Category: Business

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Nearly 54% of Pakistanis believe mobile devices and mobile technology have significantly improved their careers and aided in developing their skills, with women reporting that their mobile devices have significantly improved their quality of life, according to a study conducted by Telenor Asia.

The study, and the second instalment of the “Digital Lives Decoded” series launched in conjunction with Telenor Asia’s 25th anniversary, looks at how respondents across Asia are using their mobiles to adapt to changing realities as new work cultures emerge post-pandemic. The report was surveyed by over 8,000 mobile internet users across eight countries in South and Southeast Asia. These countries include Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The report highlights how the workplace has evolved exponentially in the past three years due to the increasing influence of mobile devices in our daily life. Today’s workplace is characterised by processes enabled by mobile technology, and hybrid working practices bring increased flexibility to business and the lives of professionals.

“Our research points to mobile connectivity as an enabler of productivity, progress, flexibility and economic opportunity. Yet, we continue to see gaps in how this technology is used between urban and rural populations, large companies and SMEs, between industries and even between C-suite executives and their junior counterparts. In addition, people remain highly concerned about their skills and ability to keep pace with advancing technology. The aspect of trust is also preventing people from realising their full potential through mobile use in the world of work. As time spent working online increases, our survey findings can help identify the right tools and knowledge to close these gaps and improve digital work lives,” said Jørgen Rostrup, Head of Telenor Asia.

Speaking about the importance of understanding today’s changing workplace, Irfan Wahab Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Pakistan said, “This is a defining moment for businesses as companies around the world are adapting to new and affective ways of work. In addition, mobile technology has unlocked new revenue streams and empowered individuals in new ways; and the Pakistani workforce, including freelancers, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts to understand and utilise the opportunities surrounding mobile connectivity.”

Performance and productivity

According to the study, eight out of ten respondents felt their performance and productivity had increased due to mobile technologies, with more than half believing personal productivity had increased by 20% or more. Gen Z is most likely to recognise the importance of digital tools, devices and connectivity in significantly improving performance and quality of work, as per the survey’s findings.

Career outlook

Regarding career trajectory, nine out of ten respondents thought their careers and skills had also been enhanced using mobile technologies. Respondents in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia are most likely to have experienced the career-enhancing effects of a mobile device, reflecting the desire many in Asia have for learning on the go. In Pakistan, 63% believe mobile devices significantly improve career and skills development. Mobile is now also seen as a way of generating income. Nearly half of the people surveyed feel mobile devices have provided work and income opportunities that were unavailable before the pandemic. In Pakistan, 38% of the respondents believe mobile devices have created new opportunities.

Quality of life

Mobile technology has not just boosted income-generating opportunities; it has had a positive impact on quality of life generally. Nearly half of the respondents felt that using a mobile device for work significantly improved their quality of life. In Pakistan, 46% of the respondents believe mobile technology has dramatically improved their quality of life. Women believe their mobile devices provide them with greater access to work and income opportunities. In Pakistan, the number stands at 44% as compared to 33% of men.

Privacy and security

The greatest concerns for respondents across the board were privacy and security. A slightly higher proportion of city dwellers (60%) view privacy and security to be a barrier as compared to those living in villages and rural areas (56%). In Pakistan, 53% of respondents have put privacy and security as main concerns when working remotely. Trust, and related issues of privacy and security are other pain points organisations need to work on.

To access the full report, visit: Digital Lives Decoded

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Fishry.com, Pakistan’s indigenous e-commerce platform, and Paymob, the leading omnichannel payments infrastructure in the MENAP region, announce their partnership to jointly empower small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to build fully hosted self-service e-commerce stores with zero-upfront investment integrated with Paymob check-out. The partnership represents a major milestone in the Egyptian entity’s integration with a homegrown turnkey solution that enables e-commerce entrepreneurs and SMEs to accept digital payments from anywhere in the world.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, co-founder of Fishry.com, Badar Khushnood said, “Fishry is a cutting-edge e-commerce platform especially tailored for Pakistan-based small e-commerce startups and businesses. We recognize that, amongst other factors, a seamless digital payment process is the future of online shopping. Fishry has now collaborated with Paymob, a leading payment gateway provider. Through this partnership, SMEs, women entrepreneurs, and social commerce merchants in Pakistan can start accepting payments right away after setting up their e-stores on Fishry.com. The partnership guarantees to greatly reduce the merchant’s payment gateway setup time and payments processing time through immediate access to all online payments e.g. mobile wallets, credit cards, or direct bank-to-bank transfers.”

