News Update Times

Lahore (Nut Desk) On Mother’s Day, EBM and BBDO Pakistan came together with a campaign that transforms a societal view of blaming mothers into empathizing with them through one of its leading biscuit brand Gluco. The idea was conveyed through a very clever “flip” of a commonly asked question in Urdu: “Kaisi maa ho?” (What kind of a mother are you?), a rhetorical question which is meant as a criticism of the mother. The powerful ad flips the words around to “Kaisi ho, maa?” (How are you, mother?), turning it into an empathetic question. Peek Freans Gluco through its platform of Gluco Moms wants to continue the tradition of celebrating motherhood in all the roles. With EBM’s purpose of nourishing lives, hearts and communities, the campaign will help in changing behaviours and will serve as a mirror to the society. In the sub-continent a child is seen as a mother’s score card. Every failure and achievement of the child is attributed to the mother. The campaign features mothers in the home, at work, and travelling – ensuring representation of mothers from all walks of life in Pakistan and their experiences.

The minute and a half long video is a powerful call for action when it comes to supporting mothers. Aaminah Saeed, General Manager of Marketing, EBM Pakistan, believes it’s about time we change the narrative around motherhood. “Motherhood is a lonely journey where the toughest of critics are often your own family members and relatives,” said Aaminah. “Through this campaign, we as EBM with our aim of nourishing lives, hearts and communities’ endeavour to initiate conversations that may lead to a wider societal change.

EBM’s Peek Freans Gluco under the platform of Gluco Mom’s, have flipped the narrative by turning around the same question into a positive one and focused on the need for more empathy for mothers. This might be a small gesture of changing the words, but it goes a long way of changing the world for mothers. Each small step leads us to the bigger picture each day” “As BBDO, we are always eager to tell stories that create impact for brands and for the culture alike.

In Gluco, we found a willing client who shared our eagerness. We all might not be moms, but we all have moms. I wish that all mothers are shown compassion rather than criticism”; says Atiya Zaidi- Managing Director and Executive Creative Director, BBDO Pakistan. In a span of two days the film has received more than 5 million views and has sparked a much-needed conversation on being kind to mothers and not hold them to impossible standards.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Staying true to their mission, Telenor Pakistan leadership met with senior officials from LUMS to strengthen linkages between the private and academic sectors. The LUMS delegation, including Dr Arshad Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor, Mr Shahid Hussain, Rector, and Ms Nuzhat Kamran, Director of Advancement, met with CEO Telenor Pakistan Irfan Wahab Khan and his team to discuss partnerships for future collaboration in areas of mutual interest.

LUMS officials were briefed on the network’s ongoing work revolutionising digital and financial sectors through innovative educational interventions that enhance the end-user experience with an eye on scaling technology.

Irfan Wahab Khan said, “Telenor Pakistan and LUMS share the ambition to create a stronger, more resilient digital society that thrives on inclusion. Collaboration between the industry and academia, such as applied research and data science, is key to pushing business innovation. With research finding its way in the industry supported by data insights, this tie-up  will pave the way for digitalisation advancements that ultimately improve livelihoods and empower young minds to do more and be more.”

Dr Arshad Ahmad commented, “Telenor Pakistan has contributed to a strong digital ecosystem supporting tech startups. Advancements in health, fintech and platform learning have resulted from improved connectivity and communication, even in the most challenging times. We look forward to forging stronger ties and  achieving great goals with Telenor Pakistan.”

Telenor Pakistan has a history of collaboration within the country’s education sector, focusing on improving the state of digital education, such as its recent partnership with Orenda, Noon Academy, and Telenor Velocity’s onboarding of multiple Ed-tech startups. Discussions like this enable the kind of knowledge-sharing partnership that cannot be achieved through financial investments alone and is fundamental in building Pakistan’s human capital development.

Lahore (Nut Desk) Zonergy corporation, Pakistan Leading Integrated Solar Solutions provider with more than 30% market share, has officially announced its entry into the European market with the establishment of an office in Italy. Zonergy Europe will operate from Milan, from where it will offer European customers its extensive range of smart and efficient renewable energy solutions. Zonergy has been in Pakistan for last several year with key initiative of 300 MW Quaid-e-Azam Solar park in Bahawalpur, Punjab province. Zonergy has been one of the key players in evolving Pakistan’s renewable Energy landscape.

Zonergy is widely recognized for its global expertise in PV and energy storage and now looks forward to sharing its technical strength and professionalism with new and existing clients in Europe. The Company has an existing portfolio based around the four major product categories of residential, commercial, large-scale power stations and photovoltaic modules

Zonergy is a widely respected integrated smart microgrid solution provider, dedicated to providing its customers with the most advanced solutions and services. The company’s offerings are based on residential energy storage systems, incorporating inverters, lithium battery modules and BMS, and on solutions for the Commercial and Industrial segment.

Key Features of Residential Systems:

Modular design: modular design of the overall system solution, stackable installation, flexible capacity expansion and power upgrade.

Aesthetically attractive: ‘white goods’ style, suitable for a modern home

Safe and reliable: intelligent natural heat dissipation, multiple protection against overvoltage, undervoltage, overcurrent and overheating.

Smart and user friendly: support of GPRS, WiFi, RS485 and USB interfaces, LCD display, APP and web-based remote monitoring

Smart Switching: support of zero power failure and seamless switching between on and off-grid.

