Publication

It is heartening to see the entrepreneurial grit and success demonstrated by the Pakistanis mentioned in this book. Entrepreneuring Pakistan documents the journey, challenges, successes and failures of entrepreneurs, who along the way create wealth, fame and jobs for others. These entrepreneurs, some of whom are LUMS graduates, demonstrate that hard work, combined with self-belief and a leap of faith that is the hallmark of all entrepreneurs, does lead to success. I am also pleased to read success stories of Pakistani researchers, ICT entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs and, specially, silverpreneurs. This book documents the “method” behind the entrepreneurial madness that is engulfing Pakistan. It is the story of those who worked to build the ecosystem that allowed entrepreneurship to prosper in Pakistan. Azhar Rizvi, as one of the first ecosystems enablers, played an integral role in the entrepreneurial transformation process. In a short period of 10 years, we are able to see the fruits of developing entrepreneurship in Pakistan, particularly in the technology sector, where many promising ventures are now growing exponentially, as is the startup culture.

Prof. Sohail H. Naqvi, S.I. Vice Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

As part of an effort to give back to Pakistan, I started working with various programs including the one Azhar launched in mentoring and coaching startups in Pakistan. In less than a decade, a new entrepreneurship culture has taken roots in Pakistan.

In 2007, no Pakistani companies were mature enough to pitch to OPEN-USA. Today, I see Pakistani entrepreneurs competing on global platforms such as Y-Combinator, Draper University, Startup Grind, GIST and OPEN USA. Pakistani companies pitching to global Venture Capitalist has become commonplace, so is collaborating with US based entrepreneurs and organizations. Azhar and his team has played an integral part in maturing the Pakistani entrepreneurial landscape. In addition to mentoring participating teams in various programs, the process also helped create linkages between the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Pakistan and Pakistani diaspora in the USA. As a result, the mutual learning and networking has created exciting opportunities for the new Pakistani entrepreneurship landscape.

Innovative Scientist and Visionary serial entrepreneur, Chief Technology Officer at Vertical Systems Inc, Co-founder of OPEN Silicon Valley, Founding Director TiE Global

A worldwide consensus on the critical role of competitive markets and entrepreneurs in economic development has grown over time. In developing countries, like Pakistan, the primary barrier to economic growth is often not so much a scarcity of capital, labor or land as it is a scarcity of both the dynamic entrepreneurs that can bring these together and the markets and mechanisms that can facilitate them in this task. I met Azhar, when was I heading the CED at IBA. He and his team were making inroads in the Pakistani landscape, by providing the entrepreneurial acumen and expertise needed to groom young entrepreneurs and highlight the importance of entrepreneurship in the economic development of the country. With Azhar and his team as the main architects of IBA-INVENT, the competition introduced entrepreneurial grit and experience-based learning at universities. I appreciate the keystone role of Azhar and his team in developing the entrepreneurship program at IBA and in Pakistan.

Former CEO Gillette Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd, Founding Director IBA-Centre for Entrepreneurial Development (CED IBA), Co-founder, National Entrepreneurial Working Group (NEW-G).