From Khanpur village to KP’s Youth hubs: Hassan Nisar takes tech opportunities beyond big cities

ISLAMABAD, Sep 12 (APP):What began in a small village in Khanpur has grown into a youth platform reaching thousands of students across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as young Pakistani Hassan Nisar takes technology, digital skills and entrepreneurship opportunities to districts where such exposure is often limited.

Nisar, founder of Metrix Pakistan, started the organisation in May 2022 with a simple idea: a young person’s future should not be decided by where he or she lives.

Over the past four years, the platform has organised youth summits, technology events, workshops and training programmes across KP, connecting students and young professionals with trainers, entrepreneurs and technology experts.

“When people talk about KP, they often speak about its challenges. I want them to see its potential,” Nisar told APP.

“This province is full of talent and energy. What many young people need is a platform where they can learn, meet people from the industry and see what is possible,” he said.

Instead of keeping its activities limited to major urban centres, Metrix Pakistan took its programmes to Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Malakand, Peshawar, Swat, Lower Dir, Khanpur and Battagram.

For Nisar, taking these opportunities closer to young people was important.

“We wanted to take these opportunities to places where large-scale technology events are not held regularly,” he said.

Metrix Pakistan initially focused mainly on technology but later expanded its activities to entrepreneurship, career guidance, digital marketing, freelancing and other practical skills.

Its Youth Summit has emerged as one of its major programmes. According to Nisar, nine editions were organised in around two years, bringing young people together for talks, panel discussions, workshops, exhibitions and networking.

The focus, however, goes beyond holding events.

Nisar said thousands of students had received practical learning opportunities in technology, digital skills, freelancing and entrepreneurship through the organisation’s different programmes.

Students have also been connected with companies, trainers and professionals to help them better understand jobs, freelancing and business opportunities in the growing digital economy.

For young people in districts where technology companies and industry professionals rarely hold such events, Nisar believes exposure itself can make a difference.

“We want a student sitting in Battagram, Haripur or another district to believe that his or her location should not decide their future,” he said.

The initiative has gradually brought universities, colleges, government youth offices and private organisations into its activities, while free workshops and training sessions have also been organised in collaboration with different institutions.

Nisar’s work has also received recognition at the national and provincial levels. He said he was conferred the Pride of Pakistan Civil Award on August 14, 2025 for his contribution to youth and community development, while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government presented him with an Excellence Award on August 12, 2026.

He has also received the Hamaray Heroes Award and Fakhr-i-Hazara Award for his work.

Beyond technology and youth development, Nisar has taken part in community welfare activities, including free medical camps in rural areas.

Success for us is not the number of events we organise. It is what happens to a young person after attending one of our programmes, Nisar said.

With more young Pakistanis looking towards digital skills, freelancing, entrepreneurship and technology-based careers, Metrix Pakistan is continuing to expand its activities across KP.

For Nisar, the journey from a small village in Khanpur to organising programmes across the province carries a message of its own: opportunity does not have to begin in a big city.