LAHORE: The Seed Out Polo Cup 2015 was held at the Polo Club here on a warm Sunday afternoon.

The event was organised to raise funds for Seed Out, a non-profit organisation said to be world’s first interest-free crowd funding platform. Today, it is actively working with the aim to alleviate poverty in Pakistan by raising micro entrepreneurs and fostering human empowerment.

Just like its unique goals, Seed Out’s fundraiser featured a polo match between Seed Out Lahore’s team and a team from San Antonio, Texas, US, who were visiting the country for the first time. According to the US players, they were thrilled to be a part of this event.

Talking to Dawn, Ursula Lipari, who has been playing polo in the US for 30 years, said: “I am very happy to be in Pakistan and to see the fabulous polo you have here.” She called it “the event of the year”.

Gal Sweieki, another player from the US, said they were honoured to be in Pakistan, especially for a noble cause like “elimination of poverty”.

He said: “Since we had such a wonderful time in Pakistan, we feel we can act as ambassadors and tell everyone, when we go back to America how wonderful, warm and hospitable this place really is.”

According to Zain Ashraf Mughal, the chief operating officer and founder of Seed Out, with this fundraising event they aspired to “collaborate with international polo teams to create a soft image of Pakistan in different countries. This is the first time the American polo team is coming to Pakistan, which will encourage other countries to send their teams as well.”

Discussing the fundraising event, he said: “Pakistan is one the highest charity-giving nations, yet poverty prevails here. So with this event we aim to raise funds for the important cause.”

The match began after arrival of the chief guests – businessmen Haji Muhammad Ashraf and Mian Ayyaz Anwar and politician Faisal Saleh Hayat -- who were also the sponsors for the event.

The match ended with the Pakistan team winning with a 6-4 score.

The polo cup attracted hundreds of excited fans, entrepreneurs and socialites. The event was well organised with an elegant décor and various activities like a red carpet, photo booth and food stalls.

However another very important part of the event was launch of the Seed Out mobile app to help people conveniently donate for poverty alleviation and raise micro entrepreneurs during and after the event.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2015

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