An estimated 11 million people in Pakistan are suffering from Hepatitis C diseases and the number is increasing drastically every year. Moreover, Pakistan has the 2nd highest HCV prevalence in the world.
Hepatitis C is a disease that causes inflammation and infection of the liver. This condition develops following the transmission of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The effects of this virus range in severity from a mild illness to a serious, lifelong illness including liver liver cirrhosis and cancer.
Major reasons of hepatitis C transmission is the exposure of blood to unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, unscreened blood transfusions, injection drug use and sexual practices.
NIC Pakistan joined hands with various other organizations to organize a Hepatitis C hackathon to invite entrepreneurs, health-hackers, technology experts and medical students to share their ideas that can help in the eradication of this disease from the country.
Around 340 applications from more than 60 cities in three continents were received from SMEs, startups, and medical experts under thematic areas of prevention, detection, and management. While out of 18 SMEs shortlisted, three startups were crowned winners of the Hepatitis C hackathon, including SLOSH AI, Nano-Detectors and Screen Pakistan.
Mashable Pakistan talks to the Aiman Khan (founder of SLOSH AI) and Dr. Anam Munawar (founder of Nano-Detectors), about the causes and effects of hepatitis C spread in Pakistan and how technology can help in the quick eradication of this disease. Dr. Anam and Aiman Khan shared how their technology-rich projects can enhance the medical services for diagnosing the disease in the early stages in a human body.
Pakistan has one of the highest malnutrition burdens in the world. The 2011 National Nutrition Survey (NNS) revealed that the country faces a complex triple burden of malnutrition, undernutrition, overnutrition (obesity & overweight) and micronutrient deficiency. While the NNS survey conducted in 2018 showed that the nutritional situation has not improved to a significant scale since 2011.
One of the major causes of malnutrition in the country is food wastage. Around 36 million tonnes of food is wasted every year in Pakistan. As per a research, 8 out of 10 children in the country do not have access to nutritious food.
Given the prevalence of chronic and acute undernourishment combined with rising cases of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), it is important to recognize that there is an urgent and pressing need to transform the existing food systems to tackle the menace of malnutrition.
To play there part in addressing the said issue in the country, the National Incubation Center (NIC) organized a hackathon called NutriBiz Innovation Challenge 2021. The focus of the hackathon was to improve the capability and productivity of SMEs and startups working on innovative solutions for problems pertaining to Food and Nutrition in Pakistan.
Dozens of startups applied for the competition, and three out of them were crowned winners of the innovation challenge. The winning startups include Farm to Home, Asqurr and Nutribreads.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to Nausheen Barket (founder of Asqurr) and Azam Khan (head of operations of Farm to Home), about the causes of malnutrition in Pakistan, and what steps should we as an individual and the government must take to end this crisis from the country. Nausheen and Azam also shared details about their startups, what products they offer, and how they are playing their part in reducing malnutrition from Pakistan.
The future of healthcare lies in working hand-to-hand with latest technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, among many others. Such technologies could help transform the entire healthcare system, in providing cheaper, faster and more effective solutions for diseases.
The world is facing new and deadly diseases like that of coronavirus, and it is high time that technology should be utilized to enhance medicine and healthcare for effective response to these diseases.
While the rest of the world is trying to integrate technology in their healthcare system with the help of latest tech based tools, there are various organizations in Pakistan as well, which are developing gadgets to help enhance the medical services in the country.
One such company, a startup, named Xpertflow is working to revolutionize the healthcare industry in Pakistan through its deep tech products. The startup is trying to address the day to day problems faced in Intensive Care, High Dependency Units and Emergency by improving the operational efficiency and the quality of patient care.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to Shan-ul-Haq, the CTO of Xpertflow, who shares the details about how their tech based healthcare products can help medical service providers enhance their operations. He also shared details regarding which technologies the company is working on to develop their products.
In Pakistan unfortunately there is not a balanced distribution of resources when it comes to sports. As a result, except for cricketers, the players suffer as they for the most part have to fend for themselves and look for ways to pursue the career they are passionate about.
Football is one such sport that has suffered in the country, despite have a considerable fan following and an equal amount of talent that has been going to waste. While there is impressive talent, the structure is decades behind where the international game is standing at the moment. A recent hit came in the form of FIFA’s ban on Pakistan Football Federation.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to Umaid Wasim, who is a sports journalist about the state of football in Pakistan and what needs to be done.
For the majority of us the mention of graphic content means a story that revolves around super heroes. However, there are few trailblazers in who are telling all kinds of stories using the medium. One such individual is Sabdezar Irfan, a graphic designer with a corporate day job and an all-time storyteller.
