Prosperity Cup, a mentoring & coaching program customized to the needs of budding entrepreneurs from Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral regions, has finally reached its conclusion after four months of mentoring and learning.
Agha Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) collaborated with The Indus Entrepreneurship (TiE) Islamabad to conduct the four-month incubation cycle. TiE Islamabad, a nonprofit association dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship, hosts networking events and mentors startup founders. StartUp Cup, organized by TiE, is a locally driven business model competition open to any idea. This innovative community-based approach is designed to increase the quality and quantity of entrepreneurs in the community.
Prosperity Cup
More than 50 startups from Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral participated in the StartUp Cup. TiE Islamabad noticed the overwhelming participation and a tremendous level of untapped potential in the participants from the GBC region. This inspired TiE to map out a highly tailored and focused mentoring and coaching program to cater to the needs of aspiring and existing entrepreneurs from the GBC region and the journey of Prosperity Cup in collaboration with Accelerate Prosperity began.
Initial Campaign
Prosperity Cup began in November 2016. During the initial campaign, 2500 applications were received out of which 30 were selected for mentoring and coaching after a rigorous shortlisting process. The local business persons from the GBC region were also trained to become mentors. TiE Islamabad’s signature mentoring process proved a valuable learning experience for the participants.
10 startups selected
During the Investment Readiness phase, mentors trained the selected participants to improve their business models. Ten startups have been selected to go forward and pitch to investors. 5 of these great startups will receive investment from Accelerate Prosperity and will be able to realize their dreams of becoming active participants in the budding entrepreneurship ecosystem in GBC.
Murtaza Zaidi, Executive Director of TiE Islamabad, said, “Prosperity Cup has reached its conclusion, but the real journey for entrepreneurs has just started. We loved working with Accelerate Prosperity; their vision to transform GBC into a progressive region through entrepreneurship development is remarkable and we are now even more excited for the future. We intend to continue working in GBC to support and mentor the local entrepreneurs. We’re especially grateful to TiE Islamabad’s mentors who traveled thrice to GBC.”
TechJuice
