Ignite and Aviation City Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. has inked a contract to launch its first vertical incubator in the aerospace technologies sector.
The National Aerospace Science & Technology Park (NASTP), Rawalpindi, will become home to the National Incubation Centers in Aerospace Technologies (NICAT).
Air Commodore Dr. Liaquat Ullah Iqbal SI(M), CEO ACPPL, NETSOL, & Ignite all signed the contract for the establishment of NICAT. After it had been given to NETSOL Technologies Ltd. Due to the circumstances in the twin cities, the NETSOL team, which has its headquarters in Lahore, participated electronically.
The new incubator in Aerospace Technologies will be Ignite’s ninth incubation center with a focus on growing high-tech firms linked to aerospace & engineering, according to Asim Shahryar, CEO of Ignite, in his welcome speech. He claimed that the engineering resources offered by NASTP would let entrepreneurs create hardware and software for aircraft systems.
Furthermore speaking at the event, CEO of ACPPL Air Commodore Dr. Liaquatullah Iqbal, SI(M), announced that ACPPL is launching NASTP to support the formation of small to large-scale aviation and space-related businesses, laboratories, and R&D facilities on a national scale. He continued, “NICAT will be formed at NASTP. It would help in developing and creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem of Pakistan connected to aerospace.”
Simultaneously, Salim Ghauri, president and chief executive officer of NETSOL Technologies Ltd., declared that NICAT will “convert the potential of aerospace & high-tech ICT-related ideas into reality in conformity with national & global needs and trends.“
Netsol will use its 26 years of knowledge and connections around the world to make the new incubator effective for entrepreneurs.
The seven NICs run by Ignite currently operate in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad, and Faisalabad. To date, more than 1150 startups have been incubated there. Creating more than 117,000 direct and indirect jobs, raising a total of Rs. 15.4 billion in funding, and bringing in a total of Rs. 9.1 billion in revenue.
Additionally, the first cohort of companies will be introduced when the renovation work for NICAT is finished. Which is anticipated to be in three months. Lastly, the executive management of Ignite, Imran Jattala, CEO of Innovators Garage, and top officers from ACPPL and NASTP also attended the signing event.
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