What would it take for your world to come apart at the seams? And when it does, what would it take for you to survive it? Grey Matter by Sabdezar Irfan is an intimate story of a young couple narrated as a graphic novel. She takes on mental health, a subject still taboo in our society.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to Sabdezar Irfan about her passion for graphic design and storytelling and how the two came together for her.
According to various studies conducted in Pakistan across the decade, it has been estimated that there are around 2 million people in the country who are visually impaired. Still, there are many visually impaired people out there in this country who have aspirations about their academic or professional lives, and want to achieve big even if they can’t see properly.
However, majority of them have to face certain hurdles in their path to grow academically. One of the major barrier is the unviability to study material in Pakistan written in the language they can understand.
That certain language is called ‘braille’. Braille is a system of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or who have low vision. It can be termed as a code which many languages around the world can be written, so that visually impaired people can read. Braille provides a means of literacy for all.
Every country is trying to develop study material in Braille language, turning their native languages into codes, to help visually impaired people receive education. Unfortunately, there is not much study material on braille available in Urdu for people who live in Pakistan.
A startup named Boltay Huroof, discovered this problem in the country and have provided a solution in the form of a software that can turn Urdu alphabets into Braille language codes. These braille codes can be later imposed on a piece of paper to develop reading material for blind people in Pakistan.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to Umer Farooq, CEO of Boltay Huroof, who shares the details about how their software works, and their mission to turn all education material present in Urdu and other languages into braille.
In 2017 UNDP Pakistan made a commitment to invest in innovative solutions for development. They accelerated their support in 2019 by launching UNDP Innovation-Accelerator Lab Pakistan. The Lab is funded by the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany, and is part of a global network of labs serving in 114 countries.
The development work needs a fresh approach as the old system is not able to come up with long term sustainable solutions. Crises today are multidisciplinary in nature as it impacts economy, human health, and social well-being all at once. Development must take a new perspective on the design of programming that achieves systemic transformation through diverse partnership from government to private sector, and creative thinkers.
UNDP Innovation-Accelerator Lab is a dedicated learning space to reimagine development solutions. The team works with the country office programmes and partners to explore and experiment new approaches, from ethnography to design, to find inclusive and human centered approaches for meaningful change.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to Beenisch Tahir, Head of UNDP Innovation-AccLab Pakistan and Exploration Lead. She provides strategic support to the team and UNDP Country Office (CO), to identify emerging trends and build partnerships to scale solutions developed by the AccLab team and CO units.
Tahir has been working in the humanitarian and development sector for the past 10 years in the fields ofcommunications, ICT4D, innovation and partnerships. Beenisch has an MSc in Social Policy Development from London School of Economics.
Water scarcity (also called water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water recourses to meet the fresh water demand. Millions of people around the world lack access to fresh water, which is an essential element for a healthy human life. Even in Pakistan, there are certain regions where fresh water, or even any water is available for the population. This is a cause for concern, for every country, especially Pakistan.
As per latest IMF’s research, Pakistan stands at number three in the list of countries around the world which are facing water shortage crisis the most. Along with that, majority of research studies have predicted that, by 2040, Pakistan will become the most water stressed country in the world.
All of these facts and research results, are a silent urge to people in Pakistan that we need to take steps and develop such products, so that we conserve as much water as we can, to delay the water crisis we are facing.
Keeping all of facts in mind, Ali Khursheed – the founder of Aabshar – one day decided that there must be a solution to reduce the wastage of water in every household and other places, each day in Pakistan.
The startup company Aabshar, has developed a water optimizer that converts water into tiny droplets that helps to reduce water wastage by 98 per cent (as company claims) and save you 16 per cent of electricity bills.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to Ali Khursheed about the journey the journey of his company, how he shifted from tech field to an entirely different domain and what persuaded him to work on water shortage crisis.
Hacktivate is NIC’s flagship hackathon event that came into existence in 2018. Since then, three hackathons have been organized to date, with global reach in terms of participants as well as mentors and judges. These hackathons were based on agriculture, health, and education. The marketing efforts of NIC and the respective partners brought in an influx of applications from around the world, which were then scrutinized by a panel of experts and only a handful could make it to the hackathon.
The latest Hacktivate 4.0 was titled, A Fintech Hackathon.
Fintech is significantly reshaping the banking, insurance and investment landscape. To maximize its potential and nurture fintech startups across Pakistan, the NIC, under the Hacktivate banner, organised a hackathon on this theme.
Mashable Pakistan talked to the two winners of the competition; Nomaan Bin Bashir, Co-Founder and CEO of Ozoned and Zain Gohar, Co-Founder of Ekhata ERP.
Ozoned Digital, is Pakistan’s first true-to-the-core InsurTech startups, aiming to create a technology platform that builds upon a mix of new tech and disruptive business models, in turn creating efficiencies, value additions and customer satisfaction in the insurance industry. Ozoned is led by a team of insurance and technology professionals having several decades of combined industry experience under their belt. The company has a self-ingrained vision that remains deeply committed to the promotion of financial inclusion in developing and under-developed insurance markets.
