Challenge Next: Leading Pakistan’s 🇵🇰 Premier Aerospace Incubation Center
“What’s the Guidance System of the Tomahawk Cruise Missile?”
Prof Dr. Zafar Koreshi, Dean of Engineering, tasked us with this first assignment during the very first lecture of Electronics Engineering — back in 2002 at Air University. This single Question — has shaped my professional career in last 2 decades — bringing me to lead National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT) — Pakistan’s 🇵🇰 Premier Aerospace & DeepTech Innovation Center.
This very Question gave me a passion for a lifetime — Guidance Systems & UAVs ✈ — And I decided to build one — a part of that was a childhood fascination with ✈— UAV ✈ Trajectory Simulator Final Year Project took me to places in search of Accelerometer & Gyro to build my INS — Internship at Trojans Pakistan first and then at Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) — helped me get a Single Axis Accelerometer — and I could not sleep that night 🙌
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
I founded my first Startup at TIC NUST in 2006 — named COSMOS — Air Cdre Mansoor Malik commented so you want to conquer the Universe, Imran — we built Ballistic Fire Control Computer (FCC) For Main Battle Tank (MBT) — Successfully field tested and Presented it to President Musharraf in 2007 — and in a strange turn of events — spun-off the venture & joined Govt Service — Welcome to Pakki Sarkari Naukari
The MBT exciting work made me fall in love with metal giants more than UAV ✈ — and after a short stint with Guidance Systems & UAVs ✈ — joined Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) to officially start my romance with metal giants.
Never in human history, would anybody have traded his passion for a Single Axis Accelerometer — but I did!
Then spent a decade in the service of Pakistan, building Embedded Systems of different sizes & form factors. Published & presented some of our works: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Imran-Jattala
After failing a part-time business in 2014 — realized my true calling is freedom. I hate Zero-Acceleration. I need to quit 9-to-5 and build something of my own — Hult Prize participation in 2014— then Hult MBA Scholarship provided that lucky break!
It takes a very special kind of crazy to not opt for a job post a Global MBA & strive to build something of our own — 3 straight startup failures — Hult Prize Pakistan scaling to 70+ Universities with sponsorship from JS Bank — MBA notes + practical entrepreneurial learnings — got monetized & we built Pakistan’s First Social & Creative Incubation Program — in partnership with British Council & Cranfield University, UK.
“Be clear about your goal but be flexible about the process of achieving it.”
— Brian Tracy
Earlier this year myself & AVM Asad Ikram pitched the Idea of National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT) to Ayub Ghauri, Executive Director, NetSol Technologies.
Fast forward we were sitting in front of the dynamic founder & CEO of NetSol — Salim Ghauri — cited as the ‘Bill Gates of Pakistan’. Salim Ghauri is one of the country’s leading IT entrepreneurs and the harbinger of development in Pakistan’s IT industry. I was more than inspired by his vision, focus & passion. NetSol signed Agreement to Launch Pakistan’s 1st Vertical Incubator in Aerospace Technologies, with Ignite in November 2022.
To succeed you must believe. To believe you must have passion. To have passion you must not be afraid of failures
— Salim Ghauri
The story of NETSOL is a fantastic home-grown success story that can be told and retold without making it lose its charm. NetSol is establishing Pakistan’s First Aerospace National Incubation Center in Rawalpindi. National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT) is funded by Ignite, Ministry of IT. NICAT will be established in a tripartite partnership between NetSol, Ignite and National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP), Rawalpindi. National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT) agreement was signed by Salim Ghauri, CEO NetSol, Asim Shehryar, CEO Ignite and Dr Liaquat Ullah Iqbal, CEO NASTP.
NetSol is leading a consortium of Innovators Garage (IG), Air University, and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra to build Pakistan’s premier Aerospace Center of Excellence in the form of NICAT. National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT) is an integral part of National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP), being developed as Pakistan’s first Aerospace Cluster and Smart City. NASTP is creating a world class environment for bolstering potential of excellence driven and innovative minds of Pakistan. Global Aerospace and defense industry market size is $697 billion, with commercial aerospace at $298 billion. Pakistan’s aerospace & defense market size is of $8.7 billion. According to Boeing, there is demand for more than 43,500 new airplanes through 2040 valued at $7.2 trillion.
Air Marshal Muhammad Mughees Afzal, HI(M), Chairman Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) envisions to transform Rawalpindi/Islamabad into a High-Tech Innovation Valley. Air Marshal Javaid Ahmed (R), HI(M), Vice Chancellor Air University envisions a thriving Aerospace & High-tech Startup eco-system at NICAT serving national & global markets.
Ayub Ghauri, Executive Director, NetSol is a seasoned business leader with over 25 years of experience in IT & Incubation Management — is leading the NICAT team, along with Imran Jattala, a Startup & Innovation Ecosystem Builder on a mission to make Pakistan a Top-50 Innovative Nation with $500 Billion Innovation Economy by 2030 🇵🇰, and AVM (R) Asad Ikram an accomplished Professional Engineer, Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society (UK), and Senior Member of IEEE, USA with a vast experience of over 30 years in aviation industry and academia.
Ignite’s existing seven NICs in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad, and Faisalabad have incubated more than 1150 startups so far which have created more than 117,000 direct and indirect jobs, raised funding of Rs. 15.4 billion, and generated revenue of Rs. 9.1 billion so far.
At NICAT — Pakistan’s 🇵🇰 Premier Aerospace & DeepTech Incubation Center — we are looking for Mentors, Advisors 🌍 and Startups 💡🚀. Join us at NICAT: Expression of Interest Form.
About the Author: Imran Jattala is Project Director, National Incubation Center for Aerospace Technologies (NICAT). He tweets at: ImJattala
