Telenor Velocity’s first-ever meet-up for Startups and Influencers

Press Release: In continuation of its efforts to enrich entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country, Telenor Pakistan hosted ‘Meet & Greet’ event for its startup accelerator program Telenor Velocity.

Launched in February 2016, Telenor Velocity focuses on making the Telenor’s scale and superior assets to supercharge promising Pakistani startups. It’s a 6-month, program that covers all aspects necessary for startups to survive, compete, and scale. The shortlisted startups get the opportunity to enjoy Telenor’s in-house expertise, physical and digital distribution channels, payment solutions, market intelligence, and access to customers to throw their product in the market for growth and overcome the barriers holding back their business.

The event brought together aspiring startups, industry influencers, bloggers, and business network mobilizers from across the country to explore and propel entrepreneurial endeavors in Pakistan. The event also featured startups of the first Velocity batch sharing their success stories and insights into the Pakistani digital marketplace.

Dr. Syed Ismail Shah, Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), was present at the Telenor Velocity event as the chief guest. While addressing the audience, he stated, “Telenor Velocity is one of the first Telco Startup accelerators in Pakistan. It gives me great pleasure to see how dedicatedly Telenor Pakistan is contributing the best of its core competencies toward digital empowerment. The idea behind Telenor Velocity is powerful enough for other industry players to be inspired from. It is initiatives like these that we need to bring Pakistani youth into entrepreneurial ecosystem and reach our convergent developmental goals faster.”

Other notable speakers included Monis Rehman, CEO Naseeb Network & Rozee.pk, and Junaid Iqbal, Managing Director Careem. One of the key highlights of Meet & Greet was a panel discussion on Digital Opportunity by M. Nasrullah, VP Convo, & Omer Bin Tariq, Director Internet & Devices Telenor.

While speaking at the event, Irfan Wahab, Deputy CEO & CMO, Telenor Pakistan, said, “We are expanding the scope of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan by providing some of our industry’s finest services to new and promising start-ups. We believe in fostering these rich minds and hope that Telenor Velocity will prove to be a huge stepping stone for driving the spirit of entrepreneurship forward.”

The gathering precedes the intake announcement for the 2nd cohort of Telenor Velocity accelerator program to start in Q3, 2016. Application will open online on Telenor Velocity website. Telenor Velocity will be looking for stellar startup companies with innovative products or services. The selected startups will get the opportunity to grow with Telenor Velocity’s go to market accelerator program.

Known for innovation and initiatives like IoT Expo and Youth Forum to accelerate digital ecosystem development in the country, Telenor Pakistan has also been promoting entrepreneurship for Pakistan’s digital professionals and aspirants through programs like Telenor Velocity and Apportunity. Another initiative on intra-preneurship is the internal startup incubation program called Ignite, which is a Group wide incubator program for its employees.