Telenor velocity announces startup-finalists for its 7th Cohort

ISLAMABAD: Telenor Pakistan’s digital accelerator programme, Telenor Velocity is excited to announce the startups for its much anticipated 7th cohort, this time in partnership with Telenor Microfinance Bank / Easypaisa. The startups were welcomed onboard in a virtual orientation session, with keynote addresses by Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan and M. Mudassar Aqil, CEO Telenor Microfinance Bank / Easypaisa. Designed to foster an environment of innovation and collaboration, Telenor Velocity enables Pakistan’s techstartups to break new ground in digital product and service offerings, and to scale to great heights with the support of Telenor Pakistan’s extensive digital resources. Launched in 2016, the accelerator has to date conducted 6 cohorts, with 32 graduated startups, 4+ pilot runs and $40,000 pilot investment. Moreover, $3 million investment has been raised, so far, by the programme’s startups. This year, Telenor Velocity has collaborated with the recently launched Easypaisa Open API Gateway, marking another step towards digital enablement through technology. Easypaisa’s Open API Developer Portal which is now live, allows for seamless third party integration, enabling partners to integrate 30+ digital payments use cases and also testing the processes in a sandbox environment. Telenor Velocity’s 7th Cohort received 70+ applications from mature startup business, out of which 24 startups were shortlisted for the interview rounds. After 4 days of vigorous startup interviews judged by a panel of internal experts from Telenor Pakistan & Telenor Microfinance Bank, 7 startups were chosen for this cohort. The cohort was formed keeping in mind the industries and verticals which need to be amplified in today’s world. The startups work in the areas of Fin-tech, Ed-tech, Agri-tech, Health-tech, and Inclusion. The 7 startups that have been selected for this year’s cohort are Uptrade, Goodearth, Digi Khata, Foree, Ola Doc, Sehat Kahani, and Deaftawk.