The entrepreneurial culture in Pakistan is beginning to rise quite rapidly. The younger lot of the country is keen on making an impact within the society by introducing newer concepts and notions. In a recent development, as many as 5 Pakistanis and 1 Pakistani startup have made it into the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2019 list of entrepreneurs and game-changers.
According to Forbes, there were more than 2,000 entries. All of them presented their game-changing ideas in front an experienced panel. However, only 300 names were selected for the Under 30 Asia 2019 list and it was minutely scrutinized by an A-list of judges.
Read More: Tech startups financing – the game is changing
Budding Pakistani entrepreneurs and a Pakistani startup
A total of 5 Pakistani appeared in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2019 list. Moreover, a Pakistani startup also managed to make the cut. The details are as following:
- Karishma Ali, 21
- Ahmed Rauf Essa, 27
- Zain Ashraf Mughal, 28
- Laila Kasuri, 29
- Zainab Bibi, 29
- Roshni Rides (Startup)
Karishma Ali
As per Forbes, Karishma Ali “is currently the only female football player from her hometown playing national and international club level”. The young prodigy hails from Chitral, Pakistan. Besides representing Pakistan at the Jubilee Games in Dubai, Karishma is also the proud owner of Chitral Women’s Sports Club. It is pertinent to mention that her team was the first Pakistan’s women team to take part in the AFL International Cup.
Ahmed Rauf Essa
Ahmed co-founded Telemart in Pakistan at the age of 23. Telemart is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Pakistan. Besides B2C, Telemart also has a widespread wholesale channels through which over 500 dealers are catered online. Additionally, it also provides end-to-end solutions to major firms in Pakistan including Lucky Cement, P&G and Ufone.
Zain Ashraf Mughal
The founder of the Pakistan’s first crowdfunding platform, Seed Out, is Zain Ashraf. Mughal. The budding entrepreneur founded the non-profit, non-religious and non-political crowdfunding platform 4 years ago. In such a short span, Seed Out has managed to raise more than 600 entrepreneurs in 4 cities across Pakistan with an average funding of Rs90,000 per individual. Zain also bagged the Commonwealth Youth Award for his tireless efforts in the field of development work last year.
Also Read: Profiling the prodigy – Zain Ashraf Mughal
Laila Kasuri
In the developing worlds, the climate change is taking its toll. That’s where individuals like Laila Kasuri become extremely significant as they opt to take precautionary measures to sustainability. According to Forbes, Laila is essentially a water analyst with Global Green Growth Investment’s Policy Solutions Division. Moreover:
“She has also led research at organizations such as the World Bank, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences on climate-smart irrigation, flood risk reduction, and river basin planning”
Zainab Bibi
In 2016, Zainab secured a Queen’s Young Leaders Award for her exemplary success in creating public support for environmental-friendly initiatives in the country. In 2013, Zainab founded the Pakistan Society for Green Energy with an aim to introduce and develop new methods renewable energy. According to Forbes:
“Since its founding, the company has successfully developed a bio-fuel from waste tissue paper, and introduced Camelina Sativa, a drought-resistant plant that can be made into bio-diesel”
Roshni Rides
Essentially, Roshni Rides is female friendly carpooling platform for travelers within Pakistan. It was founded by 4 entrepreneurs namely Gia Farooqi, Hanaa Lakhani, Hasan Usmani and Moneeb Mian. According to the Forbes’ publication:
“The four co-founders wanted to provide a reliable transportation service for refugees, and their company arranges affordable rickshaw rides along designated routes between a refugee camp and common destinations such as markets and hospitals”
Quick Read: Roshni Rides – 4 Pakistani students win $1 million International Challenge 2017
Do you think there would be more entries from Pakistan in next year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list?
