pakistan in Startup Turkey 2019

Six Pakistani startups selected for Startup Turkey 2019

Entrepreneurship

Six startups from Pakistan will be taking part in the 11th Startup Turkey 2019 . The companies include Therapism, Authentik, Franchise Pakistan, Turbo Anchor, Yotimez and Dukanlay. 100 startups from 65 countries will come together at Uniq Istanbul between 26th and 29th of April for the event. More than 130,000 startups applied for the contest this year.

Franchise Pakistan offers the comprehensive franchise information on the web, including resources for franchise buyers, multi-unit franchisees and franchisors. Franchisepk.com is a client-customized portal, to empower franchisers by making local lead generation easier and more cost-effective.

Dukanlay promises to provide innovative e-commerce solutions. The company Turbo Anchor is a complete SEO project management tool. It manages all aspects of SEO projects ranging from staff management and content to analyzing site visitors and website information. Yotimez is a courier service that promises to send items all over the country and lets your loved ones know that you are thinking about them.

Talking to MIT Technology Review, Aliya Khalid, founder and project manager of Therapism, said, “Therapism aims at providing online mental health services by connecting clients and counsellors through a secure platform. It strives to provide a combination of affordability, flexibility, feasibility, and competence.

The selection for Startup Turkey 2019 comes with its set of expectations.

With respect to Therapism, I am hoping to gain maximum feedback from mentors, get to connect with other startups that may lead to future collaborations and gain a better understanding of the business world through the workshops. Lastly, I hope to experience the cultural diversity that the platform attracts and offers.”

Haseeb Uddin of Authentik said that their company offered anti-counterfeit, brand protection and product verification solution for end-users to identify genuine industry products instantly through  their smartphone app.

This digital solution app, validates products to benefit all stakeholders in the supply chain with a focus on manufactures and consumers. Authentik allows the manufacturer to create better engagement with their customers, which provides them with a targeted approach for marketing and promotional activities. This results in consumer trust and brand loyalty towards the company.

The application also has  a complete database of all the PMDC registered healthcare practitioners in order to verify doctors. Their focus is on healthcare and they plan to extend it to other industries.

Uddin added that their aim was to promote “Made in Pakistan” technology at Startup Turkey, get international exposure, attract investors to join them in the war against counterfeiting and offer consumer safety with Authentik.

Etohum, Turkey’s leading accelerator program and seed investor organization, will be hosting many startups from all corners of the world in the 11th Startup Turkey 2019 .

Annually hosted by Etohum, it will provide an important networking opportunity by bringing startups together with global tech firms, organizations in Etohum Investors Club and the world’s leading venture capitalists.

“The number of applications increase every year. This year, we will continue to make Turkey one of the important entrepreneurship locations of the world by taking 130,000 applications and hosting investors from Silicon Valley in our country,” said Etohum founder Burak Büyükdemir. “We are happy to be one of the most important entrepreneurship events of the world.”

Influential figures from the world of entrepreneurship  will be in attendance at Istanbul. Guests at the event include Aramco chief investment officer Salman T. Jaffrey, former editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine Amy Cospe, Yousef M. Hamidaddin from MENA Innovation, European Investment Fund (EIF) Investment manager Özgür Altan, founder of Hatcher+ John Sharp, 212 managing director Ali KarabeyLegwork Venture Groupe managing director Michael Finkbeiner, TÜPRAŞ assistant general manager Levent Zagra, FasterCapital mentor Kei Hareyama, Guixer & Partners managing partner Victor Guixer Martin, Entrepreneur and APAC Mashable former head of strategy Gwendolyn Regina, and founder of Test My Pitch Bill KenneyThe guests will watch the presentations by startups and share their own experience with them.

Published in Technology Review of Pakistan