Category: Business

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Zong 4G, Pakistan’s digital leader, has launched the ‘Bharpur Bahawalpur Offer’ to better serve its clients in underserved areas. The offer exemplifies Zong’s proactive customer-centric attitude, which has helped it become Pakistan’s leading network. Residents of Bahawalpur will get 5 GB of the Internet, 1,000 On-Net Minutes, 30 Off-Net Minutes, and 1,000 SMS for just PKR 80 per week through the Bharpur Bahawalpur Offer.

Zong subscribers in Bahawalpur can take advantage of the deal by dialing *9911# or visiting a Zong franchise near them. My Zong App can also be used to subscribe to the offer. Users on other networks can change their numbers to Zong by calling the helpdesk at 0314-3334455 or visiting a CSC or Zong franchise near them. Zong’s official spokesperson stated, “We have led the market in introducing products and services that are based on evolving needs of our valued customers. It is our subscriber’s love for Zong 4G and their trust in us that has propelled us to the forefront of digital change in the country.” “We proactively work for the digital enablement of Pakistanis across the country, shaping and supporting their digital lifestyles,” the spokesperson added.

Zong has also offered unique offers for Rahim Yar Khan,Sadiqabad, Khanewal, Kabirwala, Vehari, and Mailsi, in addition to the Bharpur Bahawalpur Offer. In addition, the company has introduced a slew of incredible international roaming deals, allowing thousands of Pakistanis to stay in touch with their loved ones when travelling overseas.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) With support from Huawei and China Mobile, Haier, China’s largest consumer electronics and home appliance producer, successfully applied innovative manufacturing solutions combining 5G and mobile edge computing in its smart factories. The three announced the breakthroughs in Qingdao, China on Friday.

Developed at the joint-innovation base established in February, the solutions integrate 5G edge computing with artificial intelligence and particularly machine vision in manufacturing environments. They are applicable to various manufacturing scenarios where they can perform a variety of functions. Haier has launched the technologies at seven smart factories in China, and plans to expand the implementation at 20 factories by the end of 2022.

Huawei is expected to help Haier deploy the 5G solutions and transform about 100 of its manufacturing facilities globally within five years. The three also plan to offer the echnologies to other leading manufacturers in China and abroad.

5G provides manufacturers with a lot of bandwidth —up to 20GBps— and latencies as low as 1 millisecond. Mobile edge computing, one of 5G’s main features, delivers extremely low-latency cloud computing. But it’s still early days for manufacturers aspiring to take advantage of 5G’s full capabilities. 

The solutions enable the implementation of high-performance machine vision in a manufacturing environment through low-latency connections between high-definition cameras, the AI modules at the factory site, and the training servers located off-site.

Deployed on a 5G-enabled production line, machine vision saves manufacturers costs by rapidly performing QC checks with over 99% accuracy, at least 10% more accurate than without the function. Compared with visual inspection performed by humans, machine vision delivers much fewer false positive and false negative results.

The three partners also developed technologies to boost site and staff safety.  Unlike traditional video surveillance systems that only have a recording function, AI-surveillance can automatically create alarms in real time when it detects anomalies on the factory floor. The technology can identify non-authorized individuals, process safety violations, and workers who aren’t where they should be.

In addition, the new solutions help to efficiently coordinate the large number of people, machines, and materials involved on a complex production line as a whole. The solutions achieve this through high-definition cameras, 5G gateways, and smart industrial terminals that work in unison with the help of artificial intelligence.  

In future, the solutions will be further improved to provide “digital twins” visualization. Digital twin is the reproduction of a real and dynamic production floor into a virtual digital world, a meta-universe. Digital twin makes just-in-time preventive maintenance a reality and enables the simulation of changes to the production process before they are implemented. The three are also experimenting how 5G environment can support automated guided vehicles to transfer items in warehouses or manufacturing lines more accurately and efficiently.

Haier, China Mobile, and Huawei look forward to continue their collaboration on developing 5G manufacturing applications for the benefit of partners and customers in China and abroad.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) PepsiCo Pakistan has reached a 100 percent Covid-19 vaccination rate in partnership with the Secondary and Primary Healthcare Department, Government of Punjab through extensive vaccination drives at the company. This effort was complemented with comprehensive awareness-raising campaigns organized across PepsiCo’s facilities in Pakistan. The milestone was celebrated at a ceremony in the presence of Mr. Imran Sikandar, Secretary Primary and Healthcare Department, Government of Punjab, district health officials, and PepsiCo representatives. The public-private sector partnership resulted in preventing Covid-19 infection transmission and played an instrumental role in raising awareness, prioritizing employee safety, and safeguarding families, and created positive community impacts.

