Got a plan and a product? Pakistan’s Plan X accelerator takes startups to the next level

Tanzila Imran is the co-founder of Startup92, a startup aiming to amplify the startup ecosystem of Pakistan. There’s also a free newsletter.

Plan X is arguably the largest startup accelerator in Pakistan. It was born out of Plan 9, which is the top startup incubator in the country. Plan X launched in early 2014. It has taken in a number of startups, most of which graduated from Plan 9 and have already gained momentum and attracted funding.

Hafsa Shorish is the Plan X program manager. She is not new to the startup world, having previously headed Plan 9’s marketing and PR. “For me it’s the natural step forward. I loved every bit of my stay at Plan 9 and even now I sometimes get that nostalgic feeling every time a new batch of startups comes in. The role here at Plan X is different and challenging in a different way,” Shorish tells Tech in Asia.

But how are the two entities different for the startups in Pakistan’s fledgling startup ecosystem? “The fundamental difference between Plan 9 and Plan X is that the first one is an incubation program where we take idea-level startups and help them build a viable product and business out of it,” Shorish explains. She adds:

Hafsa Shorish from Plan X

Plan X is an accelerator, and startups here already have a product and some customers too. We help them accelerate on that to gain more customers. The push at Plan X is expansion and funding, if it is required, rather than building a solid product. If you don’t have a product and some customers already, Plan X won’t do any good to you. […] Apart from that there is no other criteria. If you can prove those two things we are most likely to let you in.

Plan X – backed by the Punjab IT Board, and headed by Dr. Umar Saif – is different from many other accelerators in that it doesn’t take any equity. During the program, each individual startup is allocated one dedicated startup industry mentor and one business analyst to help them do ground work and give practical advice.

Recently, the Plan X team started collaborating with big companies like Nestle in order to find areas where startups can work with such massive corporations in terms of doing business, offering perks, offering mentorship, or even investing.

These are the startups in the current Plan X batch:

Bookme.pk

Bookme.pk is well known to Tech in Asia readers as the startup that’s looking to be Pakistan’s go-to site for booking cinema, travel and event tickets. Currently it’s operational in three major cities: Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

X-Gear

The idea behind X-Gear is that drivers want to know their vehicles better. X-Gear is a little gizmo and an app that, once installed, will give a car’s river useful information about the vehicle to make informed decisions about its maintenance and the way it’s being driven.

The startup is also targeting the fleet industry, which can use the product to better manage their vehicles.

X-Gear was recently selected to participate at TNW’s startup boost event in Europe. While the team didn’t win, it was a chance to gain some traction and attract influencers in the industry.

Travly

Travly is looking to make public transport easy for the citizens of Lahore, Pakistan. The smartphone and web app allows users to plan their commuting better by tracking buses and routes. The app also allows people to calculate trip expenses

The team is planning to roll out an SMS-based subscription service for people who don’t have a smartphone.

Travly managed to win the Challenge X contest in the mobility category, an event arranged by Pakistani startup incubator Invest2Innovate. The startup will now compete at the regional level in Bangalore, India. The final showdown will be in Washington DC in May for a chance to win US$1.5 million in prize money.

Baby Planet

Baby Planet is an online shopping portal that makes shopping easy for new parents. The startup is specifically looking at rural areas as high potential markets where quality baby products are out of reach. The estore offers discounts on products and offers free home delivery with a cash-on-delivery paymentoption.

Baby Planet has already signed well-known brands to its marketplace, such as Little Tikes, Zubaida’s Mother Shop, and RollOver.

Vivid Technologies

Vivid Technologies was part of Plan 9’s third incubation cycle. They made headlines by vowing to get rid of customer service calls and replace them with an app. After graduating from Plan 9, the team also took part in LCE’s first incubation cycle before joining Plan X.

They had quite a journey and were offered investments at numerous stages. They have reached term sheet stage many times but declined offers because they saw the terms as unfavorable. Recently Appography managed to get seed funding from Telefonica. The Vivid team is now looking to build the next generation voice platform for smartphones.

Centsol

Centsol is the most recent addition to Plan X. The startup is working on IT services and software and web development for businesses. Its first product is Verify for You, an anti-counterfeiting solution for manufacturing companies.

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Got a plan and a product? Pakistan’s Plan X accelerator takes startups to the next level