#celebratingourheroes

[tambudzai]

Continuing our feature on Professor Rex Nettleford today we look at him as a DANCER/CHOREOGRAPHER: "In 1962, Nettleford gave life to another of his visions by founding the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC), an ensemble which focused on fusing together traditional Jamaican music, dance and rituals within the European balletic framework. He acted as its artistic director and prinicipal choreographer until his death in 2010. Using the NDTC he re-introduced several traditional religious rituals to Jamaica, including Pocomania and Kumina, portraying them as creative artistic expressions, and not solely abstract pieces of history. In doing so Nettleford believed the survival of Jamaica’s cultural retentions would be ensured, and the progression towards a national identity would be fostered." - JIS #blackhistorymonth #rexnettleford #dancer #choreographer #culturalist #blackexcellence #caribbeanhistory #caribbeanculture #caribbeanintellectuals #celebratingourheroes #jamaicanheroes #proudbrowngirl #proudjamaicangirl

[hashtagghana]

@thelorren: @RYofiGrant !one of the finest business brains of our time. Thank you for selling Ghana to the world through @gipcghana! #celebratingourheroes #Redefininginteriors #gipc #clientspotlight💖💕 #clientwork #ghanaian #business #businessleaders https://t.co/r2h92RNnH3

[plan9techhub]

Celebrating INFOTECH Week! (13 Oct - 15 Oct, 2015)

We are officially celebrating INFOTECH Group from 13th October to 15th October,2015, a Pakistani company based out of its global headquarters in Singapore, with offices across the world from London to Accra. INFOTECH is one of the fastest growing information technology groups in the world. Having delivered major multimillion dollar projects in important verticals across the world for over two decades, INFOTECH is the go to partner for solutions that enrich companies.

Next week there are a bunch of informational, educational and inspiring sessions for students, startups and freelancers.

Hiring for the Digital Age & Technology Innovation

 Date: Tuesday 13th Oct,2015

Time: 3pm to 4:30

Venue: Level 3 Auditorium, Arfa Software Technology Park, 346-B, Ferozepur Road, Lahore

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/875154865895171/

Speakers:

Naseer A. Akhtar (The President and CEO of InfoTech Group)

Naseer A. Akhtar is the President and CEO of InfoTech Group a position he has held since the founding of InfoTech in 1995. As a successful entrepreneur, Naseer A. Akhtar brought InfoTech to profitability and continues to build on that success with double digit year-on-year growth. He is a sought after speaker, mentor. and was the Chairman of Pakistan’s industry association P@SHA in 2013 and has been honored with numerous industry awards and accolades. 

Amir Raza Khan (Vice President of Capital Markets Business Unit at InfoTech Group)

Amir Raza Khan is the Vice President of Capital Markets Business Unit at InfoTech Group. He has over twenty years of experience in Information Technology for the Financial Markets Industry. At InfoTech, Mr. Raza Khan’s present role includes developing IT strategy, aligning software product roadmaps with market trends, managing development & delivery of mission critical & real-time technology systems and managing human capital for complex software products and projects. He is well-versed with modern software development methodologies & techniques and in designing and presenting innovative technology and business solutions to Financial Market Technologist and Business leaders. 

What to expect from the session?

Hiring in the Digital Era

Learn about Naseer Akhtar's journey of making InfoTech what it is today.

Digital era needs new types of competencies. So how do we hire for the digital age? 

What are employers and companies that provide solutions to customers in the digital era need?

If you are a startup, what sort of people should you be hiring? 

Technology & Innovation

Software development

Product development

Technological challenges InfoTech has faced during the process of scaling their company

How different and unique are technologies & products at InfoTech?

Some of the groundbreaking international projects InfoTech is involved in

How far the contribution of academia is needed to further the development and enhancement of innovation in IT

To register, fill out: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lEubbi8GPdWhrl7nyH2d_bpw_N0bKesiQ314Hc0osK4/viewform?c=0&w=1

Product Innovation Strategies

Date: Wednesday 14th Oct, 2015

Time: 3:00pm to 4:30pm

Venue: Level 9 Room # 21 Activity Den, Arfa Software Technology Park, 346-B, Ferozepur Road, Lahore

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/980346548655527/

Speaker: 

Ejaz Anwar (CTO INFOTECH (Pvt.) Ltd.)