PepsiCo is one of the fastest companies in Pakistan to attain 100 percent Covid-19 vaccination rate as more than 3,000 employees and frontline associates benefitted from the partnership which set out as a positive step towards nurturing and protecting community health, safety, and wellbeing. The vaccination drive is part of PepsiCo’s holistic response to the Coronavirus outbreak and demonstrates the company’s long-term commitment towards stepping up support for the government’s ongoing national efforts for vaccine roll-out and improving Pakistan’s overall Covid-19 vaccination rate. Moving forward, as Pakistan navigates through recovery from the pandemic, PepsiCo will unite with the government and explore ways to offer possible support to the ongoing efforts while striving to make positive impacts in the community and workplace.

Mr. Imran Nazir, Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department present at the ceremony remarked, “Thank you, PepsiCo Pakistan for being a responsible organization and vaccinating 100% of your employees. This is a prime example of what a joint venture between public and private sectors can do. Congratulations to PepsiCo along with the healthcare workers of primary and secondary healthcare departments for achieving this milestone!”

Mr. Furqan Ahmed Syed, CEO PepsiCo Pakistan shared his remarks on the successful culmination of the vaccination drive and stated, “It is very encouraging to witness our vaccination teams, associates, and frontline heroes come together to vivaciously fight the pandemic. I also express my sincere gratitude to the health authorities for supporting our employees’ well-being through vaccinations roll-out.”

PepsiCo Pakistan has taken a significant number of proactive steps to support Pakistani communities at large in navigating through testing times during the evolving pandemic. The company created long-term alliances and leaned in on critical partnerships with government authorities, local partners, volunteers, and civil society entities to help underserved communities.  At the onset of the COVID outbreak in 2020, PepsiCo announced the launch of the ‘Millions of Meals’ program, an inclusive, nationwide disaster relief program which mobilized 500 volunteers and civil society partners to distribute over 13 million meals to meet the nutritional needs of the most underserved communities impacted by the pandemic.

In addition to playing its part in preventing the further transmission of the virus, PepsiCo Pakistan continued to support the needs of customers, consumers, employees, and communities. The company demonstrated empathy, agility, and innovation during the crisis by standing steady on the frontlines and protecting employees’ wellbeing as they served consumers and ensured the availability and safe delivery of PepsiCo products to communities in need. 

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Mr. Shahbaz Yasin Malik, CEO of Hilton Pharma hosted a dinner in Karachi to honour Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner UK who ran the London Marathon as well as the Manchester Half Marathon and single-handedly raised a significant amount of Rs. 40 million for The Citizens Foundation (TCF).

Picture shows from left to right: Mr. Shahbaz Yasin Malik CEO Hilton Pharma/Director TCF, Mr. Sardar Yasin Malik Chairman Hilton Pharma, Mr. Mushtaq Chhapra Director TCF, Mr. Ateed Riaz, Director TCF, Mr. Mike Nithavrianakis, BDHC Karachi, and Mr. Ahsan Saleem Director TCF.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Careem, the Super App for the greater Middle East and Pakistan, has recently slashed its commission from 25% to 15% on its Bikes, Delivery and Order Anything (buy and send) categories in nine (9) cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Abbottabad, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta and Sialkot. The reduction in service fee is to further improve Captain earnings and reach service excellence at an affordable price for Customers.

The initiative is aligned with Careem’s purpose of simplifying and improving the lives of their Captains. The idea behind the reduction of the margins is to have a positive impact on the net earnings.

Commenting on the reduction of commission, Zeeshan Baig, Country General Manager Careem Pakistan stated: “It goes without saying that we, as a nation, are witnessing tough economic times, especially post COVID-19 scenario. Since Captains are at the heart of what we do at Careem, we are always looking for ways to empower them to live a better life and I believe the reduction in margins will undoubtedly help them earn more.”

Throughout the years, Careem has always worked towards coming up with initiatives for its Captains. This includes making partnerships to provide education on subsidized rates, discounted fuel and oil changes, providing ration packages during lockdown, insurance for COVID, mental health sessions, flexible policies, contribution from Colleagues, safety gears and smog kits and sick pay policy. Similarly, Careem is also constantly working on engagement sessions for its Captains to keep them motivated.