Pakistan is the world’s 37^th largest e-commerce market with an estimated market size of USD $6 billion in 2021. With growing consumer demand for online shopping and e-commerce sales in Pakistan are expected to outgrow global growth rates in the coming years according to recent reports. There are currently 40,000 e-commerce websites in the country and over 100,000 SMEs that also sell online via B2C marketplaces. In 2022, only one percent of these businesses are run by women, creating a sizeable market opportunity to fuel female financial inclusion.

“This partnership between Paymob and Fishry.com will allow a seamless transactional experience for online merchants to quickly and conveniently launch and manage their online stores which cater to their customized requirements. Through this partnership, we are enabling businesses and entrepreneurs who would otherwise not be able to set up their online stores due to limitations in pricing, integration, and customizations,” said Fawad Abdul Kader, Paymob’s Country Manager in Pakistan.

Social commerce has been on the rise in Pakistan for the past few years, bringing with it several challenges for entrepreneurs who want to scale their businesses. Even though it is an excellent tool for brand awareness and early product-market validation, social commerce is not an efficient channel for merchants because they lack basic e-commerce backend functionality such as standardized data collection, online payments, live inventory connectivity, and logistics integrations. With Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) websites, SME merchants can harness the full potential of e-commerce marketing and offer personalized loyalty programs, discounts, upselling, and cross-sell promotions. 

This presents an opportunity for technology companies like Fishry.com and Paymob to empower merchants and help them accept payments and manage and grow their businesses.

New PFMA Chairman vows to ensure excellence in footwear industry.

Mansoor Ehsan, CEO of renowned shoe brand Xarasoft elected Chairman of Pakistan Footwear Manufacturers Association for the year 2022-2023.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Mr. Mansoor Ehsan has been elected as new elected chairman of Pakistan Footwear Manufacturing Association (PFMA) for the year 2022-2023. Mr. Mansoor Ehsan Sheikh is the Chief Executive Officer of the renowned shoe brand Xarasoft.

A simple but an impressive ceremony was arranged to the PFMA office where the members of the body’s Lahore office warmly welcomed the newly elected chairman.

In his address, Mr. Mansoor Ehsan lauded the efforts of the out-going chairman Mr. Zahid Hussain from Rafum Industries, office-bearers and retiring members of the Executive Committee.  He vowed to put in sincere efforts for the resolution of the problem afflicting the industry. He pledged to continue the on-going projects and asserted that all out efforts would be made for future progress and prosperity of the footwear sector.

Mr. Mansoor Ehsan said that all the possible avenues would be explored for joint ventures with the international footwear companies besides focusing on the skill development of workers and managers for the collective good of the sector.

The newly elected chairman said that excellence would be ensured in all the departments so Pakistan’s footwear sector could compete at the global level to ensure quality in shoe production. He said that horizontal and vertical linkages would be developed to support the industry in the country. He assured to take all necessary decisions in consensus of the Executive Committee for the larger interest of the footwear sector and manufacturers of Pakistan.

He said that every possible step would be put in place to engage government departments for an enabling environment to serve for the benefit of exporters, manufacturers, component supplies, large, medium and small industries of footwear along with mutual interest of SMEs.

He said that rapport would be developed with the relevant government quarters and national policy makers to address the key challenges and issues faced by the industry and manufacturers.

