Stimulus, the Pakistan partner for ClimateLaunchpad Global Competition, hosted the Regional Final of the competition on September 17 & 18, 2020, with support from Engro Foundation. With participation from 14 countries across Eastern Europe, Middle East & Central Asia, the event attracted 200+ participants who logged in to attend the event virtually, across the region.
ClimateLaunchpad is the world’s largest green business ideas competition with the mission to unlock the world’s clean-tech potential that addresses climate change. Pakistan is participating for the second time in the ClimateLaunchpad program along with 57 countries. A total of 41 teams participated in the Regional Final round including 3 teams from Pakistan from which two teams, O’Naps and Aabshar have been shortlisted for the semi-final round on September 30, 2020. O’naps aims to provide safe and environmentally friendly menstrual hygiene solutions to reduce the health risks of women, while Aabsharhas developed a water optimizer that saves water up to 98% by simply installing as an add-on to taps.
The event began with a welcome address from Ms Shandana Gulzar Khan, MNA who spoke about the need for innovation and young people to take a lead in solving the local challenges faced by their countries. As Chairperson of Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, Ms Gulzar extended her support through the network for any facilitation required by teams in the different countries.
Hosting the event, Hira Wajahat, National Lead ClimateLaunchpad Pakistan said: “The response to ClimateLaunchpad in Pakistan has been phenomenal. Not only do we receive amazing applications from across Pakistan, we have also been recognized as the country having more than 50% participation from women in clean-tech and climate entrepreneurship for the second year in a row. The possibilities for Made in Pakistan are phenomenal which is what we want to work towards in the long run.”
Other speakers joining the Stimulus event included MrWouterPlomp, Ambassador of The Netherlands to Pakistan; Ms Birgit Lamm, Country Director FNF; Mr Favad Soomro, Engro Foundation; Mr Habib Haider, Shell Pakistan; Ms Ayla Majid, Khalid Majid Chartered Accountants; Mian Talha Nasruddin, Jazz; Ms Saima Qadir, Country Director PFAN; Ms Sophia Hasnain, CEO Linked-Things; as well as international speakers from UK, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine.
Mr Malik Amin Aslam, Advisor to the PM for Climate Change was the Chief Guest for the event. In his closing remarks, Mr Aslam spoke in detail about Pakistan’s Clean Green strategy and the initiatives supported by the MoCC. He encouraged participation of youth in ensuring a healthy and green future and stressed on the importance of entrepreneurial ventures for the same. Mr Aslam indicated his support for new ventures that align with the MoCC vision and invited the teams from the Region to visit Pakistan and see how the various initiatives are being implemented.
Stimulus, the local partner for ClimateLaunchpad is signed up for the Clean Green Pakistan initiative of the Ministry of Climate Change and contributes its efforts to promote and support climate entrepreneurship in Pakistan.
