NEW YORK: A Pakistani woman, Mariam Nusrat, who established GRID a Gaming Revolution for International Development, has earned her spot on the Forbes Next 1000 list.
Maryam, 34, who founded GRID to raise awareness, trigger social dialogue, and inspire behavior change with digital games in development interventions has made it to the prestigious ‘Forbes Next 1000 List’ which celebrates the start-ups and business with fewer than $10 million in revenue and unlimited potential to inspire.
A statement issued by the American business magazine on Friday cited ‘An entrepreneur’s journey is not linear — it is filled with a series of twists and turns; defeat is a natural part of the process, but what differentiates entrepreneurs on the Forbes Next 1000 List is their resilience in the face of adversity.’
Expressing delight after being named in Forbes 1000, she took to her Twitter handle where she wrote ‘Super pumped and honored to be on the Forbes Next 1000 list! It celebrates inspiring entrepreneurs who are redefining what it means to build and run a business amid the new normal’. Adding that ‘Excited to be part of Summer 2021’s class of 250 standouts!’
Super pumped and honored to be on the @Forbes #Next1000 list!
It celebrates “inspiring entrepreneurs who are redefining what it means to build and run a business amid the new normal”.
Excited to be part of Summer 2021’s class of 250 standouts! #Forbes #FemaleFounder pic.twitter.com/4PT9QpLUOM
— Mariam Nusrat – Founder of GRID (@gamingfordev) June 16, 2021
The 34-year-old proud Pakistani currently lives in Virginia. She also holds a Master’s degree in economics from LUMS [Lahore University of Management Sciences] and George Washington University.
She started her impressive yet ‘not so easy’ journey back in 2015 when she created the not-for-profit arm for Gaming Revolution for Inspiring Development. Since then the work of the Pakistani entrepreneur has been celebrated across a range of platforms.
The entrepreneur from the South Asian country has received several awards including the Clinton Global Initiative University Alum Award – which she got from former US President Bill Clinton. She has added many other feathers in her cap including DC Inno 50 on Fire Award, Andrew Rice Award, the GWU Best Social Venture Prize, and UN PeaceApp prize.
Meanwhile, the official handle of the Government of Pakistan also acknowledged her accomplishments in a recent tweet.
A Pakistani businesswoman Mariam Nusrat has made it to the “Forbes Next 1000 List”, which celebrates the start-ups and business with fewer than $10 million in revenue and unlimited potential to inspire.#PrideofPakistan pic.twitter.com/ayqbzx0rHQ
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) June 19, 2021
Reports in local media cited that Maryam has been leading a team of Pakistan-based game developers and designers to develop inexpensive mobile games that instigate positive behavior.
Democratizing content creation through video games on their platform Breshna is the primary goal for the initiative she started which successfully garnered $75,000 in the preliminary phase.
The inspiring entrepreneur didn’t end on key project GRID as she also works as an Education Specialist at the World Bank – when not unleashing the power of video games.
It is worth noting that this first-of-its-kind initiative, by Forbes, celebrates bold and inspiring entrepreneurs who are redefining what it means to run a business in new normal.