Careem, which recently became a Super App, has more than 800,000 Captains registered on its platform so far. Transforming into a Super App; Careem offers multiple opportunities as it expands its services from mobility of people to adding mobility of things as well as mobility of money including food, daily essential deliveries, peer to peer credit transfer and mobile top-ups.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Digital telecommunication has proved to provide a sustainable growth over the years. Which is why innovative and resourceful enterprises are coming up with a number of solution-oriented devices in order to fulfil the need of the customer. The increased urge to achieve it all through one device rather it be using social media, gaming or multi-tasking on smartphones are prominent factors which have resulted in an increased demand for smartphones with better display.

Focusing on this need, Infinix has yet again come up with a latest addition in the form of NOTE 11, an AMOLED Stunner! The need to have better display in hand has resulted in continuous search of accurate display options while using the most convenient in-hand display. With a lot of display options available in the market, it is still difficult to identify the accurate, reliable and attainable ones in a given price point. Either the options available are not reliable or comes with an unjustified price tag. But with NOTE 11, Infinix has made sure to deliver the first true AMOLED display in Pakistan under Rs 30,000 and we can expect other better features as well while bracing the previous NOTE 10 series from Infinix.

A true vivid AMOLED display comes with better contrast ratios, newer colour gamut, wider viewing angles and higher resolution. Whereas Infinix NOTE 11 perfectly combines it all in a flat edge ultra-sleek design for a comfortable and better media consumption overall. The design of NOTE 11 has been kept simple with a water drop display in order to offer more room for viewing content without any distractions and also comes with a thickness of only 7.9mm. The phone is set to be launched soon in Pakistan with an expected price of Rs. 30,000. Such price tag is to be seen first time in Pakistan for an AMOLED Full HD+ display which makes us curious about the response of customers in terms of sales. 

“Technological leapfrogging, be it through new venture creation or innovation of industry, is the only way to attain the kind of economic growth needed to satiate the influx of our youthful population,” Chairman NICL, Saleem Ahmad.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistani technology start-ups took the spotlight as Courtney Powell, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner, 500 Global, a USD 1.8 billion international venture capital firm, visited the National Incubation Centre Lahore (NICL) at LUMS. The visit was facilitated by Paklaunch. Ms. Powell was accompanied by Board Member, Max Scheder-Bieschin, and hosted by Chairman NICL, Saleem Ahmad. The team was welcomed by the LUMS leadership including Rector, Shahid Hussain; Vice Chancellor, Dr. Arshad Ahmad and members of the Board Trustees.

During the day-long engagement, Ms. Powell and Mr. Scheder-Bieschin discussed the role of NICL in preparing the future generation of start-up founders. Mr. Ahmad presented NICL’s vision for venture incubation in high impact sectors, its rigorous focus on skills development and role as an innovation hub for industry, citing the example of electric mobility work that fits well with the organisation’s cleantech initiative. The visit coincided with the launch of the USAID-sponsored electric vehicle market assessment report, chaired by the US Consul General, William Makaneole at NICL.

The guests were given a tour of the NICL facilities including the Makers Lab, a suite of state-of-the-art prototyping workshops; the Facebook Innovation Lab, where virtual and augmented reality solutions come to life and a co-working space, featuring a plug-and-play set-up. They exchanged insights with entrepreneurs from NICL’s graduated start-ups as well as those currently in incubation, and participated in a roundtable discussion with the Foundation Council members including Qasif Shahid (Finja), Usman Javaid (Ricult) and Ahmed Hussain (SSC).

“We’re truly impressed with the passion and potential we have seen so far,” said Ms. Powell of her visit. “At 500 Global, we believe that there is talent everywhere and fantastic founders in every market, and it’s just access to education capital and network that is needed to see their companies succeed. At NICL today, we’re inspired to meet some of these talented founders and trailblazing entrepreneurs firsthand. We’re excited to be on the ground here to learn and formulate what our dedicated Pakistan strategy should be.”

Speaking on Pakistan’s emergent start-up landscape, Mr. Ahmad said, “Pakistan’s nascent start-up ecosystem is inflecting with rising international investor interest on the back of talented founders. We at NICL are attempting to generate a manifold growth in entrepreneurially-minded, highly skilled human capital that accelerates this positive trajectory. Technological leapfrogging, be it through new venture creation or innovation of industry, is the only way to attain the kind of growth needed to satiate the influx of our youthful population.”

500 Global is a leading venture capital firm with more than USD 1.8 billion in assets and a growing focus on technology, innovation, and unlocking capital in emerging markets.The company has invested in more than 2,500 start-ups worldwide with a portfolio that includes 33 companies valued at over USD 1 billion and 120 companies valued at more than USD 100 million.

