Category: Business

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)

TPL Insurance Limited – Window Takaful Operations (WTO), one of the leading insurance providers in Pakistan, has partnered with Takaful Bazaar, an upcoming Takaful digital platform, to offer shariah-compliant services to customers. The partnership aims to promote and offer Shariah Compliant products and smooth the customer handling journey via technology enablement.

At an exclusive event held at Pearl Continental, Karachi, Takaful Bazaar announced their collaboration with the captain of the Pakistan cricket team, Babar Azam. The attendees enthusiastically received the announcement, including TPL Insurance and Takaful Bazaar representatives.

The partnership between TPL Insurance (WTO) and Takaful Bazaar represents a significant milestone for the Takaful industry in Pakistan, as it provides customers access to a broader range of shariah-compliant products and services. This partnership is also a testament to both companies’ innovative and technology-driven approaches to increasing insurance penetration in Pakistan.

On this partnership, Mr. Muhammad Aminuddin, CEO of TPL Insurance, said, “TPL Insurance has always been an innovator and tech-enabled company. It is these same concepts which Takaful Bazaar has adopted to increase insurance penetration in the Pakistan market. We are pleased to work alongside Takaful Bazaar and wish Mr. Mustafa Rehman and Mr. Hassan R. Muhammadi all the best in their endeavour to enhance financial inclusion and provide a safety net to the masses.”

The Co-founders of Takaful Bazaar, Mr Mustafa Rehman & Hassan R. Muhammadi, reiterated their commitment to providing a financial safety net to the masses in Pakistan, saying, “We have only one goal, which is to provide a financial safety net to the masses in Pakistan. Takaful Bazaar aims to provide a one-stop solution when it comes to takaful. Together with the Takaful industry, we will increase penetration and enhance financial inclusion.

Takaful Bazaar aims to provide a one-stop solution for takaful and is committed to enhancing financial inclusion and providing a safety net to the masses in Pakistan. The platform offers a wide range of Shariah Compliant insurance products, including motor, travel, and health insurance.

TPL Insurance, on the other hand, is known for its innovative and technology-driven approach to providing insurance products and services in Pakistan. The company has been at the forefront of the insurance industry in Pakistan, offering a range of insurance solutions to meet the diverse needs of its customers.

The partnership between TPL Insurance (WTO) and Takaful Bazaar is expected to drive growth and innovation in the Takaful industry in Pakistan. The collaboration between the two companies will enable them to leverage their respective strengths and resources to provide customers with better, more accessible, and affordable Shariah Compliant insurance products and services.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)

DeafTawk, a startup scaled under Pakistan’s premier accelerator program Jazz xlr8, dedicated to improving the lives of deaf individuals, has partnered with Kingfisher, a next-gen mobile experience (MX) company, to promote digital inclusion and create a positive socio-economic impact for the deaf community in Pakistan. GSMA, an organization that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide was instrumental in bringing both organizations together.

Under this partnership, Kingfisher will provide smartphones to be distributed among the marginalized deaf community in Pakistan every year, enabling them to connect with the outside world and access employment opportunities. This initiative will help millions of deaf persons to overcome the barriers to communication, achieve their full potential and become contributing members of society.

Kingfisher is revolutionizing the mobile experience economy by delivering the newest pre-owned devices that bring unparalleled freedom and flexibility to the mobile ownership experience. By partnering with DeafTawk, Kingfisher is demonstrating its commitment to creating positive social change and promoting digital inclusion in Pakistan.

Jazz, Pakistan’s leading digital operator, has pledged to provide the necessary logistics assistance for this initiative, while the Ministry of IT & Telecom Pakistan has promised to extend its unwavering support to this great cause. DeafTawk, with the support of Jazz, also made the Mobile World Conference 2023 (MWC23 Barcelona), the world’s most influential connectivity industry event, inclusive for the global deaf community for the second consecutive year through sign language interpretation services.

Commenting on the partnership, DeafTawk’s CEO Ali Shabbar said, “We are delighted to partner with Kingfisher to improve the lives of deaf individuals in Pakistan. With the support of the GSMA, Jazz and the Ministry of IT & Telecom, we will work towards the socio-economic development of the 9 million deaf persons in Pakistan.”

The partnership between DeafTawk and Kingfisher marks an important step in promoting digital inclusion and creating a more inclusive society in Pakistan.

Zonergy Corporation Displayed its Smart Energy Solution at the Indonesia International Solar Energy Exhibition.

