Welcome to I-Thrive


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Inaugural Message

I am delighted to announce that ICAP has laid the foundation of I-Thrive, the first of its kind Incubation Centre. I-Thrive would identify, incubate and nurture members, affiliates and students with innovative ideas and entrepreneurial instincts: future-leaders who will design the future of accounting and finance disciplines through technology.

Our Mission

I-Thrive is to reignite the entrepreneurial spirit of the emerging talent in the country, and across the globe, while serving as the Center of Excellence for sustained economic development and contribution to the society at large.

About ICAP

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) was established under the Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961 as a self-regulatory body and it operates under the CA Bye-Laws 1983. ICAP is a professional body of Chartered Accountants in Pakistan and its members are employed in public practice, business and industry and the public and private sectors.

ICAP professionals are spread across the globe and are in high demand due to their professional competence, high work ethics and drive for professional excellence. Initially on the Institutes’ establishment, there were a handful of accountants, however, today the number exceeds eight thousand, and out of this, more than 70% are employed in industry.

The Institute is fully cognizant of the obligation it carries towards its members and committed to provide them with wide array of opportunities for continuous professional development necessary for development of their professional competence.

Core Values

Since the professional spirit of I-Thrive initiative stands the same as ICAP’s, therefore the Core Values of I-Thrive stand as exactly the same as those of the Institute’s:

Integrity and Independence

Integrity, independence and adherence to ethical standards are the hallmark of the Institute's culture. These values are promoted at all levels, be it the employees, the members, students, the Council and any other stakeholder.

Professional Excellence

At the Institute, we truly believe in the adage ‘Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well’. We aspire for professional excellence in all spheres of the Institutes activities, be it education & training, examinations, members' development, standards’ setting & adoption, quality control mechanism or the process of investigation.

Transparency

The Institute is open about all its activities, practices and policies as transparency is the key to good governance and is essential for building trust among the stakeholders and in enhancing the organization's effectiveness.

Innovation

ICAP recognizes that sustained development can only be ensured if we adapt with change including technological developments. ICAP always takes initiatives to respond to changing dynamics of the profession, keeping it relevant for sustainable growth.

Equity & Fairness

There is unanimity of view at the Institute that merit and merit alone would remain the criteria for decision making at all levels and spheres. In ICAP, every stakeholder’s views are heard and respected and there is zero tolerance for disrespect, harassment and injustice.

Team Culture

At the Institute, we believe in working together to create synergy and succeed. Close collaboration between all the stakeholders is an important part of ICAP’s culture.

Accountability

The Institute considers itself accountable and ensures ethical responsibility in its dealings with all its stakeholders. Furthermore, the Institute safeguards public interest.

About I-Thrive

ICAP’s THRIVE (I-Thrive) is an initiative of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP).

I-Thrive is ICAP’s flagship Entrepreneurial Support Platform (ESP) that will serve as a change agent for development of Pakistan’s mushrooming young talent, helping them unlock their true potential and contribute to the economic and social well-being of the country.

Initially housed at ICAP’s Karachi Office, this is the first of the I-Thrive platforms to be established across Pakistan. These ESPs aim to fuel entrepreneurial spirit while inculcating innovative bent-of-mind among the members, affiliates and students to help them follow their passion and turn their dreams into reality through developing self-reliant, sustainable and competitive success stories.

I-Thrive is specialty-driven at the start. It will induct, host, incubate, accelerate, and possibly provide or arrange funding support too, where required, to the tech-enabled startups from various disciplines of the specialty areas within the fields of finance, governance and transparency. These include, but not limited to, the following nine areas at the inception:

  • Accounting (Financial, Cost, Management)
  • Finance and Treasury
  • Taxation
  • Corporate Laws
  • Audit & Assurance
  • E-Governance
  • Risk & Compliance
  • Artificial Intelligence Based Idea
  • Tech-Innovative Idea

The platform offers a number of programs as well as vast number of opportunities that will empower talented minds and high-potential startups with top-notch business incubation, access to professional advisors and hand-holders, industry mentors, as well as an exclusive reach to domestic and global investors; along with the required technical support and resources to help develop high-growth and sustainable businesses within the mentioned areas.

Incubation Process Guidelines

  1. Before the candidate/team is inducted at I-Thrive, the startup candidates/teams will be asked to accept and sign the terms and conditions of I-Thrive Joining Agreement.

  2. Once signed and consented to, the winning I-Thrivers will be invited to an orientation at ICAP Head office Karachi.

  3. ICAP has created both virtual as well as physical ESPs. Teams will be able to use both, as per need and circumstances.

  4. I-Thrive will arrange mentoring and professional development activities to nurture the teams throughout their cohort period.

