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Tech Valley and DEMO empowered 3000 women of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through digital skills under KP Youth Employment Program While celebrating the success of empowering 3000 women of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on employable digital skills under Women Empowerment Through Digital Skills Program… While celebrating the success of empowering 3000 women of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on employable digital skills under Women Empowerment Through Digital Skills Program, a graduation ceremony was held at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board, Peshawar, which was attended by hundreds of females from seven districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The event included employers and other notable dignitaries while the chief guest of this event was Honourable Minister for Science, Technology and IT, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr. Atif Khan Amid the COVID-19, KP Youth Employment Program, the flagship program of KP IT Board, started an initiative named “Women Empowerment through Digital Skills,” which aimed to ensure women’s inclusion in the digital economy. The project was supported by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board, funded by Multi-Donor Trust Fund and The World Bank. Tech Valley, along with DEMO, being the advocate of women empowerment in the region and known for its capacity-building programs, progressed to implement this program in the seven districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The goal was to empower the 3000 women of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with skills – like graphic designing, social media marketing, WordPress design & development, blogging & content writing, and digital tools for productivity – and promote the financial independence of these women by providing them employment opportunities through digital jobs.  Apart from designing the content of these courses with the help of known industry experts of their respective fields, Tech Valley also reached out to its partner Google to design the curriculum of “Digital Tools for productivity”. After localizing the content provided by Google, the course was incorporated into the program that consisted of training on project management and collaboration skills using the latest available tools.  “The program was well-coordinated, the trainers and coordinators were very helpful. The content was structured to keep us engaged throughout the program. The skills I learned from the program have helped me promote my business online”, says one of the program’s participants.  The program was delivered through an online management system that consisted of video lessons, assignments, quizzes, and online training sessions that provided a platform for females to interact with the trainers and ask questions. The program also included mentorship sessions from human resource experts and career counselors and freelancing sessions that consisted of tips and techniques to land a gig on different freelancing platforms.  While appreciating the efforts of the team and the success of the program, Minister of Science, Technology and IT, Mr. Atif Khan, discussed the government’s plans, “We are planning to train 1 Lac people in multiple levels of digital skills. The government is willing to invest as much as it can in filling the gap in the IT industry by training its youth in IT skills.” Managing Director Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board, Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud, congratulated the program participants and said, “Our women have unlimited potential, and by learning these skills, they can do jobs at the convenience of their own home.” He also added that “The digital economy has a lot more to offer to the youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and we are working to bridge this gap by helping youth master different digital skills.” CEO Tech Valley, Umar Farooq, expressed gratitude to the KP IT Board and donors of the program, i.e., multi-donor trust fund and the world bank. He also stressed the importance of digital skills and nourishing the digital economy. He said, “Digital Skills are important for youth, but the dream of digital Pakistan cannot be fulfilled until the government provides prerequisites, i.e., tax subsidy on digital gadgets, providing subsidized internet packages for youth & establishing free internet zones.” Madiha Hamid, CEO DEMO added, “Women are the pillar for Economic growth for Pakistan. These Digital Skills training have enabled women to earn and become financially independent and contribute to their household income.We hope that more women step up and take the challenge and equip themselves with the skills of future” As the world is going digital, the youth must master in-demand digital skills to play a crucial role in uplifting the digital economy. Through programs like these, the government and the partners aim to enhance the skill set of youth to better equip them with the needs of the current and future digital job market.  