 

Pakistan (Nut Desk)

Zonergy Corporation showcases its smart Energy Solutions in Indonesia’s most renowned International Solar Energy Exhibition (Solartech Indonesia 2023)held at Jakarta Convention and Exhibition Center, Indonesia. Zonergy Corporation made its debut at the exhibition, and Jun Guo, executive director and president of the company, led the delegation as the team leader. A wide range of PV storage products with core competitiveness was showcased, attracting the attention of many exhibitors.

At the exhibition, Zonergy exhibited Panda single-phase series, Apollo G-330 three-phase grid-connected inverter, Mercury series single-phase grid-connected inverter, portable power supply and other products launched for the Indonesian market. In particular, Panda series products can satisfy the needs of local families. With a designed modular capacity of 5kWh, it can be flexibly expanded from 5 to 30kWh; with stronger stability, the faulty battery module can be automatically isolated to ensure the stable operation of the system; and powered by a built-in smart grid management system, it can serve the function of power grid dispatching. With a capacity ratio as high as 1.5 times, Apollo series DC can be well-matched with large current and double-sided components; empowered by a self-adaptive control algorithm, it can work well in a harsh environment; it offers various monitoring modes, supporting RS485 and WiFi/GPRS. Mercury series can intelligently adapt to weak power grid and avoid frequent Internet disconnection; with independent two-way MPPT tracking, it can adapt to different installation environments. The portable power bank products offered by Zonergy come in with a wide array of models, including large, medium and small specifications, multiple functions, complete certification, and standard lithium iron phosphate battery, ensuring safety and reliability; with the addition of a fashionable exterior, it is tailor-made for Indonesia and other island countries.

With the in-depth development of a market-based economy, accelerated urbanization, continuous population growth and the frequent occurrences of power outages in Indonesia, this country has an increasingly urgent demand for a stable power supply. Against such a backdrop, the Indonesian authorities have picked up the pace to implement renewable energy power generation projects and upgrade power grid infrastructure, propelling the development process of the country’s energy storage industry.

On the first day of the exhibition, Zonergy Booth was frequented by local customers and exhibitors, and an endless stream of visitors. Potential clients from different industries, EPC companies and distributors expressed interest in the company’s products, and Panda single-phase series energy products attracted much attention. As a country with many islands, Indonesia boasts a large market for household and outdoor energy storage products. The company will continue to focus on customers and provide high-quality products and solutions. Meanwhile, it will further deepen innovation and research and development, and bolster the green development of Southeast Asia with technological innovation.

Solartech Indonesia is one of the largest annual solar energy exhibitions in the country. The exhibition covers an area of about 15,000 square meters and attracts about 20,000 visitors. A total of 300 solar industry exhibitors from 20 countries attended, and a series of business meetings, forum meetings and other activities were held concurrently to facilitate exhibitors to find target buyers.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)

Pak-Qatar General Takaful has partnered with Takaful Bazaar as this partnership aims to promote and offer Shariah Compliant products as well as to smooth the customer handling journey via technology enablement.

Through the partnership with Takaful Bazaar, Pak-Qatar General Takaful is looking to expand its reach and offer its products to a wider audience. Takaful Bazaar is a digital platform that provides access to Shariah-compliant Takaful products and services from multiple providers. This partnership will enable Pak-Qatar General Takaful to leverage Takaful Bazaar’s technology and attract customers who were previously unaware of its offerings.

The agreement signing took place between Mr. Saqib Zeeshan, Deputy CEO – Pak-Qatar General Takaful and Mr. Mustafa Rehman and Hassan R. Muhammadi, Co-founders – Takaful Bazaar in the presence of Mr. Muhammad Raza, Head of Operations – Pak-Qatar General Takaful.

Mr. Saqib Zeeshan, Deputy CEO – Pak-Qatar General Takaful, said, “We are committed to providing innovative and comprehensive general Takaful solutions to our customers. Our collaboration with Takaful Bazaar is a step towards enhancing the accessibility of our services and promoting financial inclusion. We are confident that our partnership will pave the way for the growth and development of the Takaful industry in Pakistan.”

Speaking at the event, Mr. Mustafa Rehman & Hassan R. Muhammadi Co-founders of Takaful Bazaar, said, “We have only one goal which is to provide a financial safety net to the masses in Pakistan. Takaful Bazaar aims to provide a one-stop solution when it comes to Takaful. Together with the Takaful industry we will increase the penetration and enhance financial inclusion”.