The out-going chairman thanked the Executive Committee members for their support and cooperation achieve success for the PFMA and footwear industry of Pakistan. He wished New Chairman best luck to keep the flag high and fulfill the dream of self-reliance “Made in Pakistan” for the footwear industry.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Daraz, Pakistan’s biggest e-commerce platform and number one shopping app, is gearing up for 11.11, the coveted online shopping festival that has grown to become the largest sale of the year in the country. Since its inception in 2018, consumers anticipate the 11.11 sale to fulfil their shopping needs, and benefit through saving from the plethora of discounts, deals and mega prizes. With inflation at an all-time high in the country and consumers struggling to maintain their standard of living, the 11.11 sale becomes the perfect solution for them to make bulk essentials and high involvement purchases due to the best prices guaranteed by Daraz.  

“Since the past four years, 11.11 has been not only Daraz’s largest campaign of the year but also the country’s biggest sale event. This year especially we have put together the biggest assortment and deals in collaboration with our partners, which would provide our consumers with the best prices guaranteed. At a time where inflation is affecting every Pakistani, the Daraz 11.11 sale is the perfect place for them to make all their purchases while getting to save significantly. Our team has been working all year round to introduce further improvements and new initiatives in our ecosystem, which has increased our capacity to cater to an even larger user base which we are anticipating this year.” stated Ehsan Saya, Managing Director, Daraz Pakistan.

This year, 11.11 will be featuring the highest average discount amount across all categories, assortment of 16.3 million products, participation from 971 Daraz Mall brands and 18,000+ marketplace sellers. The total worth of discounts being offered is PKR 50 crores. Mega Deals will be live on the platform from the beginning of November, to allow consumers to browse through and Add to Cart prior to 11.11 going live. Moreover, users opting to pay through their bank cards will receive additional discounts, for which Daraz has partnered with 15 banks and payment partners including HBL and Visa. The biggest consumer brands of the country have partnered with the platform to make 11.11 bigger than ever. These include Unilever, P&G, Reckitt, L’Oreal, Haier, Dawlance, OPPO, Infinix, Moltyfoam, Sapphire and many more. All orders are with a guaranteed 7 days return policy, and same day delivery for customers opting for Express Delivery. TCS has partnered for subsidized shipping rates for this event. The sale will go on from 11th till 21st November.

