KARACHI – The finale of the Shell Tameer Awards 2021, a nationwide contest was held at Shell House to recognise the best and brightest young entrepreneurs in Pakistan. The event was attended by prominent business leaders and professionals from the industry and existing and aspiring entrepreneurs. The event was live streamed for audiences across the country.
The grand winners of the Shell Tameer Awards 2021 announced were: Circular Economy – TrashIt – Anusha Fatima – A tech based waste recycling startup enabling communities to reduce their waste footprint while creating opportunities for the informal waste pickers in the supply chain. Clean Energy Solutions – Enent – Osama Shakeel – A clean tech startup focused on designing innovative electrical load management products that can reduce electricity bills and power loss up to 20%. Empowering Women – Civixa – Alveena Sohail – A women led startup providing AI based data management solutions to help organizations achieve their business objectives through a data driven approach. Technology Innovation – Asani.io– Ansab Naqvi– A technology innovator providing water management solutions to households and industries through their smart app and IoT based technology. Transport & Mobility – Elixis – Mohammed Ahmed– A young innovator promoting sustainable mobility through locally built electric bicycles to help reduce environmental impacts of commuting. Bright Idea – Boltay Huroof – Hafiz Sheikh Umer Farooq – A tech-based social enterprise aimed at improving accessibility and digital inclusion for the blind and low-vision community through their braille translation software.
The runners-up are: International Services Pak from Circular Economy, Renew Power Projects from Clean Energy Solutions, Beetee for Empowering Women, CricFlex for Technology Innovation, vCarpool for Transport & Mobility and Eco Stabilizer for Bright Idea.
This year, 125 applications were received for the awards program and 20 finalists were shortlisted in six award categories. The finalists presented their pitches to an expert jury of diverse professionals who selected this year’s winners and runners-up in each of the six award categories.
As part of the event, a panel of high-profile leaders engaged in an insightful discussion on ‘The role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in shaping the future of Pakistan’, covering the benefits of having a youthful population in Pakistan, the government starting structured incubators and introducing three-year tax relief for start-ups, and how the private sector has a key role to play in the start-up ecosystem. Moderated by Sidra Iqbal, the panel of experts comprised; CEO & MD of Shell Pakistan Limited – Haroon Rashid, Chairman & CEO of Unilever Pakistan Limited – Amir Paracha, CEO of Dawood Hercules Group – Inam ur Rahman and Chairman NCCPL – Humayun Bashir.
The Chief Executive Officer of Shell Pakistan Limited – Haroon Rashid stated: “It is encouraging to see many young innovators enthusiastic to help solve diverse and important issues that challenge our country. We are proud of the winners today and feel honored to be part of their journey towards sustainable businesses, social change and progress of our nation. We prioritise and invest in Shell Tameer, our flagship program for enterprise development, that aims to strengthen local economies.”
Since the launch of Shell Tameer in 2003, 86 Pakistani entrepreneurs have won Shell Tameer Awards receiving seed capital and media recognition. 10 Pakistani entrepreneurs won International Trade Grants worth PKR 3.8 million to visit seven countries and expand their market globally. Nine Shell Tameer entrepreneurs won the global Shell ‘Top Ten Innovators Awards worth PKR 10.4 million receiving global and national recognition.