Ejaz Anwer is the Chief Technical Officer of Capital Markets Business Unit at InfoTech Group. He has over sixteen years of experience in Information Technology for Financial Markets Industry, 3D Game Development & Military Simulations. Mr. Anwer has successfully delivered World Bank sponsored project worldwide for eGovernment as well as complex mission critical system for Exchanges, Brokerage Houses and Regulators. Mr. Anwer led the team that developed InfoTech award winning products in Capital Market and eGovernment domains. Moreover, he also supervise InfoTech Product Innovation & Improvement department with seasoned professionals to develop the frameworks for InfoTech products in order to keep them in line with modern trends and technologies. Mr. Anwer was a frequent contributor to development communities and had several articles published at www.codeguru.com, where he voluntarily served as 'Super Moderator' and 'Article Reviewer'. In recognition of his contributions to the community, he was awarded 'Microsoft Most Valuable Professional' award for ‘Microsoft Visual C++’ by Microsoft Head office in 2007 and Federal IT Minister, Pakistan at ‘Pakistan Developer Conference’ in 2008. He is also mentioned at errata list of C++ bestselling book by Scott Meyers (i.e. ‘Effective C++, Third Edition').

What to expect from the session?

How INFOTECH developed their own products

Obstacles faced

Technologies worked with

Strategies that were in place

How INFOTECH transformed and grew into a product company from a services company

What lessons were learnt on the journey

How did INFOTECH achieve CMMI Level 3 distinction- journey

Q & A session to discuss your product based problems with the CTO of INFOTECH Global.

Who should attend this session?

Startups with product based businesses

Final Year Project Students

Freelancers

To register, fill out

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Tr0btJ6t1QQllPVOJYi8YcyhyFB-wv7aR_mBdThI5_E/viewform?c=0&w=1

Mentoring Session With INFOTECH

Date: Thursday 15th Oct, 2015

Time: 11:00am to 1:00pm

Venue: INFOTECH Office

Mentors:

Haris Naseer(Director Marketing and Communication)

Muhammad Haris Naseer is a Director at InfoTech in charge of Marketing, Public Relations, and Corporate Affairs. He has played a key role in aligning product road maps with strategic market realities resulting in annual growth rates that far surpass peer emerging market companies. In addition to his current portfolio he owns emerging technology investments for the group where he identifies and co-ordinates Infotech’s response to global emerging technology trends. 

Prior to InfoTech, Haris was working with a start-up company in Canada in the field of eEducation and Remote Education Delivery. He attended the University of Waterloo, Canada where he studied Math and Computer Science.

Amir Raza Khan (Vice President of Capital Markets Business Unit at InfoTech Group)

Please find profile above.

Agenda for the session:

This session is exclusively for Plan9 Startups. INFOTECH showed keen interest in some of the brilliant startup ideas incubated in Plan9 Technology Incubator. These startups were then asked for their respective focused areas where they want to seek mentoring. After a careful match making by our management, this session is being arranged to facilitate the early steppers into the startup world.  

HR Session

Date: Thursday 15th Oct, 2015

Time: 3:30pm to 4:30pm

Venue: Level 5 Room # 06, Arfa Software Technology Park, 346-B, Ferozepur Road, Lahore

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/188532848145744/

 Speakers:

Ejaz Anwar (CTO INFOTECH (Pvt.) Ltd.)

At InfoTech, Mr. Ejaz Anwar’s current role includes supervision of products development in cost effective manner within quality standards, oversee product engineering department to attain maximum efficiency in the design and production, direct activities so that products are developed on schedule to meet market demands, ensure customer support, formulate and recommend operational policies/programs that guide the organization in maintaining and improving its competitive position, evaluation of new headcount, hiring, and employee performance. 

Irum Bajwa (Assistant Manager Talent Acquisition and Development at INFOTECH)

Irum Bajwa is the Assistant Manager Talent Acquisition and Development at InfoTech Group. She is a passionate Human Resource Professional with 4 years of recruitment and organizational development experience along with almost 6 years’ experience of office management, customer services and quality assurance. Irum has previously worked with Mobilink , Saeed Buksh Pvt. Ltd and CitiBank. Irum’s keen interest in human resource management and its vast possibilities for being the means to enhance the employability resulted in her choice to obtain a MBA degree in HRM from University of Central Punjab. Irum also holds a Master’s in Commerce degree from Hailey College of commerce, University of Punjab. 