Federal Minister Asad Umar’s Visit to Peshawar. Tech Valley Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority, Directorate of Archeology took Mr. Asad Umar Federal Minister, Planning, Development & Special Initiatives on a tour of the historic city of Peshawar. Tech Valley Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority, Directorate of Archeology took Mr. Asad Umar Federal Minister, Planning, Development & Special Initiatives on a tour of the historic city of Peshawar. The Federal Minister was given a tour of Museums Peshawar, Gurgathari, Gorakhnath Temple, Heritage Trail, Sethi House, and other historical places. While visiting the Peshawar Museum, Asad Umar said, “I will ask PM Imran Khan to inaugurate the museum itself renovation of Peshawar. Efforts of Tourism and Archeology Department are commendable” He added that Peshawar is a unique city in terms of tourism. I will ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to inaugurate the Peshawar Museum himself after the renovation so that the historical museum can be unveiled all over the world. After the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Kamrat, the rush of tourists in Kamrat increased. Tourists must visit Peshawar to the historical places of Peshawar as well as the tourist places of #KhyberPakhtunkhwa. CEO Tech Valley Pakistan, Umar Farooq also accompanied the Federal Minister during this trip and discussed the tourism landscape of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and how these sites can be promoted in order to spur tours towards them. Federal Minister Asad Umar said that religious tourism could be promoted by attracting religious leaders to museums, Takht Bai, and other places. The history of this region is old and Peshawar has been a part of different religions. Tech Valley Pakistan was honored to organize this tour to the invaluable history of Peshwar for Mr. Asad Umar and look forward to playing its part in the promotion of these historical sites.

Digital Youth Summit, while conducting the panel for Digital Tourism, Tech Valley Pakistan CEO Umar Farooq More than 65 billion rupees of business activities were generated by the tourists in the northern areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone from May to July 2021. More than 65 billion rupees of business activities were generated by the tourists in the northern areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone from May to July 2021. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) stated that tourism may help to rebuild the world economy following the coronavirus. Pakistan is no exception, with measures being taken and initiatives that have been stalled getting restarted. That being said, the availability of the internet in tourism sites especially those located in the northern areas is still an issue. Tourists now being dependent on the internet, deem this service as a commodity while traveling. At Digital Youth Summit, while conducting the panel for Digital Tourism, Tech Valley Pakistan CEO Umar Farooq presented a “Three-Point” recommendation to the government in order to promote the tourism industry of #KhyberPakhtunkhwa. 1. Provide free internet access in different tourism sites as tourists need the facility to easily navigate through these regions and access tourism-related services via mobile phone easily. This will also help digital tourism businesses and platforms by having a medium to reach these tourists with their offerings. 2. Tourism startup accelerator programs should be initiated in northern areas to help revamp the tourism startups & businesses and upgrade their services as per the international tourism standards. 3. To encourage the establishment of tourism businesses, the government should provide incentives as well as diverse options for investments to startups so that they can upscale and expand their businesses while adding value to it. Although COVID-19 slowed down the tourism business, it is high time to revive the industry by addressing the shortcomings with the help of both the private and public sectors.  

Re-imagining the National Assembly of Pakistan with Google Workspace’s Advanced Productivity and Collaboration Tools Pakistan’s sovereign legislative body, National Assembly, has adopted Google Workspace to digitize work processes and enhance productivity and collaboration between its members…… Pakistan’s sovereign legislative body, National Assembly, has adopted Google Workspace to digitize work processes and enhance productivity and collaboration between its members. Per the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital Pakistan, the National Assembly of Pakistan opened up a unique public tender last year, calling for technology companies to bid for an “Office Communication and Productivity Suite of Applications for the National Assembly of Pakistan.” While many technology firms competed for the tender, Tech Valley, a local partner for Google Cloud in Pakistan, won the public tender with Google Workspace’s easy-to-use, secure and innovative digital productivity and collaboration tools. Through this project, Tech Valley has implemented Google Workspace at the National Assembly, allowing its members to utilize a suite of digital applications to improve their internal communication and productivity. Speaker National Assembly, Asad Qaiser appreciated the efforts of the team and said: “With the latest technology and tools being enabled in the National Assembly of Pakistan in the past few months, Google Workspace has been a tremendous addition that will assist members to be more efficient.” After the successful deployment of Google Workspace, a “Google Day” was observed at the National Assembly to mark this important milestone of digitizing the National Assembly’s back-end processes. During the event, a live demonstration was provided to all members to educate them on how to best leverage these tools to make their day-to-day operations more efficient.  