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realme has stepped up to provide its assistance to people displaced by the catastrophic flooding in Pakistan Pakistan has recently been faced with a natural disaster of catastrophic proportions in the form of floods across the country. Although flooding during the monsoon season is not uncommon in the country, unusually heavy rain showers have exacerbated the situation leading to the worst flooding seen in Pakistan in recent times. This has put Pakistan in a state of humanitarian crisis. The flooding in the region has resulted in mass destruction with more than 30 million people affected by the rising water levels across the country and entire villages submerged under water. The damage has been widespread, leading to loss of lives, property, and livelihoods for those affected. realme believes that it is more important to stand together in the bad times than in the good. The tech democratizer has received a great deal of love from the Pakistani market since entering the country in 2018, rising in popularity at a meteoric rate. For this reason, realme wants to show the Pakistani public that it cares deeply for them and appreciates the support they have provided to the smartphone brand over the years. The spirit of giving back in turbulent times is ingrained in realme’s ethos which is why it has gathered resources to create aid packages, partnering with Hadiqa Kiani’s Vaseela-e-Raah campaign to disseminate these supplies to the disenfranchised around the country. The contents of realme’s aid packages are intended to provide the flood victims with the basic necessities of life that the flood has robbed them of. These supplies include a tent to set up shelter, blankets and bedding to sleep on, water filters to ensure availability of pure drinking water, and sanitary napkins for women’s hygiene needs. realme also included a fundraising element into its last two events, the screening of the Asia Cup Finals and the realme 828 Music Party, in order to improve the quality of aid that the smartphone brand was able to offer to those in need. realme is ready to do the needful and will work diligently to contribute towards relief and rescue efforts across the country as much as possible. It cannot be emphasized enough how important it is that everyone plays their part, in whatever capacity they can, to uplift those that are victims of circumstances outside their control such as natural disasters. It is only with the contribution of others that the country can move swiftly towards the path of recovery for the victims as well as the nation. realme urges you to do your part because you might make an immense change in someone’s life.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Nearly 73% of Pakistanis believe that their quality of life has been enhanced with greater connectivity with friends and family, a new report released by Telenor Asia has revealed.

The report titled “Digital Lives Decoded”, released in conjunction with Telenor’s 25th anniversary in Asia, surveyed over 8,000 mobile internet users across eight countries in South and Southeast Asia (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). The report revealed a common appreciation for the benefits of an “always-on” life – that mobile connectivity enriches relationships, delivers convenience, and makes it easier for people to participate in the digital economy.

“It is often reported that mobile usage comes between people, distracting users from those around them and damaging relationships and interpersonal communication skills. However, this study dispels that notion. Compared to before the pandemic, mobile data usage has more than doubled in most Asian markets, reshaping how we communicate at work and at home. Interestingly, this survey shows that people want the changes in digital use and their daily lives to stay. In fact, they continue to immerse themselves in a digital world despite rules on travel and social interaction being relaxed,” said Jørgen Rostrup, Head of Telenor Asia.

Irfan Wahab Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Pakistan said, “In this constantly evolving world where there are more devices than people, how does that technology translate to a socioeconomic uplift is up to innovative solutions that we work towards. The mobile revolution has not only been a major contributor to global economic development, but also truly empowered people in countless ways. It’s bringing the world together with each passing day and carving the path for Pakistan to become a technological powerhouse with an abundance of employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.”

Quality of life

The survey revealed that most users (94%) across Asia believe that mobile connectivity significantly improved their lives, especially women. 53% of the women surveyed in Pakistan believe that mobile phones have considerably improved the quality of their lives, compared to 40% of men. 73% of Pakistani respondents believe that their quality of life has improved with greater connectivity with friends and family, and 68% believe they have struck the perfect technological balance.

Financial inclusion and sustainability

According to the study, the biggest perceived benefit of mobile connectivity is financial inclusion; 90% of respondents in Pakistan believe mobile has increased their access to financial services. However, a disparity between the responses of urban and rural respondents highlighted the need to widen the scale of inclusion to those outside urban areas, across Asia. Sustainable living through the use of mobile technology is also high on the agenda for 3 in 4 respondents. Almost all the respondents (93%) had significant concerns about privacy and security.