What to expect from the session?

This session would open doors for interested candidates for future employment at INFOTECH. 

Please find the agenda below.

Introduction

How to enter in corporate world? Advise for students to get hired

Campus to Corporate (i.e. C2C) model

Graduate Training Program

Induction Criteria

Professional Training

6 Month Assessment

Induction

Question/Answer Session 

Who should attend this session?

Startups

Final Year Project Students

Freelancers

University Placement Officers

Students seeking internships/employment in near future

 To register, fill out: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1V-7PSmLU2zsvrkO3BM6R67-iQc4i6N4uOW2Jgki8QpM/viewform?edit_requested=true

[celebrating-our-heroes-uniformer]

ARYAN SEHRAWAT - UP POLICE

Let’s hear the tale of Aryan Sehrawat, a UP Police officer from the city of Nawabs, Lucknow. During the first lockdown in 2020, when thousands of people were walking back to their villages from Delhi, Sehrawat became a shining ray of light. He could see 100s of people walking onwards in the heat with no food and no money. Many falling unconscious on their long trek. Sehrawat, a true leader, distributed biscuits, water, energy drinks to these travellers. He even arranged transportation for the journeymen on milk trucks and other vehicles. A true Nawab, Sehrawat ended up helping a massive 4000 people on their journey, back to safety, back to their families, back home. For this feat, uniformer is grateful for Aryan Sehrawat.

[celebrating-our-heroes-uniformer]

DEEPAK CHAUDHARY - UP POLICE

Ahhhhhh chor! chor! It was a sunny day when UP police constable Deepak Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh Police) heard a scream from a nearby ATM. One person, while pretending to help a lady with a cash withdrawal, snatched the money and tried to escape. PC Deepak immediately sprang into action and started chasing the thief. He had just caught the offender when out of nowhere a bike hit him and sent him sprawling on the floor. Turns out the thief had an accomplice! Undaunted, Deepak jumped back up and pursued the thieves on his own bike. After a daring chase through the streets, he caught them and made sure they were convicted of their crimes and sent to jail. Moral of the story - Crime does not pay, especially when brave officers like Deepak are around!

[celebrating-our-heroes-uniformer]

KANU BAMBHANIYA - GUJARAT POLICE

Kanu joined Gujarat Police at the age of 22 in 2020. Only a couple of years into his duty, Kanu showed a sense of bravery when he accompanied his team of five senior police officers on a gambling raid. It was the night of Janmashtami, as they left for the raid at around 11pm for a village 7km away. They had been closely watching the activities of 12 persons who were running illegal gambling operations over the last few months. With the help of Kanu's agility, the mission was a success and Gujarat Police was successful in getting hold of the den. Officials seized an undisclosed amount of cash, betting coins and arrested all 12 persons allegedly involved in gambling. In light of Kanu and his team's bravery, we would like to honour them as uniformer Heroes.

[tambudzai]

Because Black history is so much more than just Black American History ...Caribbean History is inextricably tied into and forms a rather large part of black history and our revolutionaries and intellectuals should be celebrated for their heroism and efforts in the black liberation struggle. #blackhistorymonth #blackexcellence #celebratingourheroes #caribbeanintellectuals #caribbeanrevolutionaries #caribbeanheroes #caribbeanlivesmatter #blackstruggle

[tambudzai]

The Monroe Doctrine is a foreign policy statement that created separate spheres of European and American influence. It was written by President James Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and Monroe delivered it to Congress in his seventh annual congressional speech on December 2, 1823. The Monroe Doctrine consists of four main points: 1. The United States would remain neutral in European affairs and not get involved in European conflicts. 2. The United States would not interfere with current European colonies in the Western Hemisphere. 3. No European nation would be allowed to establish a new colony in the Western Hemisphere. 4. If a European nation would try to interfere with a nation in the Western Hemisphere, the United States would view that as a hostile act and respond accordingly. The United States has used this doctrine as a premise to invade several independent Caribbean territories overthrowing democratically elected Governments in order to establish puppet US friendly Governments... They did it in Haiti, Grenada and attempted it in Cuba and Venezuela. These actions were admonished by Bernie Sanders in the debates last year when he said “the United States was wrong to try to invade Cuba ... the United States was wrong trying to support people to overthrow the Nicaraguan government ... the United States was wrong trying to overthrow, in 1954, the democratically-elected government of Guatemala,” said Sanders. Obama in 2015 during the “civil society” forum in Panama City, Panama also spoke against past efforts by the United States to forestall the spread of Communism in Latin America and suggested similar missions would no longer be undertaken. “The days in which our agenda in this hemisphere so often presumed that the United States could meddle with impunity, those days are past,” Obama said. #blackhistorymonth #caribbeanhistory #caribbeanintellectuals #caribbeanrevolutionaries #celebratingourheroes #monroedoctrine #usimperialism

