Photo Credit: Islamabad United
Islamabad United, the most successful franchise in HBL PSL history and the winner of the first and third editions, is proud to announce its #UnitedWeTech initiative and partners with P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and ITES) via The Nest I/O.
Since its inception in 2016, apart from focussing on cricket, AAN-Leonine the proud owner of Islamabad United, has focused on utilising the popularity of cricket to bring positive social, cultural and economic change to Pakistan.
The company focuses on its mission statement by implementing a strategy built around the principle of 4Es – Excellence, Empowerment, Education and Environment.
In continuation of this strategy, the company is launching its initiative on bringing focus on Entrepreneurship and technology. This initiative will address one of the biggest challenges faced by start-ups – getting visibility and brand recognition. The chosen startups will benefit from the unparalleled reach of Islamabad United, PSL and the game of cricket. The selected startups will be on boarded with ISLU for a year and will have the opportunity to showcase their products within the PSL season and throughout the year using ISLU’s exceptional brand recognition, great popularity, its top playing talent and massive outreach ability to help scale great ideas.
Today we are announcing a tie-up with PASHA via The Nest IO, to further this initiative. The Nest is the premier incubator/accelerator in Karachi, Pakistan which was set up by PASHA over 5 years ago.
Regarding the partnership, Ali Naqvi, the owner of Islamabad United and AAN-Leonine Sports, said “We are launching this initiative to bring focus to entrepreneurship and technology in Pakistan. We strongly believe that the future of Pakistan and its citizens is strongly linked to, and dependent upon, the adoption, nurturing and growth of technology in every sphere of our society. PASHA and The Nest are the premiers institutions in this space and hence they were our first port of call and we are happy to announce our tie up with them.”
Under this initiative, applications will be invited from aspiring entrepreneurs and founders with proven minimum viable products (MVPs), demonstrated traction, having a large TAM and/or with strong positive social aspect. A team of experts will screen, short-list and choose exceptional disruptive ideas
Jehan Ara, the founder of The Nest said, “Having worked with startups for the past two decades as part of P@SHA, and particularly focused on startup development and growth for the past five years as The Nest I/O, we have understood first-hand the potential that Pakistani entrepreneurs have. They’re driven, talented, and excel against all odds. But entrepreneurship, much like cricket, has always been a team sport. And we’re so excited to be working with Islamabad United on this initiative to bring a few startups right and center in front of millions of potential customers that the PSL draws to its platforms. The technology sector is going to be the game changer for this country and startups and SMEs will play a major role in this transformation.”
This initiative will address one of the biggest challenges facing start-up companies in Pakistan – attaining visibility and brand recognition. The start-ups chosen under this project will benefit from the unparalleled reach of Islamabad United, the PSL and cricket as a whole. Islamabad United has, by far, the largest social media presence – with over four million followers across social media platforms – among all PSL teams.
The chosen start-ups will be on-board with Islamabad United for the year under the umbrella of “UnitedStartup20”, and will have the opportunity to showcase their products within the PSL season and throughout the rest of the year using Islamabad United’s exceptional brand recognition, popularity, the quality of its playing talent and the outreach ability. The platform of the PSL alone will provide access to over a hundred million viewers around the world.
P@SHA – The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and ITES (P@SHA) was initiated by a number of software houses in the country to create a functional trade association for the IT industry. Over the course of the last fifteen years P@SHA has broadened its scope to include other IT enabled services companies such as Internet Service Providers and Call Centres. Today over 350 companies are active members of the organization, thus demonstrating how in the long run P@SHA has achieved its aim to help firms establish themselves by providing assistance to help them gain access to potential clients, both in the local and international markets.
The Nest I/O
Founded in January 2015 by the Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA), The Nest I/O has been a hub for local startups to flourish and accelerate the growth of their businesses for the past 5 years. Since inception, The Nest I/O has incubated and accelerated 180+ startups, created 5,000+ jobs, organized 150+ public and private sessions/workshops, and 9 medium and large scale entrepreneurial events.
The Nest I/O has also been organizing Pakistan’s premier technology and entrepreneurship conference 021 Disrupt for the past 3 years. The event is a one of its kind experience which brings the best of the global entrepreneurship community together under one roof with speaker sessions, workshops, office hours and an invite-only investor roundtable.
Islamabad United is one of the six franchise teams in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and is the winner of the first and third seasons of the HBL PSL. The franchise believes in bringing change to Pakistani sports with the introduction of international standards of practice and a commitment to continuous progress.
AAN – Leonine Sports is the proud owner of Islamabad United, the FIRST CHAMPIONS and the most successful team in the Pakistan Super League. Part of the Leonine Global group, AAN – Leonine Sports is focused on enabling sports and creating franchises with a mission to provide: 1) A truly global experience on sports entertainment; 2) A fan base which is loyal, aware and supportive of the sport and the franchise; 3) An aspirational beacon for up and coming players to strive for excellence in cricket for Pakistan in particular and for the world at large; 4) An eco-system for the promotion of sports through close partnerships with the respective sports boards; 5) A truly professionally-run organization with exceptional standards of corporate governance and international best practices; 6) Promotion of Pakistan through sports and involvement of internationally known figures into Pakistan; 7) A responsible member on CSR.
The company focuses on the above mission statement by implementing a strategy built around the principle of 4 Es – Excellence, Empowerment, Education and Environment.
