KICKSTART was Pakistan’s first ever state-of-the-art business incubation center situated within a religious seminary. The initiative was first piloted at Jamia Sirajia, a female religious seminary, located in Lahore in 2018, as a component of Shaoor Foundation’s Women Can Do-II project. Initially led by Shaoor Foundation, the project Shaoor Foundation for Education & Awareness subsequently evolved into a collaborative effort involving Jamia Naeemia in Lahore and the National Incubation Center (NIC) in Lahore. Both Jamia Naeemia and Jamia Sirajia have students from across Pakistan and maintain affiliations with other madrassahs, all while being situated in a provincial capital. The incorporation of these seminaries, particularly Jamia Naeemia and Jamia Sirajia, into Pakistan’s entrepreneurial landscape can be viewed as the commencement of a new era for such institutions.

Shaoor Foundation signed a MoU with NIC, Islamabad, thereby received support from them for operation of the business incubation center and the formulation of a curriculum. The academy’s core focus laid in nurturing professional and entrepreneurial proficiencies among religious seminary students. It provided them with comprehensive training sessions that encompassed mindfulness practices, fostering self-awareness. The academy played a pivotal role in forging connections between religious seminaries and Pakistan’s industrial and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through this integration, it significantly contributed to the positive evolution of Pakistan’s economic landscape.