The National Incubation Center (NIC) is a first of its kind technology hub, launched under the public – private partnership of Ministry of IT & Telecom, National ICT R&D Fund, Jazz & Teamup.

I visited the center based in Islamabad but since then there have been other NICs that have opened in Lahore and Peshawar. The government’s plan is to have a NIC hub in all the main cities across Pakistan to foster tech innovation and entrepreneurship everywhere.

NIC offer a free workspace, mentorship, networking and a startup curriculum to help startups raise funding and grow.

One of the startups based there was called “Rise Mom” http://risemom.com/ which took a problem that working women face.

In Pakistan often women join the workforce but end up leaving once they have children. If they do end up placing the child in daycare there is massive anxiety because the child is left in someone else’s care. The Rise Mom application is a way to help support women into the world of work.

Rise Mom aims to enable working mothers to stay connected with their children, monitor their meal and nap times, and keep updated with their children’s wellbeing at the day care center through regular status updates, pictures and live video feature so mother’s have satisfaction that their kid is properly taken care of and ultimately they can focus on work as they have peace of mind.

What this shows is that often women are the best of entrepreneurs as they understand their needs and if you create a supportive environment it enables them to take those ideas and turn it into a reality.