Access through communication

The greatest impact of mobile technology on improving quality of life has been through communication via calls or emails (82%), use for search engines (80%), for work (84%), and for e-learning (86%). Mobile device usage continues to accelerate at a rapid pace with women leading the way; 92% carry their mobile with them for approximately half the day, 42% carry it for 90% of the day, while 23% are never without. 9 out of 10 respondents believe that mobile connectivity improves financial, healthcare and education access.

Rapid digital adoption

The surge in digital adoption shows no signs of slowing down; 3 in 4 expect usage to increase, with Thai respondents leading this trend. As the pace of digital acceleration skyrockets, Gen Z and millennials believe that they are overusing technology and need to build adequate digital skills to keep up with the rapidly changing times.

Looking ahead, 70% of Pakistan’s respondents expect to spend even greater amounts of time on their mobile phones, with 32% expecting a significant increase. There was found to be a disparity of 10% between urban and rural respondents (35% urban, 25% rural). The areas of mobile use expected to increase the most in Pakistan are work (86%), online services (75%), and social interaction (74%). 97% of Pakistanis are confident in their digital skills, while 96% are concerned about keeping pace with future advancements in technology.

Telenor Asia’s “Digital Lives Decoded” study is a three-part series looking at the role of mobile device in how we live, work, and play. The first report examines the role and impact mobile phones are having on the way people live, with a focus on quality of life, relationships, access and inclusion, and outlook for the future.

To access the full report, visit: Digital Lives Decoded

 

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan Business Forum has expressed its strong reservation over the overbilling by the electricity supply companies to the industrial and business consumers making it very hard for them to continue their businesses with mind of peace. Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) Lahore Chapter President Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer in a statement issued here on Thursday alleged that the industrialists in the provincial metropolis and all over the province are receiving bills for even those units which they had not consumed. He claimed that such bills are being issued to businesses which do not tally with the units appeared on their meters. Electricity supply companies are already providing very expensive electricity coupled with the heavy burden of Fuel Adjust Charges (FCA) and other taxes. Our industries are finding it very hard to pitch their products in price range which fits to the pocket of the domestic consumers due to higher input cost. Similarly, it is also rendering our industry incompetitive in the international market. Pakistan is in real need of foreign exchange to help stabilize its deteriorating economy and in such a situation, industries whether they are export oriented or export-substituted, should be given support to continue their activities creating job opportunities as well as keep the business wheel moving. This will generate revenue for the government as well as bringing hustle bustle to the business sector. Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer appealed to the government to look in to the matter and direct the electricity supply companies to avoid over-charging, over-billing and fleecing the electricity consumers in the larger interest of business sector, consumers and the government itself.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan has been hit with unprecedented and devastating floods, which have caused a significant loss in life, means of sustenance, and property. To cope with this, TECNO Mobile, a Global Leading Smartphone brand, dives in to rescue flood victims in Pakistan, providing them with tons of food supplies, shelters, and health kits to affected families in Sindh Province.

The most disastrous floods in the history of Pakistan washed away villages, leaving over 30 million people in need of aid and support. In these tiring times, TECNO Pakistan along with its staff members initiated a #TECNOFundsForFlood campaign to provide tons of flour, sugar, rice, and other life supplies to the severely impacted areas of Mirpurkhas districts and other surrounding areas of Umarkot and Kunri.

The CEO of TECNO Mobile, Kelvin Zeng, conveyed his sympathy and prayers for the flood victims. He further added thousands of individuals, including our team members, customers, and other Pakistani have been affected by this catastrophic event. He stated, “TECNO has always tried to play a positive role for Pakistan and its citizens. Now is the time to come together and support each other in these difficult times. We’re honored to offer our help and services to the people in need”.

In these difficult times for the people of Pakistan, the #TECNOFundsForFlood campaign exemplifies the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. The Interior Sindh Province is the most severely affected flood area and our efforts are not only limited to monetary donations. The TECNO’s team is also supporting flood victims in reviving their normal life by providing essential provisions for every deserving household. Empathizing with their hardship, the TECNO team decides to donate supplies directly to flood affectees to show their support.

TECNO’s flood donation campaign has attracted attention for encouraging individuals to act independently, such as the donation drive to travel to the area and give supplies directly to the victims. Many people have joined hands for the cause. We are thankful to our team who stood on the ground along with the support of the local authorities in making it possible to visit the locations and give the supplies to needy people safely and securely.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)  Paymob, the leading omnichannel payments gateway and financial technology enabler in the MENAP region, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with COLABS, Pakistan’s largest collaborative workspace, to jointly empower young entrepreneurs to launch and grow their businesses.

