at Zar Zaraat agri-startup competition
“Agriculture, as a sector, hold the key to prosperity, food security, and the socioeconomic upliftment of our rural communities…Continuous innovation and development within the agricultural sector, therefore, are vital for the economic development and sustainability of Pakistan” said Zafar Masud, President & CEO of The Bank of Punjab, while speaking at the BoP-sponsored ZarZaraat start-up competition at Pakistan Agricultural Coalition’s Agri-Connections 2024 conference and expo held in Lahore on April 24 and 25, 2024.
inDrive Partners with Hands Foundation for “Ride-to-Donate” Campaign
RemoteWell, an IoT device that offers wireless switching, scheduling, and controlling of watering systems of farms, Godaam Technologies, which aims to reinvent warehousing by digitalizing site availability and booking, giving end to end visibility of goods and Digitt+ an Agri-fintech that aims to enhance financial inclusion and sustainable agriculture by leveraging innovative technology, seeking to optimize transaction efficiency, empower smallholder farmers with timely financial support, and encourage innovative partnerships, came out as the Top Ideas of the ZarZaraat start-up competition at Agri-Connections 2024.
“We at Pakistan Agricultural Coalition believe that the future of Pakistan’s agriculture relies on the transition of our farmers beginning to think of themselves as businessmen” said Raashid Anwer, Convenor of Pakistan Agricultural Coalition, while explaining the ZarZaraat segment.
“The idea behind this fascinating project is to create a pipeline for the investors in agriculture space.” said Mr. Zafar Masud
Ms. Maria Saleem of Fatima Group explained that 35 applications were received from various agri companies and shortlisted to seven which were then judged by a jury under the chairmanship of Mr. Yawar Ali of Nestle Pakistan. Other jurors included Mr. Sarfraz Hussain of Bank of Punjab, Ms. Naz Khan of IFC, Ms. Maria Saleem of Fatima Group, Mr. Muneer Kamal of Pakistan Banks’ Association, Mr. Kazim Saeed of Pakistan Agricultural Coalition, and Mr. Hasan Khurram Hanif, a progressive farmer.
The three companies shortlisted by the jury, Digitt+, Godaam Technologies, and RemoteWell, were invited to pitch in front of a group of investors representing various entities including Mr. Asif Riaz from The Bank of Punjab, Mr. Navid Goraya of Karandaaz, Mr. Habib Saqib of Fatima Gobi Ventures, Mr. Kashif Thanvi of Acumen Fund, Mr. Shahbaz Malik of Hilton Pharma, and Mr. Khurram Jamali of Din Ventures. Each finalist got a chance to explain their product/service in front of this panel to raise investment for their venture and also received cash prizes sponsored by The Bank of Punjab.
Google Fires 28 Workers Over Protests Against Cloud Contract With Israel
Mr. Zafar Masud elaborated that Bank of Punjab is also evaluating to support the shortlisted companies through concessional financing under the Punjab Rozgar and the PM’s Youth Business & Agricultural Loans schemes.
He also stressed on the importance of giving the ZarZaraat platform to Agric companies to come and pitch their ideas and raise investments while giving examples of successful startups around the world which are transforming the global agriculture sector, such as, Kiva, Hello Tractor in Africa, and Bigbasket in India, and others.
end-to-end digital services company 10Pearls concludes AI Summit 2024
Navid Goraya, Chief Investment Officer of Karandaaz, an investment platform of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced that each finalist will get one day of counselling and advice from Karandaaz experts to improve their business models and financability.
- Level Up Your WhatsApp Group Chats With New Member Tags, Text Stickers, and More
- Teknofest: Experts urge youth to acquire tech, entrepreneurial skills
- Singapore’s Manus Joins Meta in Global AI Expansion
- Supernet Rebrands as SupernetGlobal to Target International Markets
- Pakistan Sets February 2026 for 5G Spectrum Auction, Rollout Planned in Major Cities
- Data Vault, CoE AITeC Ink MoU on Sovereign AI
- Pakistan’s Tech Challenge Is Not Ideas, But Scale and Capital, Says easypaisa Chairman