The partnership between Pak-Qatar General Takaful and Takaful Bazaar is a significant step towards promoting Shariah-compliant finance and making it more accessible to customers. By offering a variety of products on a user-friendly digital platform, customers can easily protect themselves and their assets. The partnership also highlights technology’s vital role in enhancing customer experience in the financial services sector.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)

As a homegrown Company with a legacy of nearly six decades, Engro is committed to fulfilling its undeniable responsibility to help unleash Pakistan’s potential. The second talks@engro event was held to mark the International Women’s Day (IWD) and inspire positive action towards a more equitable future. The event featured thought leaders, change makers and futurists, who shared ideas and personal stories on this year’s IWD theme “Embrace Equity”.

Rabia Aziz, wellness speaker, life coach & therapist, talked about a cause which was of core value to her. Speaking at the event, she said, “When I was asked to speak here today on embracing equity, the one word that went through my head again and again was grit and how under-rated this word is for women. From being stuck in a bubble created around them and in a continuous rat race, trying to make up for something, which is not even their fault.”

Masarrat Misbah, Entrepreneur & Philanthropist, focused more on inclusivity for the women who have been deeply affected by injustice and domestic violence, “We are so blessed and have seen better things in life. Its moments like these when I realize how privileged are we, and it is our job to help these women rise up, and to empower them with some skills so they become self-sustainable and confident.”

 

1. Jibran Nasir, Lawyer & Activist, talked about Rights of a Girl Child, focusing on some of the cases he has personally been involved with. While pointing out flaws in the system he said,“If we have more women investigation officers, the reaction in cases relating to girls child might be different and there would have been more empathy towards victims and their families.”

Nazish Chagla, Functional Nutritionist, took the stage to speak on Why Women Fare Badly on Nutritional Health Indicators and highlighted why the health results are so biased. While pointing out how women need to essentially take care of themselves, she said that, “Women, you need educate yourself, advocate for yourself and love yourself.”

Nadeem Baig, the ace filmmaker, producer, & director, talked about the responsibility of a filmmaker to impart lessons on equity through storytelling. While having worked on multiple projects, “I wonder why only stories of fear are more popular among women. I feel that this fear this needs to be addressed at an individual level.”

Mariam Riaz Paracha, Co-Founder Spoken Stage closed the session with the recitation of one of her pieces “Fly High.”

Speaking at the event, Umber T Ansari, Head of Marketing, Communications & PR for Engro said, “In celebration of International Women’s Day and our commitment to advancing the status of women and girls in society, working towards promoting inclusivity has been a project very close to my heart. I am proud to be a part of the talks@engro platform, which is setting the stage for thought leaders to share solutions to propel Pakistan into a new tomorrow to enable growth for all.”

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Unilever Pakistan has partnered with Brand Protection System (BPS) to organize a conference to highlight the economic impact of counterfeit products in Pakistan. The conference fostered a discussion among industry leaders and experts on the current laws, regulations, and practices in IPR and explored possible solutions to tackle this critical issue.

Counterfeit goods are estimated to comprise over 5% of world trade whereas in Pakistan, the FMCG sector faces 80% cases of counterfeit items being sold in the market.  The proliferation of counterfeit products has become a growing concern and in 2022, the issue reached a new peak, with brands experiencing 10 times the number of counterfeit cases compared to other industries. This trend has had a significant impact on the country’s economy, prompting businesses to take action.

Amir Paracha, Chairman & CEO, Unilever Pakistan, highlighted: “As a responsible business, we have a duty to protect our consumers and the integrity of our brands. The rise of counterfeit products in the FMCG sector is a worrying trend that requires immediate action. Through collective effort and innovative solutions, we are determined to combat this issue and ensure that our consumers receive genuine and safe products.”

Muhammad Kashif Aslam, Managing Director, BPS added: “The growth of counterfeit market in Pakistan has become a severe threat to the country’s economy. The proliferation of fake products not only affects the revenue of genuine businesses but also poses serious health and safety risks to consumers. The need for a comprehensive approach to address this issue is more critical than ever.”

The conference provided an opportunity for stakeholders to delve deeper into the challenges posed by counterfeit products and the consequences they have on various sectors, serving as a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the problem.

The collaboration between BPS and Unilever Pakistan is a promising step towards combating this issue and safeguarding the integrity of Pakistan’s economy and protecting the consumers from counterfeit products. The conference represents an important milestone in the collective effort to protect consumers and promote fair competition in the FMCG sector and beyond.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)

Global innovative technology brand TECNO unveiled its latest technology, the chameleon coloring technology, on day one of the company’s first-ever appearance at the MWC. This groundbreaking color-changing technology is capable of changing the back cover of a device to entirely different colors based on the usage or user customization, allowing the user to freely showcase their style without being locked into just one-color option. The new technology adapts a unique material that allows for a continuous change of colors up to 2 million times, with rapid color changing in just 0.03 seconds.

