Hundreds of applications poured in this season for The Foundation programme at LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship, which is the university’s flagship experiential development platform for young businesses. After a thorough process of scouting, soliciting applications, conducting interviews and discussions between the Foundation Council members, which is an elite, independent panel of business leaders, LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship has inducted its 7th batch for its four-month Foundation programme.
The startups that made it to the seventh batch include: Spry; a social network which enables users to find professionals around them by their skills set and profession, Paycard; an innovative, cashless and contactless payment mechanic which works via an NFC card, Stafflex; a recruitment and applicant tracking system for the recruitment agencies in the Gulf countries and overseas employment agents in Pakistan, Iotech; a centralized control automation system that creates communication between all aspects of a house or a firm, Filter Straw; aims to provide pure water anywhere, anytime through innovative solutions, TechMite Solutions; provides cleaning services by using robots, and AeroFly UAS; provides complete unmanned aerial systems for the agricultural survey and surveillance.
The contract signing ceremony took place at LUMS, where the selected startups signed their Entrepreneurship Development Programme contracts with Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Vice Chancellor, LUMS in a private gathering. The Pro-Chancellor of LUMS, Syed Babar Ali also attended the ceremony and stressed upon the importance of hard work, honesty and integrity as the fundamental foundation that supports successful and sustainable businesses. Syed Babar Ali along with the team at LCE wished the entrepreneurs luck and of words of wisdom for their success. Addressing the young entrepreneurs at the induction ceremony, Dr. Naqvi said, “We are proud to be supporting entrepreneurs from not only LUMS and Lahore but other universities and cities including Sialkot, Islamabad, Rahim Yar Khan and Sargodha. I encourage all of you to work hard, persevere and stay committed to your dreams. Success will follow.” During the orientation programme, Khurram Zafar, Executive Director at LCE, shared that “This cycle has an increased focus in product-based startups, which was an encouraging sign. It was heartfelt to see the entrepreneurial spirit and all the brilliant innovations during the meetings, I encourage startups who weren’t offered a place in the programme to continue working on their business ideas and do not give up on their hard work.”