Ekhata ERP, is an easy to use accounting and inventory solution integrated with a B2B platform, Digits and aims to change the way Pakistan’s traditional businesses are operating from decades.
Tello Talk is Pakistan’s first social media app that not only allows the users to communicate with their friends and family but also gives them a platform to build a localized community. The apps services include; chat rooms, live news, stories, music and entertaining time pass content to name a few.
The app is available for both iOS and Android users.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to Tello Talk’s CEO, Shahbaz Jamote about the journey of the company, its challenges in the local budding tech environment, data security and what is in store for its future.
Every now then we all have encountered an unexpected situation(s), when in the middle of nowhere our car breaks down, or malfunction or gets a flat tire, and we are left stranded with no kind of help available. In those situations we always wish that we can call someone, who can come and fix our vehicle instantly, so we can be on our way without any worries.
Well, now you can, with the help of CarHelpline, Pakistan's 1st mobile-based Roadside Assistance (RSA) Platform.
The online startup provides 24/7 roadside assistance services anywhere, anytime across Pakistan through their digital platform. All users have to do is install and register on the application to request car service whenever they are in need of it.
The functionality of the entire setup is just like that of online cab services Uber and Careem. Users have to pinpoint their location, mention the service they want or issue they are facing, and the application will connect them with a nearby service centre or individual.
That individual after accepting the job will reach at your location in less than 30 minutes (as claimed by the company), and fix your program. The charges of every service is mentioned in the application, so that users would know what amount they have to pay, beforehand.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talked with the founder and CEO of Car Helpline, Rehan Mushtaq Ahmed and asked him about the entire process of how their services work, and what makes them a reliable source of help in the time of need.
Bayfikr is a fintech platform for overseas Pakistanis to pay bills to Pakistan bank accounts.
It is currently incubated with the National Incubation Center (NIC), and was founded by two expats out of sheer frustration over the lack of control, inconvenience, unintentional delays, and additional legwork required by Pakistanis abroad in sending money back to the country.
Currently, Bayfikr is in the final stages of launching a unique and user friendly payment app, integrating almost all Pakistani billers and businesses. Through the app, a user can simply select the bill they want to pay using his/her foreign bank account or card, and the payment will be made instantaneously. The company currently has presence in the UK, UAE and Pakistan and has signed strategic tie ups with banks, payment gateways and compliance partners. They also plan to expand to other parts of the globe very soon.
The National Incubation Center is Pakistan’s largest technology incubation center; the first purpose built creative space in Pakistan buzzing with innovators, mentors, change-makers and passionate leaders. It’s a living example of a successful public-private partnership between the Ministry of IT & Telecom, Ignite – National Technology Fund, Jazz and Teamup. The National Incubation Center in Islamabad is led by two unicorn founders with around decades of combined experience in setting up organizations from scratch and bringing digital revolution in Pakistan.
Hacktivate is the NIC’s flagship hackathon event that came into existence in 2018. Since then, three hackathons have been organized to date, with global reach in terms of participants as well as mentors & judges. These hackathons were based on agriculture, health, and education. The marketing efforts of NIC and the respective partners brought in an influx of applications from around the world, which were then scrutinized by a panel of experts and only a handful could make it to the hackathon.
Fintech is significantly reshaping the banking, insurance and investment landscape. To maximize its potential and nurture fintech startups across Pakistan, the NIC, under the Hacktivate banner, is organizing a hackathon on fintech.
https://nicpakistan.pk/hacktivate-4-0-a-hackathon-on-fintech/
Mashable Pakistan Lab talked to the team behind Hacktivate 4.0 to talk about the thought process behind the initiative and what to expect from it.
Usman T. Malik is a Pakistani-American medical doctor and writer.
Most of his writing is focused in the science fiction and fantasy genre. His’s work has been reprinted in several year’s anthologies including; the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy series and has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, the Million Writers Award, and twice for the Nebula. He has won the Bram Stoker and the British Fantasy awards.
Malik is also the co-founder of the Salam Award for Imaginative Fiction, which seeks to nurture science fiction writers of Pakistani origin.
His debut collection Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan came out earlier this year.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talked to him about his favourite genre of storytelling, the Salam Award and all things writing and publishing.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a growing system of billions of devices, or things, around the world that connect to the internet and to each other through wireless networks. There are plenty of startups in Pakistan that are working in this field and developing smart solutions and devices for the masses.
One such startup is named Grandeur Technologies, founded in 2018.
Grandeur Technologies is a startup company that helps manufacturers and startups to build smart (IoT) products with its comprehensive cloud computing platform.