Chameleon coloring technology, formally known as full-spectrum electrically controlled prism coloring technology, will be the first ever technology of its kind to be fully compatible with a smartphone device, and not only that, it will also be the first in the industry to offer full spectrum color rendering and an astonishing total of 1600 different colors.

TECNO’s commitment to providing innovative technologies that cater to the diverse needs of consumers has won the hearts of Pakistani consumers. The company has received an overwhelming response to its previous devices and technologies. With the launch of the chameleon coloring technology, TECNO is set to redefine the mobile phone industry worldwide by allowing users to express their style through their mobile phones.

Kelvin Zeng, CEO of TECNO Pakistan, says, “We are thrilled to announce this amazing technology. The chameleon coloring technology is a major step up from our previous color-changing technologies as it provides infinitely more options for color customization. We believe that this technology will cater to the diverse needs of our consumers and will provide them with a unique and personalized mobile phone experience.“

With TECNO’s latest technology, users can fully customize their device with this rich variety of colors and change it as frequently as they’d like. For those that don’t have time to ponder their own color preferences, chameleon coloring technology will also allow the exterior to interact directly with the device, creating spontaneous and active color designs based on the battery performance, the apps that are running, the surrounding air temperature, the music that is playing, etc. This effectively keeps the coloring consistently fresh and unique for the user, and it even lets the device’s exterior appearance interact with features like the camera.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) BankIslami Pakistan Limited (‘the Bank’ or ‘BankIslami’) announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022 declaring a remarkable growth of 142% in profit before tax i.e. Rs. 8.23 billion as compared to Rs. 3.39 billion during last year. Profit after tax closed at Rs. 4.44 billion as compared to Rs. 2.13 billion closed during last year i.e. growth of Rs. 108% despite significant increase in tax rates. Year 2022 has been a great success for BankIslami, where it not only achieved highest ever profitability, but also announced its first ever dividend of 10% to its shareholders. This is a result of all round performance of the Bank where almost all of its segments have contributed very well. This deposits surpassed Rs. 400 billion landmark and closed at Rs. 415.91 billion, depicting a prominent rise of Rs. 71.1 billion and growth of 20.63%.

Despite increase in policy rates, around 50% of the increase in deposits was contributed by Current Account. This was outcome of the Bank’s all out efforts in introducing new and innovative products, expanding its sales team across the country and pursuing aggressive marketing initiatives. The Bank also seized the opportunity of rising policy rate scenario by offering attractive term deposit products which enabled healthy growth of 27.5% (Rs. 29.72 billion) in term deposits.

Despite slowdown in economic activities at country level, the Bank was able to achieve growth of 12.20% in its Financing book (gross). Composition of Consumer financing in overall financing portfolio remained at 23.19% despite regulatory measures to curb the demand of auto financing. Financing to deposit ratio (ADR – gross) plunged to 52.98% as at December 31, 2022. Infection ratio of the Bank as at December 31, 2022 increased to 9.02% from 8.7% as compared to last year due to classification of certain corporate accounts. In view of prevailing economic situation, the Bank has recorded an additional general provision of Rs. 2.15 billion during the year, which improved the coverage ratio against delinquent accounts to 96.14% as compared to 89.57% at the end of last year.

The Bank deployed its surplus liquidity mainly in GoP Ijarah Sukuks, which resulted in considerable growth of 43.98% in investment portfolio and closed investment book at Rs. 179.74 billion.

With rise in profitability and improved credit risk profile of the Bank, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the Bank improved to 17.92%, well above the regulatory threshold of 11.50%, while it stood at 14.15% at the end of last year.

The Bank has declared its first ever dividend to its shareholders of Re. 1 per share (10%) subject to approval of the shareholders in its upcoming Annual General Meeting.

Going forward, in order to continue this growth trajectory, the Bank will focus on increasing its branch network, improving the overall customer experience through leveraging technology, expanding its digital footprint and developing low cost deposit products.

