasible business plans for their business ideas.
During this time, teams progressed through the various stages of the
competition based on a strict grading scheme, and those with the
most sustainable ideas – and those who met the defined criteria –
then had the opportunity of presenting their plans to a panel of
judges at the finale. Themed “Ideas Today:: Businesses Tomorrow”,
this year 1,600 students from 140 of HEC recognized universities
spanning across seven cities participated in the competition. The
categories included: Techno-entrepreneurship, Agri-entrepreneurship,
Socio-entrepreneurship and Classic-entrepreneurship.
Dr. Ishrat Husain, Dean and Director, IBA, expressed great pride
towards the participants for their effort and dedication over the
past few months. He also thanked the partners and sponsors for their
continuous support in making the event and the competition a great
and continuous success. Dr. Shahid Qureshi, Associate Director CED,
IBA, praised all 16 finalists for their hard work and held in high
esteem their innovative ideas. Mr. Asif Arif of SECP elaborated the
importance of and the need for entrepreneurial mindsets in Pakistan,
while also detailing the role of the SECP in promoting and providing
support for unique business ventures across Pakistan. He also
appreciated IBA and the CED for taking the initiative to launch
INVENT and to organize it on an annual basis.
The teams then presented their business plans and ideas to the panel
of judges, who after much deliberation, awarded first prize of
Rs175,000 (includes Rs100,000 of in-kind support) to
Techno-entrepreneurship Project Smart SurgiSol from the National
University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and the International
Islamic University; to Agri-entrepreneurship Project Green Pump from
the University of Engineering & Technology Karachi and IBA Karachi;
to Socio-entrepreneurship Project “Straw bale hybrid homes” from the
Centre for Advanced Studies and Engineering (CASE); and to
Classic-entrepreneurship Project Easy Electric EE from the Centre
for Advanced Studies in Engineering (CASE). The runners-up in each
category received Rs100,000, including Rs50,000 in in-kind support.
Prior to the Grand Finale on 24 August, 2013, a two-day workshop was
organized for the finalists where their skills were again honed for
the finalization of their business plans and presentations.
Since most of the finalists were from outside of Karachi they were
also taken to a short outing along with a dinner session with an
entrepreneur. This activity was in addition to an interesting
aerobics session when they arrived in the morning for their
workshop.