In order to prepare for the grand event, this year Daraz launched the country’s first-ever Smart Distribution Centres that have increased their capacity to be able to deliver a million parcels a day, added two new warehouses in Karachi and Lahore, included over 20 Logistics Marketplace Partners and introduced Authorized Daraz Logistics Partners in several semi-urban cities to ensure consumers receive a smooth shopping experience. The company’s total operations staff across Pakistan has crossed 6,000 to provide support for deliveries of orders. Daraz Advertising Solutions was also launched prior to 11.11, which offers sellers sponsored search solutions. With this state-of-the-art tool and technology, sellers will be able to increase traffic to their store, increase engagement with their products, and boost their sales. Last year, Daraz recorded sales worth 66 crore in the first one hour of 11.11, which set a new benchmark for e-commerce in the country. This year, the platform is aiming to surpass these numbers.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)  Huawei and Tianjin Port have jointly collaborated on a driverless, zero-carbon “vehicle-cloud synergy” horizontal transportation solution. Huawei built an intelligent horizontal transport system at the terminal of Section C in the Beijiang Port Area of Tianjin Port. The project has achieved Level 4 autonomous driving, enabling 76 Intelligent Guided Vehicles (IGVs) in a fleet to collaborate efficiently. Huawei used cloud-based centralized dispatching to increase port-wide efficiency. As hubs of global supply chains, ports play a critical role in promoting international trade. Traditional ports rely on humans to operate container cranes working under harsh working environments, are labor intensive and suffer from workforce shortages. These challenges hinder the rapid development of global sea transportation. Therefore, port automation and intelligent reconstruction have emerged as the industry’s overarching goals. Ports worldwide are going through a process of automation driven by the latest technologies like 5G, Cloud, and AI. A typical port deals with vessel arrivals and departures, shore-side operations, horizontal transport, yard operations, manual tractor-trailer transport, and gate operations. One of the key steps in port digitalization is automating horizontal transport that handles cargo within the port. Currently, conventional horizontal transport faces three major challenges: harsh working environments, safety risks due to driver fatigue, and inefficient manual dispatching. Huawei’s intelligent horizontal transport system has five key advantages. First, it offers global path planning. Huawei has designed a global path planning algorithm based on vehicle kinematics, which ensures that individual vehicles stay on their path. The algorithm enables multiple IGVs to make turns smoothly, whether traveling in one or both directions. This is the key to safe and efficient multi-vehicle cooperation. The solution also features dynamic short path planning on the cloud, responding to many terminal operations and adjusting tasks in real time. The second advantage is its high-precision positioning. Huawei uses BeiDou, 5G, HD maps, and roadside sensing assistance to assure high-precision lane-level positioning. As a result, 90% of quay cranes successfully align on the first try, significantly improving operational efficiency. Third, Huawei developed the MDC intelligent driving platform. The upgraded Huawei MDC offers automotive-grade assurance, including ultimate computing power and long service life. It also simplifies O&M by providing standardized hardware. The fourth advantage is core system integration. In addition to core service systems such as TOS, Huawei’s intelligent horizontal transport system can quickly interconnect with other peripheral service systems. With Huawei’s intelligent charging dispatching algorithm, IGVs are charged at the best possible time, preventing interruptions to fleet services. Using Huawei’s intelligent intersection dispatching algorithm, ports can preset intersection traffic policies to ensure proper access by manual tractor-trailers and autonomous trucks. The fifth advantage is cloud-vehicle decoupling. Huawei decouples the cloud from vehicles through an open ecosystem. As a result, the solution can support a wide range of intelligent driving vehicle models, making it more cost-effective and easier to promote. In the event of an IGV fault, an operator can remotely take over operations. The service takeover rate for a regular autonomous driving solution is about 5% to 6%. For Huawei’s solution, it’s less than 0.1%, ensuring safer operations. IGVs rely on 5G networks. Huawei performs dynamic short-path planning to ensure that IGV paths never cross each other. This prevents collisions even if the network is abruptly disconnected. Intelligent, horizontal transport must meet three conditions. More than five operation lines must function simultaneously to support large vessels, while the system should be able to also manage large-scale fleets. Furthermore, it must support dispatching in complex port scenarios. Section C terminal in the Beijiang Port Area of Tianjin Port is the first smart terminal of its kind to deploy an intelligent horizontal transport system that performs large-scale, normalized operations. To learn more about the “vehicle-cloud synergy” horizontal transportation solution Huawei built at the Tianjin Port, please click on the following link to view the video.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan’s leading travel booking platform, Sastaticket.pk and Fly Jinnah; a new entrant to Pakistan’s aviation sector, have entered into a collaboration/partnership under which Fly Jinnah tickets would be available through the Sastaticket.pk platform.

Under the collaboration, Fly Jinnah customers would be able to seamlessly book their flights through the Sastaticket platform on attractive and discounted rates.

Expressing his views, Shazil Mehkri, CEO Sastaticket.pk said, “The Post-pandemic times have seen an unprecedented increase in global tourism and air travel, same is the case with Pakistan; both inbound and outbound travel has increased manifold and we’re proud to be able to facilitate this growth through our platform.”

“This exciting collaboration with Fly Jinnah reflects our resolve to facilitate the tourism sector and the aviation industry, in particular.” He added.

Sharing his thoughts, Syed Armaan Yehia, CEO at Fly Jinnah said, “Being a new addition to Pakistan’s aviation sector, we’re very excited about this new development and grateful to sastaticket.pk for facilitating Fly Jinnah and extending all out support on their platform.”

He added, “I foresee tremendous growth and a healthy competition in this sector, and as Fly Jinnah grows and adds more exciting international destinations, there will be more avenues to explore for mutual collaboration in the future; exciting times ahead I must say!”.

