Google Seeds Fund To Drive Social Innovation Through IT in Pakistan
Google seems to have a special interest in Pakistan these days. After hosting a number of events for map makers in the country earlier this year, Google today announced that is providing a seed grant of $250,000 for the P@SHA Social Innovation fund. P@SHA, an IT trade organization in Pakistan, is looking for 25 entrepreneurs, social activists and non-profits who want “to use technology to meet social needs in education, culture, medicine, environmental or any other community problem.”
The organization’s advisory board mostly consists of Pakistani expats with IT experience in the U.S. and Europe. According to Google, the idea behind the fund is not just to create software, but to fund ideas that use software “as a platform for delivery and as a means for empowerment.”
The seed round will fund the 25 chosen projects (applicants have to be Pakistanis who are based in Pakistan) and ensure that those teams can rely on the advisory committee and other mentors to bring the project to reality. Google hopes that P@SHA can provide “a safe harbor for eager entrepreneurs to jump-start ideas without the fear of failure.”