Sidra Iqbal, fresh from her GR8! Women Awards win, is unstoppable. She came back from Dubai and immersed herself in meaningful work. She led an Effective Presentation and Communication Skills workshop for budding techie entrepreneurs at Plan 9 in Lahore. It is an initiative of the Punjab Board of IT and is spearheaded by the dynamic and prominent Dr. Umar Saif. Sidra has used her vast experience as a communications expert to design and execute these youth mentoring sessions for Plan 9’s brilliant IT incubatees. She addressed how to effectively present and pitch ideas to investors in the Silicon Valley.
Plan 9 is Pakistan’s largest tech incubator which was launched in August 2012 to facilitate technological entrepreneurship in the country. Selecting the smartest minds from Computer Science and Engineering Universities across Pakistan, Plan 9 provides these budding entrepreneurs with an opportunity to not only develop the right connections but also mentors them on product development, revising their business plans and advising on internal operations.
Plan 9 provides the IT youth of Pakistan with a one-of-a-kind, tailor-made process and this year Sidra Iqbal was a big part of it all. She designed and led the communication skills training program at the Plan 9 entrepreneurship incubator. Sidra commented on going from receiving an international award for journalism, to training young minds in Pakistan on how to achieve their dreams. She said: “Plan 9 is a worthy initiative presenting the young techies with a brilliant opportunity to be job creators instead of being job seekers. I feel privileged to contribute to building their confidence and banishing their fears. It is about empowering them to be go getters. There are more exciting things to follow from my partnership with Plan 9, working towards them.”
At the speed at which Sidra is going, one can only wonder what her next big news will be! Without a doubt, it promises to be nothing short of exciting.
About Sidra Iqbal:
Sidra Iqbal has been a figure to keep an eye on since the tender age of 15 when she won the English Speaking Union’s prestigious International Public Speaking Championship in London, UK and was invited to the Buckingham Palace to receive her award from HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip. Since then Sidra has represented Pakistani youth at a variety of power-packed forums in Australia, Cyprus, Japan, Turkey, Switzerland, UAE, UK, etc.
She was not only an admired teenage prodigy and a powerful voice of development activism but also an internationally acclaimed ambassador of the youth of Pakistan. Sidra was invited to speak on a number of important occasions and later became known as the youngest Vice President, Public Relations at Ogilvy & Mather. Sidra also founded Statuspro 360 and alongside gained recognition as one of Pakistan’s most prominent television presenters.
