By Asad Cheema
ISLAMABAD: President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Sardar Tahir Mehmood, has called for a fundamental transformation in Pakistan’s entrepreneurial mindset, urging youth and the business community to move beyond conventional business models and prepare for the emerging “Fifth Age”, where Artificial Intelligence, biotechnology, genetic engineering, healthcare, information technology, robotics and advanced manufacturing are converging to create unprecedented economic opportunities.
Addressing a motivational session titled “How to become a real entrepreneur-Build, Grow & Lead,” Sardar Tahir said the world was entering an unprecedented era in which technologies were no longer developing in isolation but were converging to transform industries, businesses and human lives.
He stressed that Pakistan must shift from producing predominantly job seekers to job creators, making entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership, wealth creation and problem-solving central to its economic development strategy. “We should not raise a generation that asks where it can find a job; we must raise a generation that asks how many jobs it can create,” he emphasized.
The ICCI President said Pakistan should stop viewing itself only through the lens of its challenges and instead recognize its enormous untapped potential, including its young population, expanding cities, growing consumer market and vast unmet needs. He urged entrepreneurs to think big, remain positive and resilient, embrace technology and treat failure as a learning opportunity.
Highlighting the Fifth Age, he said the convergence of AI with biotechnology, genetic engineering with healthcare, information technology with advanced manufacturing and robotics with intelligent systems would fundamentally reshape global competition. “The future will not belong to those who wait for it. The future will belong to those who build it,” he declared.
Mazhar Muneer Mehdi, motivational speaker, delivered an engaging and thought-provoking presentation, urging young entrepreneurs to remain positive, reject pessimism and develop confidence, resilience and a solution-oriented mindset. He emphasized that setbacks should be treated as opportunities for learning and growth and encouraged participants to pursue their ambitions with determination, discipline and a strong belief in their abilities.
ICCI Vice President Tahir Ayub emphasized the need to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship and innovation, saying Pakistan’s young population represented one of the country’s greatest economic assets.
He stressed that youth talent and creativity should be connected with meaningful opportunities so that young people could become productive contributors to economic growth and national development.
Kashif Qureshi, Chairman ICCI Standing Committee on Social Mobilization and Communication, highlighted the objectives of the session by saying that that initiative was aimed at cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset and encouraging youth to become proactive contributors to the economy rather than merely seeking employment.
Ms. Muqadas Chaudhry, Vice Chairperson of the ICCI Standing Committee on Social Mobilization and Communication, moderated the session, which witnessed active participation from young entrepreneurs and members of the business community. build, together,” he concluded.
Those present also included ICCI Vice President Irfan Chaudhry, Executive members Waseem Chaudhry, Zulqurnain Abbasi, Imran Minhas, former Senior Vice Preident Khalid Chaudhry and other.