The company was initially created for the purpose of home automation, but with the passage of time they expanded their boundaries and now help in developing smart solutions for equipment failure predictability, maintenance and other relevant functionality.
They takes care of the complex parts like networking, storage and scaling, while you just use their SDK and focus on your hardware.
Grandeur Technologies is also part of the startup accelerator, Plan X. The aim of Plan X is to empower commercially viable mid-stage technology startups through a specialized six month equity free acceleration programme.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to the team behind Grandeur Technologies about their journey, the services they provide in the field of IoT, and their experience with Plan X.
The Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) is the city’s premier free-to-public cultural event and aims to bring together, discuss, and celebrate the diverse and pluralistic literary traditions of Lahore—a city of the arts, activism, and big ideas.
Founded in 2012, the festival explore the dialogue and interface between literature and the arts that shape our cultural, social, economic, and political frameworks.
Like all the national and international events, this year LLF is also going virtual due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The event dates are 18 to 21 February and you can join via the Lahore Literary Festival’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talked to the founder and CEO, Razi Ahmed about LLF’s history, contributions and transition to the virtual format.
Graphology is the study of handwriting. Handwriting is seen as a mirror to our mind and personality.
It projects both our conscious and subconscious mind. It is usually misunderstood as a branch of fortune telling, but a graphologist cannot foretell any future happenings, they just talk about the current state of mind of the writer.
The astonishing fact is that appearances can be deceptive but handwriting never lies. Handwriting reveals how the writer thinks, feels and behaves, and it does so directly and immediately, without them even being present. It shows the motivation that lies behind actions and outlines the writer's propensity to behave in ways that may not be expected. Therefore, graphologists are able to analyze a writer's personality.
A connected aspect of this field is graphotherapy, which is the science of molding your personality through your handwriting. Like any other form of therapy, it aims to help identify the underlining issues being faced by an individual (be it of any age group) that are reflected in their behavior.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talks to Saman Aslam, who is the youngest Pakistani graphologist, currently based and practicing from Saudi Arabia.
Bashir Ahmad is a Pakistani-American Mixed Martial artist who is known as Pakistan’s ‘Godfather’ of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
Raised in the US in a family of expats, he ended up joining the army after attending a recruitment course in college. Once he left the force he went back to school and completed his bachelor’s degree in political science from George Mason University and then went on to do his Masters in exercise sciences from California University.
His interest in MMA developed during his army tenure, where he developed an interest and started training. He started taking part in competitions to improve his skills and as they say rest is history.
Bashir laid the foundation of MMA in the country in 2007, with the aim to promote all branches of martial arts and combat sports as well. In Pakistan he has two gyms. Synergy is his commercial venture while Shaheen Gym, located in Chararpind serves as an academy for less privileged kids of the area, where they not only train but also get civic education to help mold them as a positive contributors to society.
Currently, he is signed with the ONE Championship.
Mashable Pakistan talks to Bashir Ahmed about his journey and future plans.
Arslan Athar is a Lahore based writer and the founder and editor of The Desi Collective.
The Desi Collective is a quarterly magazine for young and aspiring writers in South Asia. To date the magazine has already published three issues and is on its way of having a digital version as well.
Athar has also been selected for the South Asia Speaks programme. It is a mentorship programme for early career writers in the region.
Mashable Pakistan talks to Arslan about what writing means to him, his journey that resulted in The Desi Collective and where the magazine is headed.
Saba Karim Khan is an author, award winning filmmaker and educator, whose writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, Wasafiri, Huff Post, EN Fuego, Verso, DAWN, Express Tribune, Think Progress.
She has read Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford and works at NYU Abu Dhabi. Her doc-film, Concrete Dreams: Some Roads Lead Home is now on Amazon Prime Video. Before joining the Academy, she worked as Country Marketing and Public Affairs Head at Citigroup. Born in Karachi, she now lives in Abu Dhabi with her husband and two daughters.
Skyfall is her debut novel published by Bloomsbury in December 2020. The blurb of the book reads:
Born in Heera Mandi, Lahore's famous red-light district, Rania is a tour guide by day and a classical singer by night. Despite the worst of humanity every day – her madrassa running father selling her mother's body and beating her sister – Rania remains the 'Troublemaker', unable to give up on her dreams.
When an Indian filmmaker encourages her to enroll in a music contest that can take her to New York, her dreams take flight. But even as she wins the hearts of her listeners, a family secret threatens to bring her life in Heera Mandi back in sharp relief, upending the new life she has built for herself.
From the oppressive walls of religious hypocrisy to the orange jumpsuits of American prisons, Skyfall is a tender, piercing debut that teaches us the strength of human endeavour and our desire for love in a time of hate.
Mashable Pakistan Lab talked to Saba about all the various hats she wears and the journey that resulted in Skyfall.