P@SHA, Google join hands to promote innovation | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

P@SHA, Google join hands to promote innovation

KARACHI: Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) has announced to launch a ‘Social Innovation Fund’ with an amount of Rs 20 million in order to support the social innovation projects of the country and to encourage the youth for coming up with projects having positive social impacts.

P@SHA president Jehan Ara announced to launch the fund in collaboration with Google in a press conference held here at a local hotel on Thursday.

She said, “The fund has been formed to support the ideas that use information and communication technologies as a platform and a source of empowerment.”

Responding to a question she told media that proposals will be received throughout the month of June while forms can be downloaded from the P@SHA website. She said that a panel of judges would decide the projects in the next month. “Rs 1 million will be granted to an idea, besides required information and guidance”, she announced.

Jehan Ara said some ideas will be implemented with Rs 1 million grant, while others may need a couple of lakhs for the execution. “So hopefully we are going to support over 25 projects with in a time period of 12 to 18 months”, she said.

Google Country Consultant in Pakistan Babar Khushnood said that the amount would be provided to P@SHA as a grant to support social entrepreneurship in the country. He said that the grant was a follow-up to another grant of $ 1 million as a ‘Flood Relief Effort’ by Google.

He praised the potential among Pakistani youth who make about 60 percent of the country’s population and stressed the seed to polish, furnish and emerge their talents. He also vowed to continue such efforts and hoped that the other parts of private sectors would also take such initiatives.

Later, while talking to Daily Times Jehan Ara said since the fund is formed for the Pakistani youth, anyone can be facilitated without the discrimination of gender, educational status, age, creed or religion.

The only condition is that the person should have a groundbreaking idea and be a Pakistani citizen currently based in Pakistan, she concluded.
Source: Daily Times
Date:6/3/2011