Compatibility: wide PV voltage range of 120-550V, high current of 13.5A

Since its foundation, Zonergy has developed both technical strength and significant engineering experience. The company is home to first-class technical R&D and engineering implementation, giving it a profile which allows it to cover both the domestic market in China and also have a presence in a number of overseas countries, including those in Europe.

Zonergy’s hybrid energy storage system supports functions such as PV access, battery storage and  grid-connected and off-grid output. It can be connected to photovoltaic strings from 200V to 850V and used with 420V-850V high-voltage energy storage batteries. The system utilizes a reliable power frequency off-grid inverter, based on simple wiring and strong inductive load capacity. It can be part of a complementary oil-solar off-grid system with a fuel-fired generator. When the generator is started on continuous rainy days, it can reduce the battery configuration and the initial investment.

The inverter has 100% unbalanced load capacity, which is suitable for driving single-phase loads. It can also monitor the voltage, current and insulation resistance of each string, as well as the voltage, current, temperature and remaining power of the storage batteries, constantly checking system operation to reduce potential faults.

With a multi-level modular design, the inverter supports multiple sets in parallel, covering 30kW to 500kW inverter and 100kWh-900kWh battery capacities, making it suitable for multi-scenario distributed energy projects. With IP55 protection, intelligent monitoring and remote operation and maintenance, the EMS management system has multiple operational modes. Hierarchical linkage and multiple levels of protection ensure the safe operation of the system, including lightning protection, battery and thermal management and a fire extinguishing system.

Zonergy continues to evolve by offering smart and intelligent microgrid energy solutions based on large commercial business requirements and emerging needs. The company embraces a model of continual growth, offering customized and cost-efficient solutions to its global customer base in order to fulfil its ambition of becoming a world leading PV manufacturer and solution provider.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) BankIslami, Pakistan’s leading Islamic financial institution, has launched its state-of-the-art Digital Service Centre for an improved customer experience. BankIslami understands the evolving consumer needs, and continues to bring innovative solutions to its valued customers across the nation.

The Bank’s Digital Service Centre offers customers a variety of services to meet their daily online banking needs, such as offering cheque encashment options through a virtual teller, instant money credit into the bank account, and quick service with no queues, and much more. With extended working hours from 10am to 10pm, the CCDM accepts unlimited cash and cheque deposits with instant deposit receipts.

The Digital Service Centre machines are equipped to accept notes of 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 only, with a maximum withdrawal limit of PKR 500,000 per transaction. BankIslami customers can avail up to PKR 500,000 cheque encashment, and up to 100,000 if a customer has a BankIslami cheque with no account.

Commenting on the occasion, BankIslami President & CEO, Syed Amir Ali noted, “The Bank’s CCDM is a powerful platform that is designed to grow every day, and is now all set to empower users to make informed decisions on the go. Technological achievements like these allow us to completely redefine the customer experience with fresh and innovative tools, tailored for inclusion and to create even greater convenience for BankIslami users”

BankIslami remains at the forefront of driving change across the Sharia-compliant banking industry in Pakistan.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Acting Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr. Murtaza Syed recently visited Meezan Bank’s Head Office in Karachi along with the Deputy Governor Ms. Sima Kamil and the Bank’s senior management.

The Governor inaugurated the Digital Centre, built purposefully for catering the needs of Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) customers.

 Chairman Meezan Bank’s Board Mr. Riyadh S.A.A. Edrees, Meezan Bank’s Founding President & CEO Mr. Irfan Siddiqui and the Bank’s senior officials were also present on this occasion.

In his brief address, the Acting Governor congratulated the management and RDA team of the Bank to channel substantial volume of remittances and achieving remittances of $ 1 billion in RDA and added that other banks should also focus their attention towards increasing remittances through RDA and come up with innovative means for achieving this milestone.

 He noted that overseas Pakistanis have always made Pakistan proud through their achievements and dedication to their motherland. He observed that the country needs more investment from abroad to fund the current account deficit and raise much needed foreign exchange reserves.

He recalled while various other banks joined the RDA at a later stage, Meezan Bank was amongst the first eight banks that launched this service since its inception.

 Dr. Syed acknowledged the elements behind this success such as the Bank’s dedicated focus on the product, its joint initiatives with SBP to create awareness about RDA, Shariah-inclination of overseas Pakistanis and availability of all necessary support from the regulators.

Dr. Murtaza Syed was also accompanied by Managing Director, Deposit Protection Corporation, Syed Irfan Ali, Executive Director Mr. Saleemullah, Executive Director Mr. Sohail Javaad and the Chief Spokesperson SBP Mr. Abid Qamar.

Mr. Irfan Siddiqui thanked the State Bank for their support in the RDA initiative and their patronage in inaugurating Meezan Roshan Digital Centre and said that Meezan Bank has always been fully committed to supporting this important initiative.

Speaking on the occasion, Meezan Bank’s Chairman Mr. Riyadh S. A. A. Edrees expressed his gratitude to SBP for their untiring support and efforts in promoting Islamic banking in Pakistan. He assured SBP’s leadership that the Board of Meezan Bank is committed towards supporting SBP’s various initiatives including RDA, Low-Cost Housing and SME Financing.