[tambudzai]

Today I am celebrating Maurice Bishop. This Caribbean revolutionary was born in Aruba on May 29, 1944, to Grenadian parents Rupert and Alimenta Bishop he migrated to Grenada when he was six years old. Bishop assumed the Prime Ministership of Grenada by proclamation or in other words a coup on March 13, 1979 while the then Prime Minister Eric Gairy was attending the United Nations session in New York. Bishop and many others were of the belief that Gairy had stolen the elections through voter fraud and tampering. Proclaiming a People's Revolutionary Government, Bishop suspended the constitution. Promising new, democratic elections. By late 1982 a deep rift had developed within the central committee of the People's Revolutionary Government and on October 13, 1983 Bishop was placed under house arrest. Six days later, on Wednesday, October 19, a large public demonstrations demanding the restoration of Bishop occurred in various parts of the island. A crowd of Bishop’s supporters released him and marched to the military compound at Fort Rupert. Troops under the command of General Hudson Austin captured and executed Bishop, several government officials loyal to him, and an unknown number of civilians. On October 25, 1983 the United States invaded Grenada with the assistance of neighbouring OECS states. #blackhistorymonth #caribbeanhistory #caribbeanintellectuals #caribbeanrevolutionaries #celebratingourheroes #proudbrowngirl #theresistance

[tambudzai]

My BLACK HISTORY month feature for this week will be on Professor The Honorable Ralston Milton "Rex" Nettleford ON, FIC, OCC...Born February 4, 1933 Professor Rex Nettleford was a Dancer, Choreographer, Intellectual, Idealogue, Patriot, Political Scientist, Scholar an all round Renaissance Man. I want to feature him because to my mind he is a quintessential Caribbean change maker and intellectual who's contributions and stellar representation of the Caribbean has shaped the cultural, intellectual and political landscape not only of Jamaica the island of his birth but the Caribbean and that diaspora... These features on Caribbean revolutionaries and intellectuals is an attempt to change the narrative about who our black heroes are or ought to be. To place squarely in that conversation and to assert the contributions of our Caribbean men and women who have made great strides and who have fought and died for black issues and who deserve a seat at the table of the black struggle greats. So look out for this week features On Prof. Nettleford and be sure to like and share... #blackhistorymonth #blackexcellence #caribbeanintellectuals #caribbeanhistory #caribbeanrevolutionaries #celebratingourheroes #jamaicanheroes #jamaicanintellectuals #proudjamaicangirl

[plan9techhub]

Mr. Nabeel A. Qadeer, Joint Director Entrepreneurship- PITB to host a technology show on Pakistan’s leading channel

“This blog was originally posted in TechJuice.”

Punjab Information Technology Board(PITB) announced at the recent roundtable conference that a technology program on one of the top three leading channels of Pakistan will be aired very soon. The primary reason behind such a program is the promotion of entrepreneurship and glamorizing the Information Technology (IT) industry of Pakistan.

This roundtable event was held last month under the supervision of Dr. Umar Saif, Chairman PITB. In addition to discussing various issues faced by Pakistani Technology industry like taxation, credibility issues and promotion of IT ventures, Umar also announced that a television show is soon going to be telecasted for the promotion of IT and Entrepreneurship.

In a recent meeting with TechJuice, Dr. Saif commended the effort of running The TechJuice Show exactly saying that there is a need of promotion and glamorization the IT industry of Pakistan.

Mr. Nabeel A. Qadeer, Joint Director Entrepreneurship and Enterprise- PITB will be hosting this television program. The broadcast date and timings are yet to be announced.

[plan9techhub]

Mr. Asif Peer, the driving force behind Systems Ltd.