CEO Tech Valley, Umar Farooq added: “Multiple national and international teams have made sure that the productivity tools used by the National Assembly of Pakistan are completely secure and encrypted.” Google Workspace provides an innovative, flexible and secure cloud-native solution for people and organizations to achieve more. Its suite of tools allows users to collaborate from anywhere, anytime. The solution provided a custom email for Pakistan’s National Assembly and includes applications like Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and more. Tim Paolini, Sales Lead, APAC, Google, was present on the ground during this occasion while Farhan S. Qureshi, Head of South Asia Markets, Google, said: “More than three billion people worldwide use Google Workspace to learn, work and stay connected to those that matter to them. Where there’s been a fundamental shift in where and how we work, we’re proud to be supporting the National Assembly of Pakistan and empowering its members with the innovative and enterprise-grade tools they need to connect, create, and collaborate flexibly and securely on any device – whether they are returning to the office, working from home, or serving citizens on the frontlines.” With Google Workspace, local teams are expecting more efficient and effective communications. Moreover, with the elimination of unnecessary tasks, such as rotating files from one office to another or storing and retrieving critical documents from a physical location just to get feedback from teams, these digital tools are transforming the Assembly’s traditional and time-consuming practices.

KPITB and KfW implementing a feasibility study for digital governance in Khyber PakKPITB and KfW implementing a feasibility study for digital governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwahtunkhwa Pakistan’s sovereign legislative body, National Assembly, has adopted Google Workspace to digitize work processes and enhance productivity and collaboration between its members…… Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board, Peshawar: To explore opportunities to promote the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s efforts and to encourage wide access to improved digital public services for the public, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board and KfW – a german development bank – are implementing a feasibility study for a digital governance project in KP. This study is being conducted by international and national implementing partners, namely GFA Consulting Group from Germany, e-Governance Academy Foundation from Estonia, and TechValley from Pakistan.  The feasibility study aims to present a case for a potential follow-up project to be financed by KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Development (BMZ). The study will look at a number of relevant areas for the potential financing project including digital infrastructure, hardware, and software for digital services as well as employment creation in the IT sector. For this purpose, the delegation from Germany came to Pakistan this week and along with international and national E-Governance & ICT experts met various stakeholders contributing to the digital infrastructure of Pakistan. On their first day in the federal capital of Pakistan, the delegation visited the Ministry of IT & Telecom and had an interesting discussion on the ICT landscape of Pakistan with Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput,  Federal Secretary, MOITT.  As a consulting and technical guidance agency to the government departments of Pakistan – National IT Board was engaged to discuss the operational challenges of government departments at the federal level and explore possibilities for interoperability and collaboration with the provincial level IT Boards. Regarding the role of NITB, CEO Syed Husnain Kazmi said, To discuss the role of telecom regulatory and current penetration of broadband / 4G in the country, the delegation also visited Maj Gen (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa – Chairman PTA and later on with CEO USF Mr. Haris M Chahudhary to discuss the organization’s projects in expanding penetration of connectivity in Pakistan. Eager to learn more about data centers, infrastructure, and cloud services in Pakistan, the delegation also met CEO National Telecom Corporation Pakistan, Mr. Miraj Gul. The delegation also visited NADRA to discuss their current projects related to citizen’s facilitation and service delivery The next days were spent in Peshwar along with international and national E-Governance & ICT experts to conduct focus group discussions of the various important stakeholders of digital governance landscape of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Dr. Ali Mehmud, MD KPITB appreciated the efforts of the team and assisted the study for a better and digitized citizen delivery service in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Digital Government Summit – Innovative Technologies Transforming the Public Sector of Pakistan in collaboration with Google Cloud The digitization of government started long before the pandemic, but Covid-19 has accelerated the transformation to an unprecedented speed…… The digitization of government started long before the pandemic, but Covid-19 has accelerated the transformation to an unprecedented speed. The goal is to provide services in a more productive, open, and cost-effective way. Digitization in silos at the ministerial and departmental level has been in practice for years but now it’s a time to explore the “whole of government” powered by emerging technologies for collective and collaborative transformation across the board.   H.E. Dr Arif Alvi, The President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan welcomed Tech Valley and Google Cloud for taking such initiative and bridging the technology gap in the government sector. He stressed that adapting innovative technologies will help the government to run more efficiently and improve citizen-centric service delivery across all the institutions. Paul Wilson, Managing Director for Public Sector, Google Cloud in Asia Pacific shared the company’s industry expertise and his experience working with public sector agencies around the world to digitally transform for success.   