Shaheer Ahmed
The year’s greatest expo Future Fest has been catching our attention since it was set to be held. Because of political conditions, it was rescheduled from March to May. With the heatwave in action in the capital, the tech expo still managed to pull the crowd. It has set a road to the future.
The future fest is the largest tech expo and conference that was held on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of May at the F-9 Park, Islamabad. The major partners were Binance, Jovi, Ejad labs, COLABS, Bank Islami, Bookme, KuCoin, Artec, Epic Games, etc. There were 4 main conferences: Startup Grind Conference, Ecommerce Conference, Developer Conference, and FreelanceFest by PAFLA, which had leaders from the tech, finance, and startups. There were over 250 speakers, over 100 exhibitors, and over 20 events.
Mian Javed Latif, Miftah Ismail, and Anusha Rehman spoke at the opening ceremony of the Future on 13th May 2022. CEOs, Founders, and Country Managers of different organizations like Nayatel, SWVL, KuCoin, Hackquarters, Tenup, Waystax, JS Bank, NADRA, Graana.com, etc addressed and shared their experience and knowledge with the youth. Over 50,000 people attended the fest, which is a huge success. The second day was focused on e-commerce and its future. There were panel discussions regarding PR and CSR in e-commerce, educational reforms, facilitating e-commerce startups, and business possibilities for e-commerce. The third day focused on tech. There were discussions on Blockchain Marketing, the future of Open Source 2022, the future of Agritech, and designing for developing countries.
There were stalls where people visited and networked. Despite the heatwave, the people came to support it, and it is worth mentioning. There were musicians which had names like Aima Baig, Bayaan, Asim Azhar, Hasan Raheem, Somewhat Super, Khumariyan, and Abdullah Qureshi. The crowd enjoyed their favorite artists on the stage.
President Dr. Arif Alvi honored the expo with his presence on Saturday. He urged the youth to focus on tech and IT. this could be a place to showcase the talent and show the world how much talent our youth has. He said, “Technology has revolutionized all sectors, and it has the ability to bring exponential change. If IT is linked to the passion of the youth, I have no doubt that you’ll see Pakistan in the list of developed nations in your lifetime.”
The youth should be trained in the tech fields and also focus on AI to promote growth. Specific degrees should be prepared for the tech so that they can be facilitated. Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) has done a wonderful job along with public, private, and tech communities in broadening the digital transformation. He urged the business community to invest in STZs.
Pakistan already is having a tech revolution, and the untapped talent can be explored. In 2021, $375 million was raised by the startups which shows the serious attitude of our youth. Government has launched the ‘Digiskills Training’ programme, which has trained 2.2 million youth free of cost in digital skills required to transform youth into successful freelancers and entrepreneurs. Pakistan is also ranked the fourth-largest freelancer market globally.
Muhammad Salman Anjum is the founder and chief executive officer at InvoiceMate. His company had introduced blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies for invoice management. He said, “there is still the need to impart professional skills to youth to get maximum of them. E-commerce and digital economies are multibillion dollars industry, but Pakistani youth can tap them only if they’re equipped with the relevant skills.”
Farrukh Kianai, country marketing manager KuCoin said, “This is the age of technology and around 6 million Pakistanis are already dealing in crypto and other digital currencies. Such conferences help create awareness in the general public about emerging technologies and address their concerns.”
Women in tech#FutureFest2022 pic.twitter.com/rrKJmRC74W
— Mian Mansoor Ahmad (@mansoords) May 13, 2022
Freelancers in one frame at Future Fest 2022. #freelencer #futurefest2022 pic.twitter.com/TbAK1sQyCS
— Future Fest (@FutureFestPK) May 14, 2022
In line with our commitment to enable a #knowledge ecosystem and tech-driven future, #STZA's leadership engaged at various discussions in #FutureFest2022 to highlight the #innovative and disruptive mindset required to transform Pakistan's economic outlook. pic.twitter.com/DQbgxCFNUy
— Special Technology Zones Authority – Pakistan (@STZAOfficial) May 17, 2022
In line with our commitment to enable a #knowledge ecosystem and tech-driven future, #STZA's leadership engaged at various discussions in #FutureFest2022 to highlight the #innovative and disruptive mindset required to transform Pakistan's economic outlook. pic.twitter.com/DQbgxCFNUy
— Special Technology Zones Authority – Pakistan (@STZAOfficial) May 17, 2022
It has been a huge success as it was a knowledge-packed expo for the students, startups, and the leading business organizations. We hope to see more expos and conferences in the days to come.