The collaboration aims to equip aspiring start-ups with customized programmes and access to relevant material from co-branded workshops, as well as direct access to payment methods through Paymob’s gateway and POS terminals.

Commenting on the partnership, Fawad Abdul Kader, Paymob Country Head in Pakistan said, “This collaboration with COLABS will create a synergy to help digitize the payment needs of merchants. I believe both parties will influence the payment landscape for up-and-coming start-ups in Pakistan.”

Pakistan boasts of a population of over 220 million of which 60 percent comprises of individuals between the ages of 15 to 24. While the majority of this bracket remains unemployed due to a dearth of job opportunities, the adoption of the latest technologies has led to the growth of a technology-based entrepreneurial culture in the country. Consequently, the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) pre-emptively launched Pakistan’s first incubator (Plan9) in August 2012 which has now expanded its incubation programmes across the country.

“We are very excited to partner with Paymob and hope to facilitate the COLABS community by creating avenues for entrepreneurs to scale and strengthen their business models through in-depth workshops and networking sessions at our flagship in Lahore,” stated Omar Shah, co-founder and CEO of COLABS.

 

Pakistan (Nut Desk) Pakistan’s real estate sector has come a long way in the past few decades. From a largely unorganized and unregulated industry, it has not only increased in magnitude but has become more resilient to changing economic circumstances. Today, real estate is one of the most significant investment avenues for the nation. It also employs one of the highest numbers of unskilled and semi-skilled laborers. However, the real estate sector in the country has had a fair share of ups and downs. Delays in project delivery, unaffordable/inflated prices, poor construction quality, changes in project plans without notifications, project cancellations, and profit-hungry mediators became prevalent. This caused a severe trust deficit among the customers towards the sector overall. To increase foreign exchange reserves for the country, the Government has again entered into another IMF Program to bail itself out. However, this is not a long-term solution but rather a short-term steroid injection. Policymakers should look towards opening the most significant investment avenue to the world and attract investment from all over the globe. That will only be attained if foreign investors have access to data and can monitor their investments. Speaking to a long-term advocate for transparency in the real estate sector, Jawad Nayyar, Chief Vision Officer at daoproptech.com, said, “A country as rich in resources as Pakistan needs to open its doors to foreign investment. The real estate is prime as per the country’s geolocation, however, transparency in this sector is non-existent. If policy makers can mandate all developers to publish their progress or provide real time access, real estate will become highly lucrative for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). DAO PropTech is an award-winning, digital-ledger based investment platform where users can start their journey to real estate ownership with complete transparency and trust. Not only that, they can also monitor their investments through a personalized digital dashboard.” Unfortunately, asking foreign investors to rely on the words of the developers, real estate marketing, and sales companies doesn’t make sense. The practices need to change for the economy to evolve and for the diaspora to gain trust and security.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Careem, the pioneer of ride-hailing service in Pakistan, has recently introduced digital payment visibility for credit/debit card payments to all its Captains across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. This initiative will empower them to make a more conscious decision, ultimately providing a seamless experience between Careem’s customers and Captains.

Careem started the digital payment visibility pilot in Karachi in July, this year, followed by Lahore and Islamabad. The payment visibility has resulted in a significant decrease of the overall complaints received by customers‌. This is one of the numerous ways Careem is simplifying and making it easier for Captains to work with the platform.

Feroz Jaleel, Country Head, Careem Pakistan explained: “The tech is based on one of the most common complaints that we receive. We studied the data and designed a programme that would focus on providing more payment mode to Captains to serve a higher customer base ultimately increasing their earnings.”

He further emphasized, “With digital payments, Captains can actually earn more all while saving on the hassle and fund in costs. The decision is taken keeping in mind the overall macroeconomic conditions of the country, which is highly liquid.”

This initiative is a testimony of Careem’s vision of simplifying and improving the lives of people as well as leapfrogging Pakistan into the digital future.  Careem has over 800,000 Captains registered on its platform so far and has invested up to $100 million since its inception in Pakistan in 2016. Transforming into a Super App; Careem offers multiple opportunities as it expands its services from the mobility of people, things (daily essential deliveries)  and money (peer-to-peer credit transfer and mobile top-ups).

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