Formation | December 2016 |
---|---|
Founded at | Islamabad, Pakistan |
Type | Non Profit Organization |
Legal status | Active |
Headquarters | Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan |
Location |
|
Products | Tech Innovation Grants NIC Program DigiSkills Training Program [1] NGIRI FYP Program |
Services | Online training Courses |
Owner | Government of Pakistan |
CEO of Ignite | Asim Shahryar Husain [2] |
Parent organization | Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication |
Website | ignite |
Formerly called | National ICT R&D Fund |
Ignite National Technology Fund [3] or simply Ignite (formerly National ICT R&D Fund) is a non-profit company owned by the Government of Pakistan and administered by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication. [4] It provides grants to startups and innovate projects, operates incubators [5] and digital skills training [6] programs through private sector partners, commissions studies that inform public sector policy and undertakes outreach [7] [8] to evangelize innovation and to spread awareness about its programs amongst industry, [9] [10] academia, media and policy makers. Ignite was established in 2007 and is funded by mobile telecom operators, landline telecom operators and internet service providers, ISP, in Pakistan by Government mandate.
Ignite is headed by a CEO, who is usually from the private sector. The CEO reports to a board of directors, [11] comprising public and private personnel including representatives of telecom operators and ISP that fund Ignite.
Ignite has established National Incubation Centers (NICs) at Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawer, Karachi and Quetta. [12] [13] [14]
The Islamabad Capital Territory is the only federal territory of Pakistan containing Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Located on the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau and at the foot of the Margalla Hills, The ICT shares borders with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the west and with the province of Punjab in the remaining directions. It covers an area of 1,165 square kilometres and according to the 2023 national census, has a population of over 1 million in the city proper, while over 2 million in the whole territory. The territory is represented in the National Assembly by NA-52, NA-53, and NA-54 constituencies and by four seats in the Senate.
Telecommunications in Pakistan describes the overall environment for the mobile telecommunications, telephone, and Internet markets in Pakistan.
Pak Telecommunication Mobile Limited or Ufone is a Pakistani GSM cellular service provider. It is the third mobile operator to enter Pakistani market. It started its operations under the brand Ufone, in Islamabad on January 29, 2001.
Bahria University is a public-sector university established in 2000 by the Pakistan Navy at Shangrilla Road, Sector E-8/1 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The university maintains campuses in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.
Mobilink was the trade name of Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (PMCL), a mobile operator in Pakistan providing a range of prepaid and postpaid voice and data telecommunication services to both individual and corporate subscribers. In 2017, Warid Pakistan merged with Mobilink to form Jazz, under which the company now operates. Mobilink's head office was in Islamabad, and its last president and CEO was Aamir Ibrahim, who became the CEO of Jazz.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) (Urdu: پاکستان ٹیلی کام اتھارٹی) is the telecommunication regulator of Pakistan, responsible for the establishment, operation and maintenance of telecommunication systems and the provision of telecommunication services in Pakistan. Headquartered in Islamabad, PTA also has regional offices located in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Gilgit.
The Internet in Pakistan has been available since the early 1990s. Pakistan has about 130 million internet users, making it the 7th-largest population of internet users in the world. Information and communications technology (ICT) is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. In 2001 just 1.3% of the population used the Internet. By 2006 this figure had grown to 6.5% and in 2012 to 10.0%. As of July 2021; the percentage of internet users in Pakistan is 54%, which translates into approximately 118 million citizens having access to internet. Inadequate infrastructure is adversely impacting Internet speeds, encompassing technology, available backhaul, and international Internet bandwidth. This is the primary reason why Pakistan's Internet speed lags behind that of neighboring countries and even some less developed nations worldwide.
Shujaat Azeem was Special Assistant/Advisor to Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Aviation (2013–2016).
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, abbreviated as MoITT) is a Cabinet-level ministry of the Government of Pakistan concerned with Information Technology and Telecommunications.
wi-tribe was a Pakistani internet service provider that operated in four major cities; Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi until its license was revoked by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority because of frequent service interruption. As of 2021, the services have not been restored. wi-tribe is the first one in Pakistan to launch LTE-Advanced (4.5G) to users.
Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan is a Pakistani politician who served as Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, in Abbasi cabinet from April 2018 to May 2018. Previously she served as the Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication of Pakistan from June 2013 to July 2017 in the third Sharif ministry and again from August 2017 to April 2018 in the Abbasi ministry. She had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to May 2018 representing the Pakistan Muslim League (N).
National Incubation Center, is a Pakistan-based startup incubation program under a public-private partnership with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoTT), and other entities in Pakistan including the Ignite National Technology Fund.
Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Science, was established in August 2002 at University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore to promote research and development in various fields of Computer Science and Information Technology. It was built to conduct applied research in collaboration with various academic and industrial institutes to promote technology and development at national and international level. It has gathered many competent and highly accomplished researchers from various institutes of Pakistan
Syed Waqar ul Qounain Jaffry is a Pakistani academic and researcher in the field of computer science and artificial intelligence. He is a full Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Director of National Centre of Artificial Intelligence, and Chairman of the Department of Information Technology at the University of the Punjab, Lahore.
E-Learning, or educational technology, in Pakistan has developed mostly in the 21st century. Online universities and e-learning platforms in the country have also opened in recent years. The introduction of 3G/4G technology has contributed to the growth in m-learning, allowing the incorporation of e-learning in classrooms as well as in informal education. Education in Pakistan is under the administration of Federal and provincial governments, allowing multiple e-learning opportunities for individuals in Pakistan.
DigiSkills.pk is an online training program in Pakistan. This is an initiative of the Government of Pakistan spearheaded by Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication through Ignite - National Technology Fund and executed by Virtual University of Pakistan.