“We are reposting this blog with some amendments.“

System Limited is one of its kind in the list of paramount IT companies of Pakistan. It is a globally recognized leader of the next-generation IT and technology-led BPO services. This employee owned company was started 38 years ago by Syed Baber Ali and Mr. Aezaz Hussain. Its offshore facilities established in Europe, North America, and Middle East along with all the major cities of Pakistan comprise of over 2,500 customer-focused employees providing a great customer experience. It has accomplished above 600 projects and its vast list of customers includes Fortune 500 companies, government and corporate entities.

Mr Asif Peer who is currently CEO, Member of the Board and the Managing Director of Systems Limited started off his career as associate developer with Systems after completing Graduation from FAST, Karachi. He also served as Senior Vice President of Services and as Vice President of Servicing Technologies at Visionet Systems Inc. He has a total experience of 18 years and 13 years of professional experience of working at Systems Limited’s sister concern in the USA. He was one of the Top 11 CEO of Pakistan according to an article written in 2014 and one of the best performing CEOs and Leaders according to Manager Today and CEO club.

Talking about the company Mr. Peer said that the company sends 40 to 50 people abroad every year and 500+ citizens of US have gone from SYSTEMS and its goal is to hire 20,000 employee every year, groom them and take them to next level. Working in various capacities at leadership level, he strongly believes in leading the company’s growth through innovation, methodology and achieving high degree of excellence in execution through mix of technologies and business domain.

As the CEO, he has envisioned Systems Limited to be recognized by its customers, employees, stakeholders, vendors, partners and competitors as the number One IT enabled services provider not only in Pakistan but to be rated among the best software solutions and IT services companies within the Finance & Apparel market segments in the USA, South East Asia, Middle East and European Markets.

Work philosophy of Systems Limited is simple - deliver quality & value by generating flexible software solutions within a fun, disciplined, and a receptive work environment that promotes unity and fortify the strength of the company.

Awards won by Systems Limited under leadership of Asif Peer include:

·         Best in BPO

·         Runner-up award for Brand Management categories at the P@SHA ICT Awards 2014.

In the question & answer session Mr Asif Peer pointed out that the key difference between the graduates of US and Pakistan is grooming, upbringing, magnitude and exposure. Graduates of US are groomed in a way to think out of box and if you have an idea and efficiency to sell yourself then nothing can stop you from achieving your goal. He further said that vision, mission along with re-innovating both in business domain as well as in technology domain is most important thing to make a company work. Talking about the scope of IoT, he said that since all large organizations need data of their end users to make their services better, it is the future of IT. Answering a question related to Bit Logger Currency he shared that the company is already working on it in Pakistan and mentioned a startup called One Load. According to him, the major challenge faced by B2B solution startups is to come up with an idea which is different from the ideas of current working companies.

Mr. Peer also agreed to extend their services to freelancers by providing trainings on communication. He believes that Systems Limited is an institution and it’s their Corporate Social Responsibility to help all sectors of IT.

Very interesting prospects came out after the session and TechHub Connect hopes to collaborate with Systems Ltd. on many more projects in future. :)

[plan9techhub]

Mr. Asif Peer, the driving force behind Systems Ltd.

System Limited is one of its kind in the list of paramount IT companies of Pakistan. It is a globally recognized leader of the next-generation IT and technology-led BPO services. This employee owned company was started 38 years ago by Syed Baber Ali. Its offshore facilities established in Europe, North America, and Middle East along with all the major cities of Pakistan comprise of over 2,500 customer-focused employees providing a great customer experience. It has accomplished above 600 projects and its vast list of customers includes Fortune 500 companies, government and corporate entities.

 Mr Asif Peer who is currently CEO, Member of the Board and the Managing Director of Systems Limited started off his career as associate developer with Systems after completing Graduation from FAST, Karachi. He also served as Senior Vice President of Services and as Vice President of Servicing Technologies at Visionet Systems Inc. He has a total experience of 18 years and 13 years of professional experience of working at Systems Limited’s sister concern in the USA. He was one of the Top 11 CEO of Pakistan according to an article written in 2014 and one of the best performing CEOs and Leaders according to Manager Today and CEO club.

Talking about the company Mr. Peer said that the company sends 40 to 50 people abroad every year and 500+ citizens of US have gone from SYSTEMS and its goal is to hire 20,000 employee every year, groom them and take them to next level. Working in various capacities at leadership level, he strongly believes in leading the company's growth through innovation, methodology and achieving high degree of excellence in execution through mix of technologies and business domain. 