Federal Ministry of IT & Telecom, Mr. Amin ul Haq also congratulated Tech Valley  and Google  on expanding the Google CS First training program to cities in all four provinces over the past two years. He mentioned that tele-density has reached over 85% and continues to expand. It’s time to focus on the application layer and build a strong foundation for data-driven government. Federal Minister for Education & Technical Training, Mr. Shafqat Mehmood thanked Tech Valley and Google  for leading the remarkable initiative of transforming schools under ICT to explore teaching resources through Google for Education to inspire creativity, encourage hands-on learning, and equip students with digital skills. He mentioned that the Prime Minister’s vision of Single Curriculum is currently in execution phase and now it’s a time to have a unified robust technology platform to reshape the future of education in Pakistan.    Lastly, Federal Minister of Railways, Mr. Azam Khan Swati emphasized the need to adopt emerging technologies to run transparently and efficiently. He stated that digitalization is one of the top priorities for the railways and its future and asked technology providers to come forward, join hands and guide the public sector in adopting emerging technologies like cloud, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, blockchain, GIS, real-time monitoring of rolling stock and infrastructure, improving accuracy of passenger information, predictive maintenance planning, and most importantly, seamless journeys integrating with other modes of transport.   Mr. Umar Farooq, co-founder and CEO of Tech Valley said “The presence of all the stakeholders and senior leadership from Google Cloud at today’s summit clearly reflects the commitment and assurance that we all believe in Prime Minister’s vision of Digital Pakistan. Our team is extremely excited to work with the government organizations in this amazing journey of collective transformation”  

Tech Valley Pakistan, NUST PDC & Google join hands to introduce Google Cloud capacity building programs in Pakistan Being a Local Country Partner of Google Cloud, Google Workspace & Google for Education in Pakistan, Tech Valley always looks forward to building meaningful partnerships to help different sectors of the country in implementing the best practices and adopt latest technologies in their organizations…. Being a Local Country Partner of Google Cloud, Google Workspace & Google for Education in Pakistan, Tech Valley always looks forward to building meaningful partnerships to help different sectors of the country in implementing the best practices and adopt latest technologies in their organizations.  Before the official launch of Google Cloud Platform in Pakistan with the support of the Ministry of IT & Telecom, Tech Valley anticipated the need to engage academia and decided to empower youth by providing them with opportunities to learn cloud technology.  Umar Farooq, CEO Tech Valley Pakistan, said, “There is a dire need to incorporate advanced technologies and a growing demand for cloud platforms and infrastructures. Our generation and professionals require extensive training and development programs to polish their skills in order to revolutionize the IT ecosystem in Pakistan.” For this purpose, a Memorandum of Understanding with Professional Development Center of one of the top universities of Pakistan – National University of Sciences & Technology – has been signed under which Tech Valley’s Google Certified team will provide professional development trainings to faculty of the university, help them migrate their systems to cloud and integrate student labs with different Google APIs so they can explore cloud platform and related technologies with an aim to learn and further grow in the field of cloud computing.  Honorable Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Pakistan – Senator Shibli Faraz was invited as a Chief Guest at this memorable MOU Signing Ceremony. He said, “This partnership encompasses the 5th industrial revolution. This will be one of the many upcoming steps towards emerging and digital Pakistan. Academia, Private Sector & Government needs to join forces in future as well to emerge as a developed and progressive country.” The wide-ranging project includes building innovative technology infrastructure inside NUST, to provide Google Cloud services & training to the university and the students. It also entails the opening of an important center dedicated to artificial intelligence, training and professional support for startups through initiatives to be defined jointly by Tech Valley, NUST and Google Cloud. The MoU carried out today will contribute towards the digital economy, creating employment opportunities for our youth in the emerging areas, leap-frog the technology curve and establish cutting-edge technology ecosystems. Lieutenant General Javed Mahmood Bukhari (Retired), Rector NUST, appreciated the efforts of Tech Valley Pakistan and the team for connecting NUST with Google in such a short span of time. Dr. Rizwan Riaz SI (M), Pro-Rector NIC, NUST added that these training will help in adding value for the  professional & youth along with modernizing & enhancing security of the existing applications & infrastructure.  About Tech Valley Pakistan: Tech Valley Pakistan is a digitally enhanced social enterprise that was founded in 2015 with the mission to inculcate the culture of technology and entrepreneurship along with prioritizing Digitization and E-governance to pave a path for sustainable growth. To further support the vision of Digital Pakistan, Tech Valley has partnered with Google for Education, Google Cloud and Google Workspace.

