The participants will get a chance to win cash prizes as well as connect with the stakeholders in the industry
The National Incubation Center (NIC) and Jazz xlr8 are partnering for a hackathon, called Hacktivate 3.0, to find solutions in the Agri-tech space. The hackathon application acceptance closes on the 21st of November and the main event is scheduled on the 28th and 29th of November.
The top 3 winners will get cash prizes, and an opportunity to connect with the relevant stakeholders required to practically implement the winning ideas including investors, public sector representatives & mentors/domain experts. They will also get the opportunity to scale up with the support of donors and acceleration partners.
To launch this initiative the NIC hosted a virtual panel discussion and information sharing session. The panel was graced by Shoaib Zahid – Partner Walled City, Favad Soomro – Director Engro Foundation, Khuram Idrees – CEO Neelas, Haris Javed – Head of Digital Product & Growth Jazz, Anusheh Naveed – Head of Digitization, Research & Strategy Ubank and was moderated by Ayesha Ahmed – CEO PakAgriMarket.
The purpose of the exercise is to find practical innovative solutions to challenges in the Agriculture Sector in Pakistan. The NIC has created this platform with a vision to expand the use of technology by fostering innovation and collaboration and connecting key stakeholders to one another, to find disruptive solutions that can transform the agriculture space in Pakistan and boost the economy.
Zouhair Khaliq, the Managing Partner at Ice Advisory, expressed his delight on the occasion. “I am keen to see young people find multiple solutions for the problems we discussed during the launch event. I challenge you to revolutionize and uplift the agri-sector of Pakistan. I wish applicants the best and I want to particularly thank all our partners and everyone on the panel for joining us on this endeavor,” Khaliq said.
The National Incubation Center, along with its partners, calls out for innovative solutions lying under the following thematic areas:
• Technology Innovation
• Precision Agriculture
• Smart Irrigation
• Energy Efficiency
• Pesticides and Control
• Food and Processing Standards
• Warehousing
• Livestock Management
• Research, Development and Training
• Marketplace for Farmers
• Food Waste
• Miscellaneous/Others
This will be the largest agri-hackathon the ecosystem has witnessed to date with more than 30 partners contributing to the event in different ways. The partners include Jazz, Teamup, Ignite, Ministry of IT and Telecom, Inspire Mill, Walled City – Kusar Group, Akhuwat Foundation, NIC Karachi, WOWPK, Women in Tech, Radical Growth, Sybrid, Connected Women, DEMO, Code for Pakistan, NIC Peshawar, IDG – International Data Group, We Create, PWIC, Tie Islamabad, PMAS – Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, P@SHA and many others.
Mian Talha Nasruddin, the head of digital products, growth & startup ecosystem at Jazz, highlighted his company’s vision about technology shaping the future. “At Jazz, we recognize the importance of creating opportunity and incorporating trends shaping the future. Agritech, in particular, holds immense potential for value creation. Through Hacktivate, we hope to identify the most cutting edge and innovative solutions around agriculture. Jazz is committed to supporting the innovation ecosystem through Jazz xlr8, NIC, and our partners,” Talha said.