Have a killer business idea? TiE Islamabad is bringing back the largest ever StartUp Competition in Pakistan and it’s not too late to apply!
The submission deadline for the 2015 StartUp Cup Pakistan is just days away, so submit your idea and you could join the ranks of past winners like GoFig Solutions, Ideacentricity, and BioTech.
What Is the StartUp Cup?
A part of the Global StartUp Cup competition series, StartUp Cup Pakistan is aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of entrepreneurs in the country. A far-cry from one-day business model competitions, StartUp Cup Pakistan invests months in startups helping them secure customers, go-to-market, and generate revenue.
The 2013 winner – GoFig Solutions – went on to win the International StartUp Cup, competing against a whopping 46 countries, and eventually got acquired by Predictify.me. There is no better indicator of the value StartUp Cup Pakistan provides to local entrepreneurs that need help polishing their business idea.
StartUp Cup Pakistan 2015 is being sponsored by TiE Islamabad. The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), was founded in 1992 by a group of successful entrepreneurs and senior executives from Silicon Valley. Currently, it has over 13,000 members, and 2,500 charter members in a total of 61 chapters spanning 17 countries.
“TiE’s mission is to foster entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education. TiE’s focus is to generate and nurture our next generation of entrepreneurs.”
Who Can Apply?
This is an intensive four-month business model competition, which includes coaching and mentoring to help startups hone their business idea further to help turn it into a reality. Your business model must be an original idea, and can be anything from an idea to an operational business (maximum of 5-years in operation). Applicants must be 18+ years of age and legal residents of Pakistan. Applicants can be from any city in Pakistan, however, the “Build-A-Business Workshops” will be held in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. Not-for-Profit’s are not eligible to apply.
To help promote female entrepreneurs, 50% of the quota for “Build-A-Business workshops” has been reserved for female-led startups. Past applicants are welcome to apply again as long as they were not prize winners in the 2013 Pakistan StartUp Cup.
Competition Schedule
Deadline for submissions is 16th February, 2015. Once all the submissions have been received and reviewed, selected startups will receive notification regarding the “Build-A-Business Workshops” in their respective city. This year Startup Cup Pakistan has added Northern Pakistan (KPK, Gilgit-Baltistan) into the mix, as a workshop in Peshawar has been added to the list along with those in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Shortlisted startups from amongst these will be asked to submit a long-form business model as well as financial projecttions for final selections.
Prize Money
1st: PKR 1,000,000
2nd: PKR 750,000
3rd: PKR 500,000
In addition, the winning business model may receive entrepreneurial/TiE Islamabad Strategic Partner support, and introductions to additional funding sources.
How Can I Apply?
Fill out the official Pakistan StartUp Cup Business Model submission short form. Your submission must contain the following information:
- Your business idea
- Need and/or solution being filled
- Product and/or service
- Market size
- Target customer
- Revenue streams
- Management team
- Strategy to market
- Funding requirements, if any
Read the full list of rules here.
For More Information
Any questions regarding submission of business models should be addressed to startupcup@tieislamabad.org. Organizers of the Competition will not respond to direct inquiries regarding the contest other than general administrative questions.
Pakistan StartUp Cup Website | TiE Islamabad Facebook Page