As the CEO, he has envisioned Systems Limited to be recognized by its customers, employees, stakeholders, vendors, partners and competitors as the number One IT enabled services provider not only in Pakistan but to be rated among the best software solutions and IT services companies within the Finance & Apparel market segments in the USA, South East Asia, Middle East and European Markets.

Work philosophy of Systems Limited is simple - deliver quality & value by generating flexible software solutions within a fun, disciplined, and a receptive work environment that promotes unity and fortify the strength of the company.

Awards won by Systems Limited under leadership of Asif Peer include:

·         Best in BPO

·         Runner-up award for Brand Management categories at the P@SHA ICT Awards 2014.

In the question & answer session Mr Asif Peer pointed out that the key difference between the graduates of US and Pakistan is grooming, upbringing, magnitude and exposure. Graduates of US are groomed in a way to think out of box and if you have an idea and efficiency to sell yourself then nothing can stop you from achieving your goal. He further said that vision, mission along with re-innovating both in business domain as well as in technology domain is most important thing to make a company work. Talking about the scope of IoT, he said that since all large organizations need data of their end users to make their services better, it is the future of IT. Answering a question related to Bit Logger Currency he shared that the company is already working on it in Pakistan and mentioned a startup called One Load. According to him, the major challenge faced by B2B solution startups is to come up with an idea which is different from the ideas of current working companies.

Mr. Peer also agreed to extend their services to freelancers by providing trainings on communication. He believes that Systems Limited is an institution and it’s their Corporate Social Responsibility to help all sectors of IT.

Very interesting prospects came out after the session and TechHub Connect hopes to collaborate with Systems Ltd. on many more projects in future. :)

[plan9techhub]

TechHub Connect Celebrates Systems Ltd. Week

Systems Ltd. is prominent IT Company with thirty eight years of experience and has branches worldwide to provide IT solutions and products.

Systems Ltd. week would be a great platform for startups, freelancers and students to interact with the top tier management and make a connection.  This is how TechHub Connect has planned to celebrate Systems (Pvt.) Ltd.

A Talk by Asif Peer - CEO of Systems (Pvt.) Ltd.

Monday, 7th September, 2015

Time: 4pm

The motivating force behind Systems Ltd will give an open talk to startups, freelancers and university students at 4pm. This will be a good opportunity for people to interact and learn from Mr. Asif Peer.

Systems Investor Pitch Day

Tuesday, 8th September, 2015

Time: 11 am to 2 pm

This will be a mock pitch where startups from PlanX will pitch to acting investors from Systems Ltd. People who can understand and evaluate an investor pitch from Systems Ltd will judge and give feedback.

Mentoring with Systems Ltd.

Thursday, 10th of September, 2015

Time: 11 am to 3 pm

Plan9 startups will be mentored by financial, business and technical experts from Systems Ltd. Later, after mutual agreement these experts can in future get involved in the development of selected startups.  

Systems Ltd Innovation & Strategy by Zubair Anjum

Thursday 10th of September, 2015

Time: 4 pm

Mr. Zubair Anjum (Vp Marketing, System Ltd) will have a session with all startup & freelencers, where he will discuss about Systems Ltd modernization and also the approach it has taken for it.

Visit to Systems Ltd.

Friday 11th of September, 2015

To wrap up, an open house will be conducted on the final day. TechHub Connect has arranged two batches (morning & evening) to witness Systems Ltd. In action. First would be of startup founders & freelancers. Second would be of university students.

See you at Systems Week! =)

[plan9techhub]

NetSol Week - An Overview

Pakistan’s promising and ever flourishing IT industry is widespread with examples of successes at both local and global level. These successes, the struggles and lessons that have led to them, need to not only be celebrated but also importantly, shared with students, professionals and entrepreneurs. 

It is for this reason that TechHub Connect has started a new campaign called "Celebrating Our IT Heroes".

The scope of the campaign is to identify heroes of Pakistan in the domain of Technology, do extensive research on their (And their company’s) successes, connect with them personally, and then celebrate a whole week of events in conjunction with the identified hero’s tech venture.

The first such hero that we have celebrated was Mr.Salim Ghauri, founder and CEO of Netsol Technologies.

