A Business Incubator for Startups
A Microcosm for New Venture Creation

The objective of the centre is to imbue in students a sense of enterprise coupled with entrepreneurial skills. We are committed to producing graduates who have the confidence and the ability to set up and run their own business enterprise rather than spend their careers working for others. We want our graduates to be involved in the creation of wealth and the generation of economic activity of their own rather than becoming a clog in the wheels of foreign enterprises.

Philosophy

Most business schools in Pakistan are geared towards developing managers and not entrepreneurs. The key difference between an entrepreneur and a manager is the ability of the entrepreneur to take the risk (investing his/her time, effort, and money) and not only to conceive an idea but also to implement the idea into a commercial/social venture with the objective of earning economic/social profits from it.

It is the ability to convert a business idea into a commercial venture that is at the heart entrepreneurship. Experience shows that it is a spirit that is seldom acquired through teaching but can only be acquired by ‘doing the thing’. Traditional courses like Entrepreneurship and Small Business Finance only teach the nuts and bolts of conceiving and implementing a business idea. They do not generate the entrepreneurial spirit that is necessary for a business graduate to take the risk of starting a new business venture and sacrifice the opportunity cost of gaining a secure salary stream from a job.

We have come to the conclusion that the only way of generating entrepreneurial spirit among the business graduates is to incorporate the experience of starting a new business venture as a part of their business curriculum. It is precisely the deficiency of hands on “experience” in the curriculum of our Business Schools and lack of role models that is at the heart of the failure of the Pakistani Business Schools to produce entrepreneurs.

Another major reason why business graduates end up working on fixed salary as a manager rather than taking the risk of starting their own venture is the fact that starting a new business venture is a team effort. To start a new venture it is imperative that a team of like minded people having the entrepreneurial spirit and the same zeal and commitment towards their project is created – a team that is ready to undertake the effort and to make the economic sacrifice (opportunity cost of money, time and effort) necessary to achieve their dreams. It is therefore imperative that a team of like minded people takes its shape during the period of their education. It is during this period that a spirit of camaraderie between the students is developed. It is this spirit that needs to be harnessed before they graduate for imparting the entrepreneurial experience.

Details of Entrepreneurship Projects initiated by BBA Students at KIET in Fall 2010 Semester. 

S.No.	Name of Group Members	Name of the Business	Brief Description of Products or Services	Total Investment in Rupees	Monthly Profit Nov 2010 in Rupees	Current Monthly Revenue in Rupees	Expected monthly profit after 6 months
1	Habib Hussain, Sheetal Munreja, Zain Iqbal, Ayman hina	Stylish Embroidery Dresses	A Shop for Embroidery dresses for ladies (View Picture)	22,000	1,500	3,600	10,000
2	Adnan Nazim, Muhammad Qasim	Adnan Traders	Supply all kind of general items such as stationery items, office furniture, crockery, hardware tools, electric items and fast moving consumer goods.	275,000	17,000	234,000	96,000
3	Shaikh Taha Ahmad, Syed Hammad Hussain , Muhammad Asad Ali, Taha Jan Sarhandi	Mobile Shop	Mobile Accessories and repair Shop with an employment to a disables person.  (View Picture)	30,000		23,00	15,000
4	Shamaila Matloob, Mukhtiar Ahmed, Aisha Iqbal	Fox Computers	Computer & Mobile repairing services. (View Picture)	35,000	11,480	21,200	35,000
5	Arsalan Hfeez, Zaeem Mustafa, Hina Saghir, Mehreen Javed	Friends Marketing	Marketing of paints and handicrafts to the retailers in karachi.	10,000	1,000	21,000	-
6	Hasnain Amir Ali, Haider Ali Shah, Rahim Ameer Ali, Rida-ul-Bari, Arooba	Insaaf documentation and Printing	All type of Typing, Printing and Designing,Windows, Software Installation and Computer Repairing.(View Picture)	11,000	2,230	4,500	6,000
7	ALI MAHMOOD ALAM. MUHAMMAD JAFFER MANEKIA, ZEESHAN AHMED, SYED NAZISH ALI	Jazee Enterprize	Premium quality office paper for all office printing and copying machines. Available in a variety of sizes and gram for today’s modern print & copy equipments. (View Picture)	20,000	1,105	17,250	2,500
8	M. Ayaz Hakeem, Omar Baig, Adil Manzoor	Makran Dates	Distribution & Sales of Dates from interior Baluchistan (View Picture)	17,000	-	10,000	20,000
9	Sadeyah sahar, Hina atta, Bukhtawer laghari, shakila	Shez Collection	Readymade party wear dresses and unstiched embroided dresses. (View Picture)	35,000	3,100	8,100	22,500
10	wajahat, farooq, mujawar, ali	Tasty French Fryes	Flavoured Potato Chips (View Picture)	16,000	1,800	9,000	5,000
11	Syed Owais Rizvi, Shayan kazmi, Jawwad	Tuition and Tutor Provider (TTP)	Providing tutor and tuition service on some terms and conditons. (View Picture)	2,400	1,000	3,500	10,000
12	Zia	RGB	Men's Garments (View Picture)	30000	10000	30000	40,000
13	Fatima, QuratulAain	Your Host Potato Fries	Flavoured Potato Chips (View Picture)	13,000	15,000	25,000	60,000
14	Naima and Sadia	Handicrafts	Manufacturing and sales of Handicrafts (View Picture)	10,000	7,000	18,000	50,000

 

Entrepreneurship Integrated Curriculum

Our business program has now the distinction of taking the lead in incorporating the “entrepreneurship experience” as an integral part of the curriculum. Students joining the BBA and MBA programs automatically become a part of a process that provides the “entrepreneurship experience” through a business startup in groups of up to five students. Each group of students is assigned a project to setup an enterprise during their stay at the institute. The project is linked to strategically designed courses in successive semesters motivates the students and help them in conceiving the idea, planning, financing, marketing and managing the growing enterprise. By the end of the degree program the student has the satisfaction of being the creator of an enterprise and running it.

First course in the series is “Entrepreneurs of Pakistan” that is designed to provide exposure to the practice of entrepreneurship through Pakistani role models. “Entrepreneurship” is the second course that would provide the foundations for the study of entrepreneurship and ingredients for developing a business plan for a new business venture and its critical success and failure factors. The plan will have to be of a micro-level business which is executable given the resource constraints of the student groups. The Entrepreneurship Project 1 and Entrepreneurship Project 2 will actually involve the implementation of the business plan developed earlier. Students may like to further develop their business in the final year project. It is quite possible that quite a few of these businesses may fail, but there will also be some that will prosper and blossom into successful enterprises. But the significance of our idea is the generation of the experience of converting an idea into a commercial venture and its operation; it is an experience that cannot be replicated through the medium of teaching.

Consultation and Advisory Services

Center for Entrepreneurship is an advisory body as well as a business incubation centre involved in advising as well as nurturing the students groups for the duration of their business startup projects.

The Center is responsible for ensuring the success of the “entrepreneurship experience” that is now an integral part of the BBA and the MBA curriculum. The center develops the courses and provides resources for initiating and monitoring the progress of the enterprises started by various groups of students. It is responsible for providing guidance and counseling for such groups at various stages of their projects.

Advisory services include generation and stimulation of new business ideas, business feasibility planning, inviting entrepreneurs for motivating the students and sharing of experiences, and development of entrepreneurship case studies.