Ever thought of starting your own venture but never had enough resources to pull it off? Located in Lahore, LUMS Center of Entrepreneurship (LCE) is a platform for all those newbies out there who are passionate for their own startup but don’t have enough resources or guidance. Its aim is to connect people with new business ideas and their business models with investors who can make their dreams come true.

About the program – “The Foundation”

The Foundation is a 4 months long incubator and accelerator program, where the startup is provided all possible facilities and support to develop their venture. The program runs 3 times (Spring, Summer, & Winter) a year and inducts the best startups from all over Pakistan. Once inducted, the startups are gauged throughout the 4 month program for their progress and development. To graduate successfully, they have to achieve certain mutually agreed upon milestones. Once the startups graduate, they are showcased in different investor conferences to raise funding for their startups.

Winter season is coming and applications are open until 30th Oct, hurry up!

For the selected startups, LCE offers all sorts of facilities that any startup would require. This sort of generous support helps startups in focusing on their actual work and don’t have to sweat about any operational and financial troubles. Here are some of the facilities,

• Office space
• Utilities (phone, power, Internet and other IT services)
• Training and mentorship sessions
• LUMS labs, library, gym & other common access facilities
• Networking platforms
• Investment opportunities
• Marketing support from NIC Lahore
• Support in abiding legal obligations of the business
• Promotion of your startup in local and international media
• Monthly stipend for each entrepreneur (max 4 person team)

How can I apply?

Currently, the scouting for the startups is happening for the Winter Season (Dec 1 – Mar 31) and you can apply for it. Interested candidates can apply for the NIC Lahore* – Batch 1 online at the below link,

https://gust.com/programs/nic-lahore-batch-1

Registrations are open until 30th Oct, 2017.

*NIC Lahore: National Incubation Center Lahore is the most comprehensive startup development platform for startups in Pakistan and is powered LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship (LCE)

Eligibility Requirements

Basic Requirements for the Program:

• People belonging to any age group can apply for the program provided they are full time committed to the venture.
• One should have a high-growth business idea.
• You should have passionate team members who are willing to work with commitment and dedication.
• Applicants are allowed to apply for only one idea.

Requirement for Idea Verticals:

The idea has to lie in any of the following verticals:

• Agriculture Tech
• Artificial Intelligence
• Augmented Reality
• Biotech
• Concierge Services
• Data Science
• Education
• Energy
• Entertainment
• Environment
• Fintech
• Food
• Healthcare
• HR & Job Market
• Industrial IOT
• Living, Work & Public Spaces
• Market Place
• Media Tech
• Mobility & Last Mile
• Retail
• Robotics & Drones
• Travel & Leisure
• Virtual Reality

Selection Process

The Foundation council, which includes many successful businesspersons and professionals of Pakistan, examine and analyze the startups in scouting seasons and enroll them into program. The council evaluate the applications from various aspects especially, the competence of team or individual, the motivation towards achieving their goal, the strength of their business model, and the potential for  growth of their venture. The selected teams/individuals are then inducted into the program where the rigorous training and support is

LCE Alumni

Here are some of the well known graduated startups that you don’t want to miss,

• NearPeer.org (2016)
• Sabzi.pk (2016) – mobile app
• ShahiSawari.pk (2016)
• BeautyHooked.com (2015)
• AutoGenie.pk (2015)

View all here

Finally, 

Hear and see the people themselves, who are already enrolled in the program and making their dreams come true!

About LCE / Founder

LUMS center of entrepreneurship is run by a team of talented professionals. Khurram Zafar heads its management team. He is the Executive Director of LUMS Center of Entrepreneurship. He has worked as the Chief Information Officer at Lahore Stock Exchange where he was awarded the best private sector CIO of Pakistan by P@SHA. He has a wide range of experience in the field of technology and co-founded two software product startups in the Silicon Valley.

For more details, please visit,

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/lumscent/
LCE: https://lce.lums.edu.pk/