Netsol Technologies needs no introduction. One of the leading software houses in Pakistan, Netsol Tech provides innovative IT solutions to the global assets finance and leasing industry. Its success can be ascertained from the fact that it has well over 200 partners & clients worldwide. Moreover, Forbes, the world’s top business magazine, recently name Netsol as one of the top 500 software companies to work for in 2015.

The Netsol Week kicked off with a talk by the man himself, Salim Ghauri on 6th July 2015. The talk was about his journey as an entrepreneur and was attended by well over a 100 participants. Apart from the successes of Netsol, Mr. Ghauri emphasized on a number of life lessons that he had learnt over the years as an entrepreneur. The first among these was to always put one’s education into practice. It was his staunch belief that education puts a lot of responsibility on the receiver who must fulfill it by putting it into action.

The second key lesson was to pursue THAT career that one is ardent about. Mr. Ghauri stated that it’s never too late to discover one’s passion and work towards it. Quoted by example, Mr. Ghauri did his bachelors in Petroleum and Gas Engineering. After graduating, he got his first job in the related field. Working there for a while, Mr.Ghauri realized that this was not his cup of tea so he left it to work for the IT department of Citibank which was a much less paying job yet offered much more learning. Mr. Ghauri maintains that this was a job that changed his life. He had discovered his zeal for technology and he worked on it from that point onwards.

Third message was how important “determination” is the key to success. Mr. Ghauri shared how once he discovers what stimulates his brain cells, he persistently works on it. He left his rather comfortable life abroad and moved back to Pakistan. He felt homesick and while working with different ethnicities overseas, he realized that he wanted to do something for his homeland, Pakistan. Mr. Ghauri claims that when he moved back, he had no finances to start a business yet, what he had was an ideal to strive for.

Luckily, he found his first investor from within his family. Starting with a one room office with only 3 people in 1995, Mr.Ghauri has now grown Netsol to a 1600+ employee company with presence in USA, UK, China, Australia, Thailand, Germany and Indonesia. This journey, he believes, has been achieved through patience and determination to achieve his goal. Rooted from the latter point came forward another important life lesson which was to always set goals in life. Mr. Ghauri believes that setting goals in life is important to keep one focused in one direction.

During his entire talk, Mr. Ghauri reiterated one point several times which was to never rush things in an entrepreneurial venture. He shared his experience of how he made calls to prospective customers every single day for 2 consecutive years before he finally acquired his first client. His first customer was Mercedes Benz (which they still proudly have as a client) and Salim proudly states that it was worth the wait.

At the end, Mr. Ghauri stressed on the importance of youth in shaping the future of Pakistan. He encouraged all young professionals sitting in the audience to start thinking of how to make Pakistan a better place in their own little capacity.

Overall, it was a great motivational talk followed by a meeting of Mr. Ghauri with the Joint Director of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise at PITB, Mr. Nabeel Akmal Qadeer and the Chairman of PITB, Mr. Umar Saif. In the meeting, ways to improve the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of Pakistan were discussed along with a way forward to improve the future of IT industry of Pakistan.

The next event of the Netsol week was Netsol- Strategy and Product awareness day on 8th July, 2015. The Chief Strategy officer, Mr. Umar Zafar and Chief Product officer, Mr.Osman Chaudhry spared their invaluable time to come to TechHub Connect and share their guidance and wisdom with the young entrepreneurs and professionals attending the session.

The session was twofold, with the sole purpose of understanding what makes Netsol successful. Mr. Umar Zafar talked about how Netsol has managed to become a global industry leader whereas Mr. Osman Chaudhry talked about the product lines of Netsol that makes it stand out.

The Last event of The NetSol week was a trip of Plan9 incubator's Whiz Kids Summer Camp students and interns to Netsol HQ on 9th July 2015.

The main motive behind this event in particular is to bring a change in students as young as teenagers. We at the TechHub Connect want to create awareness about the successes of IT industry of Pakistan in school children so when they enter universities, they choose their fields wisely. We believe that there is a huge gap between the industry and academia in Pakistan and thus want to bridge that in whatever way we can. We want youngsters to not only get inspiration from the likes of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and those from the West, but to also get inspired from those that have achieved considerable success in our local IT Industry. What makes our local success stories a huge source of pride to Pakistan is the fact that even in a developing country, local IT heroes have managed to build world class organizations.

