Press Release Canada – Pakistan ICT Forum 2018
The 2nd Canada-Pakistan ICT Forum was held in Canada at the DMZ Center and Sony Performance Center, Toronto and IBM Innovation Lab at Markham from 24th – 28th September 2018.
Canada-Pakistan ICT Forum is an annual event that aims to attract Canadian and Pakistani business communities to network and create synergy amongst each other. The conference provides opportunities for like-minded local and international experts to connect and interact. This year the event attracted great participation with a delegation of 10 Pakistani companies from multidisciplinary backgrounds offering services in SAP, BPO, Blockchain, IOT, E-commerce, VoIP, ERP, Point of Sale, Mobile applications and many others.
The Pakistani delegation was headed by Zohaib Khan, Senior Vice Chairman P@SHA and CEO A2Z Creatorz. The delegation comprised of the following companies:
- Excellence Delivered
- Genetech Solutions
- A2Z Creatorz
- Abtach
- Digital Softs
- Coeus Solutions
- Systems Junction
- Airband
- Interactive Cells
- VOIPterminator
The four day event was jointly organized by Pegasus Consultancy Canada with Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), PSEB, TDAP and SIL as Supporting Partners.
Seven keynote speakers were invited to the event.
- Dean Hopkins – Chief Growth Officer of OneEleven
- Edwin Frondozo – Customer-first product marketing engineer
- Melloney Campbell – Certified Project Management Professional, Strategic OmniChannel Marketing Executive
- Jodi Kovitz – CEO and Founder #MovetheDial, a global movement
- Rizwan Tufail – Head of Leadership Programs, Mozilla Foundation
- Aijaz Qureshi – IT Professional with over 35 years of experience in Fortune 500 blue-chip International companies.
- Ria Lupton – Head Of Marketing , Growth Genius
The Schedule for the Canada-Pakistan ICT Forum went as follows:
DAY-1: September 24
ICT Pre-Networking Forum
The Pakistani delegation was warmly welcomed by Guest of Honor – Mr. Wajid Hassan Hashmi, Deputy Consul General of Pakistan in Toronto and Mr. Kaleed Rasheed, Member Provincial Parliament. The MPP assured his maximum support and cooperation for promoting business ties between Canada and Pakistan.
DAY-2: September 25
Elevate Canada Techfest
The delegates participated in Elevate Canada Techfest, Canada’s largest technology and innovation festival featuring inspiring speakers, content tracks, and networking events. The participation resulted in a day of interactions and business networking with many IT professionals from Canada and across the globe.
DAY-3: September 26
Elevate Educate
More than 10 dedicated Elevate Educate content tracks were hosted. Each track featured a full day of curated programming. The Delegates selected the tracks of their choice and participated to gain the knowledge and avail the networking opportunities.
ICT Delegation also visited ORION, a not-for-profit, self-sustaining organization dedicated to empowering Ontario researchers, educators and innovators through digital infrastructure. Mr. Farooq Naiyer, Chief Information Security Officer welcomed the delegation and assured their support by providing insights on doing business in the Canadian market and capacity building
DAY-4: September 27
Elevate Talent at MaRS Centre
The delegates attended the networking event at the IBM innovation lab which have been pivotal in the growth of tech-startups in the city of Markham. The delegate were briefed about the tech companies and startups in the lab as well as opportunities in Markham and business practices in the GTA area. Mayor of the Markham, Frank Scarpitti graced the occasion by his presence and highlighted the pace and importance of tech development for the city.
Zohaib Khan, Delegate Head and Senior Vice Chairman said, “The Pakistani Delegation at the Canada-Pakistan Forum 2018 is really looking forward to strengthening its ties with the Canadian IT sector. The reception of Pakistani delegates in Canada has been more welcoming than ever and we can surely see the interest building up for collaborations in the near future.”
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About P@SHA
The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA) is Pakistan’s sole trade association representing the IT and IT Enabled Services sector since 1992. Its mandate is to work with the government on policy issues and with all other stakeholders to promote the IT sector and provide platforms that create more opportunities for members of the ecosystem, both domestically and internationally.