KPITB, Durshal and Tech Valley Pakistan congratulates its startup Chkar for receiving funding of PKR 50 Million from MFSYS Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board (KPITB) in a public-private partnership with Tech Valley Pakistan and under the umbrella of  Durshal Abbottabad incubated a rental online marketplace startup “Chkar Lodging & Experiences” in the year 2019…. Islamabad, 15 January 2021:  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board (KPITB) in a public-private partnership with Tech Valley Pakistan and under the umbrella of  Durshal Abbottabad incubated a rental online marketplace startup “Chkar Lodging & Experiences” in the year 2019. After the extensive mentorship and support from the incubators, Chkar is now a growing startup that today managed to raise a funding of PKR 50 million in its first round of seed funding from a Global technology house MFSYS. The agreement was signed between the two companies at an event held today at the MFSYS HQ.  Dr Sahibzada Ali Mehmud, Managing Director of KPITB, applauded the startup’s achievement and said, “_______________” Chkar Lodging & Experiences’ is a local version of Air BnB and its mission is to create a huge community in Pakistan where people can live through healthy travel, share culture and live like local. Chkar L&E uniquely connects people through technology and offline to economically empower hundreds of people in Gilgit Baltistan and Kyber Pakhtunkwa of Pakistan to unlock and monetize their spaces, passions and talents and become hospitality entrepreneurs. While discussing the future plans for Chkar, Izzat Rohi – CEO Chkar Lodging & Experiences said, “Chkar will evolve the tourism industry of Pakistan. People will want options that are closer to home, safer, and more affordable. This opportunity will boost the economy of Pakistan creating connections between people. That will help in making Pakistan a pluralistic  society.” Expressing his views Mr Ali Ahmed – CEO MFSYS said that Chkar.com has huge potential to grow at an accelerated pace in Pakistan, Central Asia, and beyond as it is well-positioned to offer quality services that help make sharing easy, enjoyable, and safe. MFSYS as an equity holder would provide state-of-art technology solutions to Chkar.com to better serve its customers and expand its offerings globally. Just a year ago Chkar Lodging & Experiences got incubated in Durshal Abbottabad at Tech Valley Pakistan where they obtained necessary support and guidance to nurture their idea and found different networking opportunities. Under the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Durshal Incubation Centres were established at different locations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to support and encourage the trend of entrepreneurship in youth.  Program Manager Durshal Abbottabad, Najam us Sahar said, “Chakar team is really passionate to grow their business that’s why they have achieved this. Their efforts and passion have helped them mark this. Being the program manager of Durshal Abbottabad, I take pride in them for their success”.  CEO Tech Valley Pakistan, Umar Farooq, while appreciating the startup’s achievement said, “It gives me immense pride that we have helped a female-led startup from Hunza GB  achieve this milestone within its a year of operations. This will set an example for all aspiring female entrepreneurs that nothing is impossible for the women of our region!”