Visit to Netsol Technologies Head Quarters started with an introduction of the company to the children. Most of them were O and A Level ICT students who were enthralled to know about the successes of NetSol. This was followed by a trip around their office, briefly describing the products being developed in each department. Lastly, souvenirs were presented to the students, bringing an end to the visit as well as The Netsol Week!

This idea of celebrating our local IT companies and heroes has just begun. In the weeks and months to follow, we shall be doing the same with a number of other big names and industry leaders. So keep following us on our social media platforms, and be on the lookout for similar upcoming events and seminars.

[plan9techhub]

Building Silicon Valley in Pakistan- Salim Ghauri as an Inspiration to Young IT Entrepreneurs

Salim Ghauri emerged as an IT entrepreneur in 1995 when he clean swept the market with the introduction of NetSol Technologies.  Through his company, he introduced IT of Pakistan to the world, receiving loads of success in no time. The “Bill Gates of Pakistan” is an iconic and influential figure, who has left his mark on the society.

NetSol technology is a true-life success story. With more than 120 IT professionals, engineers and developers working at the head office in Lahore, NetSol is the first and only Pakistani based IT company to get listed in NASDAQ. Today, it has an international presence in Australia, UK, and USA with $10 million turnover. The company has come a long way since its set up, and has never looked back.

NetSol has had quite a remarkable journey; starting out with a small team working in a humble two room office, now it has headquarters in Calabasas, California and a presence in four continents. NetSol is Pakistan’s biggest IT exporter, a leading IT employer and Pakistan’s first CMMI level 5 certified company. Salim Ghauri is one of the country’s leading IT entrepreneurs and an epitome of development in Pakistan’s IT industry. Spearheading the company, Salim has helped NetSol achieve global recognition as a leading supplier of IT software and solutions for the finance and leasing, capturing over 90 percent of the Chinese Auto Leasing market. Both NetSol and Salim Ghauri have received great recognition at both local and global levels and have won numerous accolades.

NetSol still remains the only CMMI level 5 certified company in Pakistan. The success of NetSol as a global organization can be gauged from the fact that since 2003 NetSol has received the Best IT Export Performance Award every year. Along with this, NetSol has received P@SHA’s ( Pakistan Software Houses Association) ICT awards for Best IT/ITES Employer Award, Best E-Government & Services Award, and Best Revenue Growth Award. Salim’s commitment to driving product excellence in LeaseSoft helped it win the prestigious Asia Pacific ICT Alliance award for “Best Financial Industry Application” in 2007. NetSol is also ranked among the top-10 ‘Fastest Growing Software Companies’ in the US, and it is the first and only Pakistani company trading on the NASDAQ.

Salim Ghauri too has received a lot of recognition just like his brainchild NetSol. Salim’s commitment to local IT talent and strife to make it prosperous culminated in the award for "Pioneer in Taking Technology Global” from CIO magazine. Salim also received the 8th Teradata National IT Excellence Award from Senator Raza Rabbani. And as a gesture to show the importance of Salim’s contribution to Pakistan’s IT industry, the Government of Pakistan appointed him as the chairman on the taskforce on Information and Communication Technologies.

Salim Ghauri has successfully brought passion, motivation, and inspiration to prospective new generation of IT entrepreneurs in Pakistan. The emergence of NetSol technologies reflects company’s belief in high quality management techniques.  The company continues to flourish on its policy of investing in processes and human capital. Salim Ghauri is a steadfast and staunch supporter of development of talent in youth through as “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”-Malcolm X. Salim Ghauri and Netsol Technology are the assurance that they will continue to provide faithful support for IT industry in Pakistan.

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We at the TechHub Connect have now chosen for ourselves the mandate to not only celebrate our heroes such as Mr. Salim Ghauri, but also bring forward their stories to professionals, student, Entrepreneurs and all stakeholders of our IT Industry. The sole purpose being this – Our future heroes need to learn from our current ones! In lieu of this, we shall be having a talk by Mr. Salim Ghauri on Monday, 6th of July at Arfa Software Technology Park, followed later in the week by a further two sessions by Netsol’s Chief Product & Strategy officers. And to cap it off, our WhizKids (O & A Level Students, who are interning at PITB) shall be taken for a visit to Netsol HQ. See you at the Netsol Week! =)