In the recent hard times, the Bank stood firmly with its employees to cope with the impact of daunting inflation in the country and provided monthly adhoc allowance for its lower and middle cadre employees. The Bank being a socially responsibly entity, remained committed in making constructive contributions to the economy and society. In this respect, the Bank provided utmost support to flood victims in the country and set up a ‘Tent City’ for flood victims in collaboration with other entities. Besides this, the Bank also released emergency funds to different NGOs, distributed ration, medicines, tents, facilitated setting up medical camps and conducted other relief activities.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Karandaaz Pakistan signed a data sharing agreement with TASDEEQ, a private credit bureau operating in Pakistan. By joining hands with TASDEEQ, Karandaaz will be enhancing the data offered through its data portal (https://portal.karandaaz.com.pk/) to include enterprise credit information for more than 70 sub-sectors in Pakistan. The lending data will also be disaggregated by geography at the provincial, district and city level, and categorized by type of credit provider.

Speaking about the partnership and what data access at this scale will mean for Pakistan, Mr. Waqas ul Hasan, CEO Karandaaz, said, “Karandaaz’s Data Portal is a state-of-the-art platform through which information on financial inclusion, and macro and micro economic indicators can be obtained, layered, analyzed, and shared with relative ease. We are constantly adding to the depth and breadth of the data points on this portal and our partnership with TASDEEQ is a testament to these efforts. This will be the first time that a private credit bureau in Pakistan will share aggregated information on a wide array of credit indicators on a publicly accessible data portal. I am very pleased with this partnership and the countless possibilities it opens up for researchers, academics, financial institutions and policy makers.”

Karandaaz’s interactive Data Portal collates and aggregates financial and economic data for Pakistan from multiple publicly available sources, including but not limited to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reports, several financial inclusion surveys, the Economic Survey of Pakistan, Population Census, Labor Force Surveys, etc. The portal provides stakeholders, including policymakers, private sector and public sector institutions and researchers and students a wide range of data that can be layered and customized for analysis.

As a private credit bureau licensed by SBP, TASDEEQ’s core business is collecting credit data from a wide range of financial service providers. TASDEEQ’s CEO, Mr. Mumtaz Syed, said on the occasion, “Our aim is to equip the financial industry within Pakistan with data and insights, promoting financial inclusion, and our partnership with Karandaaz exemplifies that. TASDEEQ is creating an ecosystem to address issues in access to finance by potential borrowers and lenders by leveraging Financial Institutions Data, Utility Data and Alternate Data.”

Talking about the need to improve access to information in Pakistan, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Chairperson Karandaaz, said, “It is important to realize that development of emerging markets is contingent on the availability of information to support informed decision making and building investor confidence in underdeveloped markets. There is a strong need for the adoption of open data practices and to strengthen the right to information which is already available in our laws but not always practiced with the same spirit. Greater access to data will promote greater transparency and accountability in the government and private sector while supporting development outcomes. This partnership between TASDEEQ and Karandaaz is the blueprint for a way forward not only because of public accessibility of vital data but also because data collection is a cost- and time-intensive exercise and such agreements can drive those costs down.”

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)

Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan Limited (SCBPL), continuing with its contribution towards economic empowerment and financial inclusion of the masses, has launched an internship programme for differently-abled persons, with the aim to create a diverse pipeline of candidates as potential workforce for the banking industry, simultaneously supporting them to elevate their quality of life.

This initiative was launched in presence of Rehan Sheikh, Chief Executive Officer of SCBPL, Millicent Clarke, Regional Head of Human Resources, Africa and Middle East, and Muhammad Umer, Country Head of HR SCBPL and was attended by our existing differently-abled colleagues who also shared their journey and experiences at the Bank.

Rehan Shaikh, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited said, “Our newly launched Internship Programme for differently-abled persons is a key milestone in our efforts to provide them with equal access and opportunity to participate in economic activities and realise their full potential. This initiative is supported with improved infrastructure, service delivery and use of innovative technologies and is part of our Futuremakers Inclusive Employability Programme which is critical for embedding Diversity and Inclusion priorities within our footprint. This is also in line with the Central Bank’s agenda of Financial Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, and we are confident that it will open more doors and opportunities to develop further as we move forward.”

Infrastructure compatibility has been ensured at the Bank, with wheel-chair ramp, elevator flooring, etc. Digital tools to ease accessibility for differently-abled interns have also been incorporated in the programme. In addition, to this sign language literacy and sensitivity training is available for all staff to become truly inclusive.

SCBPL has also partnered with Connect Hear and Sight Savers, in order to source a pool of candidates for this programme. A sign language interpreter was engaged during the interview and onboarding stages to facilitate the processes.

SCBPL has created immersive projects to engage the interns and help them gain professional exposure by working on industry-wide assessment, data-base management, health checks, portfolio and opportunity-execution plan. The ‘Hard of Hearing’ (HoH) interns will be facilitated by sign-language interpreters and trained sign-language buddies within the Bank, enabling them to communicate during the internship period.