Time to move on

After a period of 20 years I have made the decision to resign as President of P@SHA and will be moving on as of May 1, 2021. My resignation has been accepted by the Chairman and the Central Executive Committee of P@SHA.

In my two decades at P@SHA I have dedicated my life to the Pakistan IT & ITES industry. Day and night have not mattered, nor have weekends or holidays. It has been a passion and a belief that has driven me to an extreme that even I did not know was possible.

From the Startup Insiders initiative that was responsible for inspiring many young people into taking the entrepreneurship route, to the P@SHA Launchpad events, to initiating the P@SHA ICT Awards in 2003 and taking many of our tech innovators to the Asia Pacific to compete in the APICTA Awards and show our friends in the region the kind of products that were being developed in Pakistan. Policy interactions with the government vis-à-vis ICT Policy, the Cyber Crime Bill, Data Protection and Privacy, and engaging with students and universities to bridge the gap between industry and academia and promoting the Pakistan tech sector around the world at major events, it has been a rollercoaster ride like no other … and I have loved every minute of it.

There are many in the local IT industry whose work I admire and am inspired by and who have become personal friends and collaborators. These relationships are long-lasting and will no doubt continue to flourish.

As many of you know, for the past 6 years I have focused, for the most part, on developing and promoting the Pakistan startup ecosystem through The Nest I/O, its flagship startup conference 021Disrupt and our many community outreach events. Guiding, mentoring, and working with a community of young entrepreneurs has brought me immense pleasure. The founders from these 200+ startups – as well as others who have emerged across Pakistan – will take this country and its economy forward.

When I ponder on the brand that my team and I have created and, along with it, the perception around the world of a young, entrepreneurial and innovative Pakistan, we feel a sense of fulfillment and pride. God has indeed been kind.

As I approach the last few years of my professional and working life, I want to spend every waking hour doing what I believe will create the most impact. There are 3 areas that I am most passionate about and would like to focus my efforts on – Developing women leaders, facilitation and scaling of women owned startups and working with accelerated startups in the fintech, agri-tech, green-tech, health and edu-tech domains.

We will start on our new journey from the first of May. Wish us luck. We will need all the help we  can get. We will be reaching out to many of you to join us in this new adventure. No doubt you will be as excited as we are to assist us in our mission. Onwards and upwards!