Ministry of IT allocates PKR 124 million for tech startups. The startup culture is growing at great pace in Pakistan and the good thing is IT Ministry is also backing eco-system to flourish more. As, recently IT Ministry is funding tech startups to build apps for disabled persons.
According to the sources, Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoIT) has allocated an amount of PKR 124 million for training and investment in tech startups with the association of IT sector of Pakistan.
A part of the funds will be paid to train startups and private organizations to develop new applications for psychologically or physically disabled people. The initiative taken by administration is appreciated by industry analysts.
These kinds of steps are certainly a good start for the socio-economic inclusion of disabled persons. On the other hand, it really requires sincere efforts to bring ultimate changes to the market in this regard.
If we look upon the statistics record of Pakistan’s Public Work Development (PWD) from 2012, it states that there are approximately 710,995 people who are suffering from mental illnesses in Pakistan but the number of special schools catering them is just 330.
In the meantime, another report of British Council from 2014 exposes the fact that for every 230,000 physically or mentally confronted people there is merely a single trained psychologist or psychiatrist in Pakistan.
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In a world that is getting technological advancements at a great pace then why not seek help from tech industry that can surely facilitate disabled people in many ways.
Therefore, accepting the need of the time and considering the results, MoIT has on track to fund different startups in this regard, where private-sector organizations will accelerate their move to develop apps for this definite market.
MoIT and ICT R&D fund which is now recognized by the name of ‘Ignite”, is getting pace to make major improvements in the lives of people who are physically or mentally challenged.
Mr. Yusuf Hussain, CEO of national technology fund Ignite said,
“We employ innovation to help fellow citizens, challenged by impairments, to lead engaged and fulfilling lives.”
It’s good to see that IT ministry is empowering social entrepreneurship and surely these kinds of initiatives will prove as a catalyst in the promising ecosystem of Pakistani startups.
