University of Management and Technology (UMT) students have showcased 25 innovative business ideas during two-day Pakistan Entrepreneurs and Leaders Programme – 2011, which concluded here on Friday. To encourage young entrepreneurs the event was jointly organised by the SME Business Support Fund (SME-BSF) and UMT. During the concluding session of Pakistan Entrepreneurs and Leaders Programme – 2011, students presented novel business plans like nameplates with an integrated solar energy lighting panel, instant tea having all ingredients in a bag, wind turbines to meet the energy shortfall, remote control switching system for domestic appliances, battery operated medical chair for disabled persons.
Out of these 25 innovative business proposals, experts selected three projects including a crystal clean water bottle that filter impurities from water with a simple pumping mechanism, a prepaid card that could be use anywhere like telephone, bus or gas station and a car decoration solution to temporarily paint vehicles for weddings and other occasions. To encourage the winning teams, SME-BSF had awarded Rs 50,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.
In addition, five guest speakers delivered lectures to the participants of Pakistan Entrepreneurs and Leaders Programme – 2011 on entrepreneurship development. SME-BSF CEO Saqib Mohiuddin disclosed that SME-BSF had set up an Entrepreneur Support Fund which will be launched shortly. This fund would be used for the development of new entrepreneurs and enterprises. He pointed out that a similar programme had been planned in collaboration with the University of Central Punjab (UCP) in June, while other programmes will be held in Islamabad and Karachi.
