HEDP/Hec Pakistan Innovator Seed Fund (ISF) 2021-2022
HEDP/Hec Pakistan Innovator Seed Fund (ISF) 2021-2022
The HEC has recently launched the Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project to help in accelerating the economic engines of the country. Innovator Seed Fund (ISF) is an initiative under HEDP that aims at engaging entrepreneurs and upcoming aspirants who want to convert their business ideas into action.
ISF will provide a package of support and seed funding to early-stage startups through HEC-recognized Business Incubation Centers (BICs) at universities.
The grant winners will receive up to $35,000 in seed funding in addition to support through BICs in the form of entrepreneurial training, legal training and support, financial education, business development service provision, and investment readiness training.
In addition, successful start-ups will be connected to a range of funding sources that can help them meet their capital needs during the scale-up phase post program.
15 promising early-stage start-ups will be funded and provided the training and incubation services required to transform them into investable ventures through ISF, every year. As part of the strategic aims of the project, a significant proportion of the grants will be awarded to startups with female founders.
The applications for the ISF program will be routed via the Business Incubation Centers established by the HEC in different public sector HEIs of Pakistan. For details regarding HEC Established Business Incubation Centers (BICs), please visit: https://bit.ly/3m6nvZh
The ISF grant is targeted at early-stage startups which will benefit majorly from a $35,000 grant and entrepreneurial training.
Applications can be submitted in response to a call for concept notes.
Submissions must be made to the HEC online portal (http://ric.hec.gov.pk) in accordance with the guidelines provided in the call for proposals document under “Downloads” section. Once the required details are filled online, please upload all the required documents in .pdf form and submit the application before the deadline.