It is pertinent to mention here that Sastaticket.pk is the brain child of brother-duo Shazil and Bilal Mehkri. Part of the Quality aviation group, it was founded in 2015 and since then has expanded to all major cities and eyes further expansion in the upcoming future.

Fly Jinnah is a new budget airline; a JV between Lakson group and Air Arabia with Head Office in Karachi, Pakistan. Currently Fly Jinnah is operating on domestic routes within Pakistan offering flights to Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta with plans of further expansion in the near future.

The Visa Ready Creator Commerce program will connect partners across the ecosystem to bring tools like faster payouts and tipping to creator platforms.

Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Creators are driving a revolution in digital commerce and culture – producing content that entertains, engages, and educates online communities in powerful new ways.  To serve this growing category of small business, Visa (NYSE: V) today announced the launch of the Visa Ready Creator Commerce program. The global initiative will help creator-centric platforms, such as social-commerce and video gaming companies, embed financial tools – like faster and more flexible payouts through Visa Direct and tipping and donations.

“Creators are reshaping and expanding the small business ecosystem,” said Vanessa Colella, SVP and Global Head of Innovation and Digital Partnerships at Visa. “We want to harness the scale and reach of our network to help this community thrive. With the Visa Ready Creator Commerce program, we’re building a connective layer – bringing platforms and technology enablers together to deliver modern financial tools for the creator economy.”

Helping Creators get Paid Faster

The creator economy is one of the fastest-growing categories of small business, with more than 50 million artists, musicians and creators publishing content as a full- or part-time source of income.[1] Social commerce, which includes creator-driven work, is expected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2025.[2]

For many small businesses, cash flow is a persistent challenge. Creators need to move capital quickly to build momentum and gain a following. In fact, 69% of creators surveyed by Visa say that waiting for payouts slows their momentum and 88% would engage more with a platform that offers instant payouts.[3]  Immediate access to earnings can help creators capitalize on viral moments, opening further opportunities for advertising and brand and partnerships. Through the Visa Ready Creator Commerce program, creator platforms can get connected to Visa Direct, enabling creators to access their funds in near real time.[4]

The ability to receive gifts, tips, and donations from fans and followers is another vital tool for creators in monetizing their work and growing their business. Through the Visa Ready program, qualifying platforms can enable tipping and subscriptions, and unlock new income streams for creators globally.  

 Working with Industry Leaders

To help bring these solutions and partnerships to the forefront, Visa is planning creator commerce solutions with companies such as Linktree, Marqeta, Rutter and SamCart.

“Providing creators with new tools, resources and avenues to make money from their work online is more important than ever,” said Alex Zaccaria, CEO and Co-Founder, Linktree. “Linktree is proud to join forces with Visa to help creators unlock greater potential and opportunity and to empower all creators to curate, grow and monetize their world.”

“The world is shifting, and for many, the traditional two-week pay cycle is becoming increasingly outdated – especially with the rise of the creator economy and social commerce,” said Simon Khalaf, Chief Product Officer, Marqeta. “Being able to access faster payouts has the potential to make a significant difference for creative businesses, and we’re proud to support Visa on the Visa Ready Creator Commerce program. Through Marqeta’s modern card issuing platform, we’re enabling instant issuance and digital payments that we believe sets up the creator economy for continued growth and success.”

“With the proliferation of e-commerce channels and tools, creators have to make sure their technology stack is integrated, said Peter Zhou, CEO, Rutter. “Rutter is quickly becoming the connective tissue across all tools, making it easier for creators to get started and leverage the tools they need. Turning on capabilities through Visa Ready Creator Commerce helps Rutter connect these tools for creators.”

“Visa’s creator payouts solutions with SamCart will help creators get paid faster, which gives them the ability to reinvest in their business to fuel their growth. SamCart is a leading eCommerce platform built for creators, by creators. Our 40,000+ creators have collectively earned more than $2.8B with us,” said Brian Moran, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer of SamCart. “With this new Visa program, we will be able help creators get access to those funds within minutes by simply using their Visa debit cards.”

