Pak startup wins competition at GITEX in Dubai
MyTM, a startup of National Incubation Center (NIC) Islamabad (funded by Ignite National Technology Fund - Ministry of IT and Telecom) has won the Supernova pitching challenge in the creative economy category at GITEX Future Stars held in Dubai.
MyTM - Lahore based startup is the first Islamic Fintech in Pakistan which empowers retailers and consumers by providing them a one-stop solution to cater the financial needs of the banked, unbanked, and underbanked simultaneously, said a news release received here on Friday.
The Supernova Challenge in partnership with GITEX Future Stars is held every year to give global startups a chance to grandstand their ideas, grab the world's attention and win a bulk of cash from the prize pool of USD 100,000.
While beating the UK competitor 'Save my Wardrobe', MyTM has become the first Pakistani startup to win the supernova Challenge Final held every year at GITEX since 2015. 700+ startups took part in the competition with 11 categories.
Only 22 startups made it to the Final with MYTM being the only Pakistani Startup to win.
Another NIC startup, Instacare, a healthtech startup had participated in Supernova challenge also. Ignite provided travel and logistics support to five startups from different NICs this year including MyTM (fintech), Instacare (healthtech), GulTechnology (cleantech), Kalpay (fintech), and Edraak (automation).
Federal Minister of IT & Telecom Syed Amin Ul Haque while congratulating the wining team said, "All my support is with startups of Pakistan and we are committed to promoting them to the world to brand Pakistan globally."
Asim Shahryar Husain, CEO Ignite, congratulated MyTM on the big achievement.
He said, "2021 has been a remarkable year for Pakistani startups with a growth of more than 4 times in startup investments over last year. More than 20 Pakistani startups participated in Gitex Future Stars this year which reflects the entrepreneurial potential of Pakistan. We are proud of MyTM's victory at GITEX's pitching competition."
The efforts of Ignite and NIC Islamabad are appreciated who have nurtured the startup and helped it compete by providing access to mentors and incubation services as well as travel and logistics support for GITEX Future Stars. The National Assembly left the legislative agenda unaddressed on Friday and was prorogued sine die due to lack of quorum.
The House did not consider four bills on the agenda including the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Government Savings Bank (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Post Office National Savings Certificates (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
The House did not take up two calling attention notices regarding excessive charges of medical consultancy and treatment in private hospitals and share of the Government advertisement in the digital media for the year 2020-21. A motion of thanks to the President for his address to Parliament was not taken up.
Syed Naveed Qamar (PPPP) pointed out the quorum which was found incomplete upon counting and the session was prorogued sine die. It was the 37th session of the National Assembly and the second session of the 4th parliamentary year.
The session comprised six sittings convened on October 14, 2021, and concluded on October 22, 2021.
Meanwhile, UK retail sales volumes dropped for a fifth month in a row during September, official data showed Friday, as the country suffers supply constraints and high prices.
Sales volumes dropped 0.2 percent last month from August, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement to register the longest retreat on record.
"Household goods were the main driver of... (September's) decline, with a fall of nearly 10 percent," noted Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics. "Despite the lifting of (lockdown) restrictions, in-store retail sales remain subdued, with many consumers still opting to shop online," he added.
Although sales of petrol surged in late September as drivers rushed to fill up their tanks, a UK fuel-shortage crisis likely meant consumers visited stores only for necessities, analysts said. "Whether the products aren't available, the price tag is too high, or shoppers have simply finished fettling with their home decor, non food sales pulled down September's figures," noted Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell.