Future belongs to entrepreneurs who embrace AI, biotechnology: ICCI

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President 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 emphasised. The ICCI president said Pakistan should stop viewing itself only through the lens of its challenges and instead recognise 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.