Continuing our Commitment to Creators

The Visa Ready Creator Commerce program expands on Visa’s commitment to educating, empowering and enabling the entrepreneurs within the creator ecosystem. Earlier this year, Visa launched The Visa Creator Program, a one-year immersion experience to help creators navigate the technology behind NFTs and better understand how they can monetize their creativity using these new technologies.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  TECNO Mobile has always had something new in store for its fashion-forward audience and has found exciting ways to promote and connect with its users. TECNO recently collaborated with Fashion Brand, BTW, with the theme of Mondrian Art. This collaboration’s primary source of inspiration was the Camon 19 Pro Mondrian Edition, the epitome of the fusion between style and technology. This collection has recently gone live in BTW stores and is now the talk of the town! BTW has stores all over the country.

You can find outfits from this collaboration in BTW stores like BTW Lyallpur Galleria FSD, BTW Northwalk Karachi, BTW Giga Mall Islamabad, and BTW Packages Mall Lahore. BTW’s designer, Hamza Vaince, said, “This collaboration with TECNO and BTW has bridged the gap between Technology and Fashion. The Camon 19 Pro Mondrian edition is a fashionable device that can be paired amazingly with outfits from BTW to make style statements. Both the Brands represent the ideology of pushing the boundaries for our customer base!”

The hype around this collaboration was high. The Hashtag #ColorChangingMobile, which refers to the 19 Pro Mondrian Edition, was trending on Tiktok and other Social Media platforms. Fashion Models like Areeka Haq, Minahil Malik, and Haris Ali paired their 19 Pro Mondrian edition handsets with chic outfits to further showcase how fashion-forward TECNO is as a brand.

TECNO Camon 19 Pro Mondrian edition has broken the possibilities of how fashionable a phone could be. With the slimmest bezels and an actual color-changing back, the 19 Pro Mondrian is in a league of its own! This is why fans are so excited about trying out the new winter collection inspired by the Mondrian Edition and pairing them up with their devices.

 

 

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The National Bank of Pakistan has won the Best Bank Award in Asia-Pacific for 2022 as Global Finance announced its 29th Annual Best Bank Awards. Global Finance regularly selects the top performers among banks and other financial services providers. These awards have become a trusted standard of excellence for the global financial community.

NBP is the only bank from Pakistan that won the award for its efforts as a bank that attended carefully to its customers’ needs in difficult markets and accomplished strong results while laying the foundations for future success.

The Awards Ceremony honoring the Winners took place at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, during the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings. President Joseph Giarraputo, Global Finance presented the Best Bank Award in Pakistan to Mr. Syed Farhan Ahmad, (Country Head, USA), NBP.

Expressing his views, Mr. Ahmad said, ‘We are truly honored to win this prestigious award. This reflects our commitment, innovation in products, strategic relationships, and dynamic approach as the nation’s bank.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Faysal Bank Limited as part of its digital transformation journey has introduced a new innovative feature of Donation Payments via its WhatsApp banking channel.

Faysal Islami WhatsApp Banking enables its subscribers to make real-time donation payments to over 25 reputable charitable organizations such as SKMT, TCF, SIUT, Indus Hospital, Alamgir Welfare Trust and Pink Ribbon to mention only a few. The launch of the Donations Payments services through WhatsApp banking channel of Faysal Bank could not have come at a more opportune time as October is the month of breast cancer awareness and major donation drives towards this cause. Speaking on the occasion of the launch, Mr. Shaheryar Saeed Khan, Chief Digital Officer, Faysal Bank Limited said, “With the wide-spread use of the Faysal Islami WhatsApp channel, the Bank intends to better serve its diverse customers by introducing more and more innovative features to it”

Present at the occasion Mr. Omer Aftab, Chief Executive Officer, Pink Ribbon said, “The launch of this innovative feature by Faysal Bank Limited will enable us to promote the cause of breast cancer awareness and facilitating quick and easy donation payments by all”

The event was attended by other senior team members of both organizations.