NICL is a springboard for venture incubation and corporate innovation through an intersection of applied research, industry and talent, to solve Pakistan’s biggest problems.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Faiza Nabeel convener of FPCCI Regional standing committee of Women Empowerment organized a second meeting of the Women Empowerment standing committee at FPCCI in which Sania Kamran MPA PTI and parliamentary Secretary of the women development program participated as a chief guests. A large number of Women Entrepreneurs and members of all Women chambers also attended the meeting.

The main agenda of the meeting was to introduce the importance of CPEC and Gwadar for women. Atif khan President of Lift Gwadar and Chairman CPEC Gwadar gave a detailed briefing on Gwadar and prospects of business opportunities for women in Gwadar. Sania Kamran ensured her cooperation.

All the participants appreciated Faiza Nabeel for arranging such an informative and beneficial event and her contribution to women’s empowerment.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Infinix Pakistan has just unveiled YoungStunners and Aima Baig as their new brand ambassadors for the upcoming Infinix NOTE 11, and the fans simply cannot wait. Youth’s favourite duo of YoungStunners (Talha Anjum and Talha Yunus) alongside Aima Baig has been seen working with Infinix for the launch of their AMOLED Stunner i.e NOTE 11. Infinix has strongly kept its place as the leading selling smartphone brand of Pakistan and has yet again introduced heartthrob brand ambassadors for NOTE 11 which will be available from 15th November.

“Aima Baig and YoungStunners advocate Infinix better with their youthful music that goes with the vibe of Infinix. They are perfect ambassadors to mirror the DNA of Infinix and our products,” said Mr. Joe Hu – CEO of Infinix Pakistan.

Infinix has always been able to provide the youth with cutting-edge technology and on-trend devices. The new NOTE 11 is promised to be an absolute Stunner with its 6.67’ inch vivid AMOLED display which is surely going to stand alone among the rest.

Since Infinix has announced Young Stunners and Aima Baig as brand ambassadors for the new NOTE 11, fans cannot hold back themselves for the final product and the expected music video as well. Starting the year with the PSL anthem, the YoungStunners duo and Aima Baig have been seen winning hearts across borders. Groove Mera surely added a pop of colours to our screens with a rich blend of music and the song undoubtedly became an anthem across country. While the recent performance of YoungStunners in Pepsi Why Not Meri Jaan has surely uplifted the whole mood but these pictures of the duo from the sets of Infinix have made us all curious once again for the upcoming launch. Aima Baig and YoungStunners have indeed won the hearts of youngsters in a very short time and they truly represent the youth of the country.

Infinix NOTE 11 will be available from 15th November while the date for the launch of the music video has not yet announced. Since Infinix has previously set its mark with brand ambassadors like Feroze Khan and Alizey Shah, the excitement is truly justified this time around with YoungStunners and Aima Baig for 15th November.

Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) foodpanda, Pakistan’s leading food delivery company, and also the country’s leading e-commerce platform overall, today launched a pilot project to test food delivery through a customized drone. Conducted in association with the office of the Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, the test flight of the drone, named pandafly, took place in the F-9 Park Islamabad. A food package weighing approximately 2.5 kgs was taken from a restaurant at one end of the park by a foodpanda rider and loaded into the drone’s storage bag. The drone then delivered the package at the other end of the park, where it was collected by another rider and distributed to children invited from Sweet Homes for the occasion.

The use of disruptive technology by foodpanda in the future will mean faster deliveries over longer distances. Further customers living in peri-urban and remote areas will especially benefit, as they have limited options of food outlets in their local area, and with drone delivery, they will be able to order food from main urban centres as well. The last mile of delivery by drone will be completed by a foodpanda rider. Also to be noted is that this is the first of its kind commercial drone made in Pakistan for this purpose and foodpanda is thus supporting development of local technology.

Speaking on the pilot launch occasion, Nauman Sikandar Mirza, the CEO of foodpanda stated, “foodpanda’s core ethos is to constantly innovate, stretch the limits and leverage technology to find great solutions for meeting the evolving needs of the people. Before we start actual drone deliveries for our customers, there are still many aspects that need to be thoroughly evaluated and locked in, including technical, operational and legal matters and we are vigorously addressing all these. The successful test flight and delivery today has been highly encouraging and proves we are on the right flight path!”

The Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat and his office collaborated closely with foodpanda for the pilot project and the DC was also the Chief Guest at the launch event. Expressing his views, he said, “e-commerce and the use of technology to serve the citizens is definitely the future, and the Islamabad civil administration stands committed to support anyone who takes the initiative to provide greater convenience and facilities for the public. We wish foodpanda all the best in now turning this pilot project into a regular operational service.

The launch event was also attended by dignitaries, representatives of the media, some celebrities and social media influencers.