  5. I-Thrive may connect the incubated teams with the corporate, industrial, and investor networks.

  6. During the cohort period, the teams will be evaluated for their performance through pre-defined KPIs, and success in terms of turning their ideas into some level of viable businesses.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

  • Members of ICAP, Professional Accounting Affiliates and ICAP Students.
  • Any other individual can apply by engaging a Charted Accountant/ Firm /Accounting Affiliate as a Business Partner or a Coach.
Maximum team size is 3.

Application Submission

  1. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
  2. Summary of the I-Thrive Idea is mandatory.
  3. Electronic confirmation will be sent on successful submission of application along with the Unique Identification Number.
  4. The team should not be enrolled in any other Incubation center while enrolled at I-Thrive.

Important Dates

Opening of the Applications

Jan 9th 2023

Last Date of Submission*

 Feb 28th 2023

Pitch Your Idea

June 21st & 23rd,2023

Announcement Result of the
I-Thrivers

July 17th 2023

Welcome Lunch and Meetup

TBD

*Only shortlisted startups will be contacted for the next round.

Shortlisting Process

  1. All applications will be filtered to match the eligibility criteria.
  2. The shortlisted applicants would be invited to a Mega Selectathon to Pitch their Ideas in front of a panel of experts.
  3. The panel would select the top startups. The final set of I-Thrivers will be announced via ICAP’s official communication channels.

Why I-Thrive

I-Thrive provides quality business incubation (powered by ICAP) to unleash the growth potential in startups across the country and nurture their growth to excellence.

I-Thrive is where you build your startup business with the help of a purpose-built facility with professional hand-holding team, having the guidance from the best mentors from Pakistan and from ICAP’s vast network of professionals serving around the globe. Some of the key features of I-Thrive are:

  • I-Thrive’s top-quality incubation program provides blossoming entrepreneurs with the needed infrastructure, facilities and knowledge sessions.
  • I-Thrive works closely with the startups to monitor their progress, set milestones and connect them to industry specialists.
  • I-Thrive helps its incubated startups with the following:
    • Creative & Conducive Co-Working Space
    • Professional Mentorship, Coaching and Hand-holding
    • Design, Marketing, Finance and Legal Support
    • Access to Investors, Opportunities for Grants, Commercialization and Industry Linkages

I-Thrive Program

Introduction: I-Thrive is an ESP designed for early-stage tech-enabled specialty startups relating to finance, governance and transparency areas (complete list provided here). All founders operating in the tech space related to the mentioned disciplines are encouraged to apply. The preference would generally be given to startups that can demonstrate a passion about their idea with a workable business plan and implementation strategy, demonstration of a minimum viable product (MVP) or a working prototype with a revenue model.

I-Thrive invites program applications for a 12-month incubation cycle. Startups from the tech-enabled finance, governance and transparency genres are encouraged to apply. Once incubated, I-Thrive provides an enabling environment to the founders/co-founders to help them transform their ideas into viable businesses.

Incubation Program: The incubation cycle at I-Thrive runs as follows:

  • Induction Announcement: I-Thrive announces its cohort program annually, through all platforms of social, digital and print media. Promising entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply.
  • Evaluation & Interviews: Shortlisted candidates are invited to a Panel Pitch and Interview.
  • Result Announcement: I-Thrive announces the evaluation results shortly following the final pitch and interview via emails to the winning I-Thrivers.
  • Incubation of the Cohort: Winning I-Thrivers are facilitated with a state-of-the-art rent-free space to work, scale and convert their ideas into prospering businesses.
  • Periodic Assessment: Startups are periodically assessed with a final review at the end of their incubation cycle i.e. 12 months, vis-à-vis pre-defined KPIs. Those meeting and/or exceeding KPIs are graduated.
  • Graduated Community: Graduated startups become part of the “I-Thrivers Alumni” network to stay abreast of the developments with respect to the I-Thrivers Alumni community.

ICAP Incubation Committee

Muhammad Samiullah Siddiqui, FCA

Chairman Incubation Committee & Council Member ICAP

Abu Talib Haideri, FCA

Member Incubation Committee

Shakaib Arif, FCA

Member Incubation Committee

Rajlain Hassan Qazi, ACA

Member Incubation Committee

Murtaza Feroz,ACA

Member Incubation Committee

Faisal Iqbal Khawaja, FCA

Member Incubation Committee

Ibrahim Ahmed Zahidie, ACA

Member Incubation Committee

Muhammad Shoaib, ACA

Member Incubation Committee

Muhammad Faisal Khan, FCA

Member Incubation Committee

Khurram Schehzad

Member Incubation Committee

Zeeshan Ejaz , FCA

Member Incubation Committee

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Us

We would be happy to assist you. For any queries, please send us an email on ithrive@icap.org.pk  

If you need any further details about our program, please send an email to junaid.jawaid@icap.org.pk

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