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Two-day media conclave and roundtable in Gwadar reviews CSR projects, socioeconomic development under CPEC

Gwadar (Nut Desk)  The initiatives in the domain of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) undertaken by China Overseas Ports Holding Company (COPHC) and other Chinese firms in Gwadar are appreciable and are aimed at the right direction, however, effective development communication and positive engagement with local communities is critical for the effectiveness and long-term success of these projects. All stakeholders should devise a mechanism for an integrated socio-economic development strategy and ensure inclusion of the hopes and aspiration of the inhabitants of Gwadar vis-à-vis CPEC.

This was the crux of a two-day media conclave and roundtable conference titled ‘CSR Initiatives in Gwadar (The Gateway to CPEC)’ co-organized by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad and the University of Gwadar in collaboration with COPHC, Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) and Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) in the strategic port town.

Speaking on the occasion, Naseer Khan Kashani, chairman, Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) stressed the importance of bringing the locals together through CSR.

“We must prioritize people over infrastructure development. Drinkable water and electricity is the top priority of the authorities in Gwadar”, he stated.

Kashani said a desalination plant of about 1.2 million gallons would become operational in six to eight months that would provide drinkable water for the locals.

Moreover, the newly inaugurated state-of-the-art Pak-China Vocational & Technical Training Institute will provide three years’ training to local youth, which is a big contribution by our Chinese friends, he added.

“Chinese authorities have also recently provided 3,000 solar panels to the poorest of the poor in Gwadar for the provision of electricity,” he informed.

While delivering the keynote speech, Zhang Baozhong, Chairman COPHC spoke at length about the experiences of his seven-year stay in Gwadar.

“We are cognizant of the fact that Gwadar deserves more rapid development to live up to the expectations of the local people. There is no denying the fact that it has developed much during the past seven years”, he remarked.

He stated three reasons for the promising prospects of Gwadar: the cooperation of the Gwadar people, its vast resources, and its strategic location.

“The inhabitants of Gwadar deserve respect and development according to their rightful demands”, Mr. Baozhong underscored.

“We are sending 20 students to China on scholarships every year. We have been running a primary school here for the last five years and soon we will construct a secondary school as well. More than 6000 solar panel units have been distributed among the people of Gwadar so far, and around 500,000 trees have been planted,” Shahzad Sultan, Country Head Marketing of COPHC informed while providing details of the CSR initiatives.

Chairman IPS Khalid Rahman highlighted the concept of CSR and elements that can improve the lives of the local inhabitants.

“We must have solution-oriented recommendations, not problem-oriented,” he said adding that positive thinking and improvement in governance will bring a huge change in the life of the people of Gwadar.

“CSR activities do not mean spending a share of your profit, it’s about creating an environment which is not harmful for the society in any way,” he added.

Professor Dr Abdul Razzaq Sabir, Vice Chancellor, University of Gwadar, in his welcome address earlier appreciated the initiatives of IPS for identifying challenges in the area.

He said giving back to the society is the biggest responsibility of corporate sector. Working on development of human resources should be the biggest priority of the government and private sector. As Gwadar is expanding after development of the port, it is important to learn from China’s experience and expertise through student exchange program. “We must train our youth to become productive elements of Gwadar.”

He was of the view that CSR must be defined in local perspective. Local issues could be considered to resolve people’s genuine and basic issues and problems through CSR initiatives.

He emphasized that engaging local community and civil society could result in better planning, befitting solutions and better implementation with local wisdom and participation.

Dr. Rashid Aftab, director Riphah Institute of Public Policy (RIPP) commented that reservations of locals must be addressed with evidence-based data sharing with all relevant stakeholders.

Jawad Akhtar Khokhar, advisor, maritime affairs, Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, earlier gave a detailed overview of the development projects in Gwadar under various modalities and highlighted the CPEC projects in Gwadar worth $2.1 billion so far.

He said so far three projects worth $314 million have been completed. These projects included Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan, physical infrastructure of Gwadar Port and Free Zone Phase-1, and Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute. Another seven projects worth $1.44 billion are under implementation process. These projects include Eastbay Expressway, which is 98 per cent complete; facilities of fresh water treatment, water supply and distribution, which are 70 per cent complete; New Gwadar International Airport; Pak-China Friendship Hospital Gwadar; infrastructure of Gwadar Free Zone Phase-II; 300 MW coal power plant and 1.2 million gallons’ desalination plant.

Khokhar said under the short-term strategy the prioritized projects include provision of water in three months and electricity in five months for Gwadar, Trading Corporation of Pakistan has been authorized to import one-third cargoes at Gwadar; and completion of M-8 motorway.

Highlighting long-term strategy, he said the government is aiming to build LNG and POL terminals at Gwadar port and ensure availability of electricity, water and gas to enable phase-2 expansion of the port.

Dolat Khan, registrar, University of Gwadar and Arsalan Ali, Head of Investments, Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) also spoke on the occasion.

It may be mentioned that the media conclave and roundtable conference was attended by a number of senior journalists and academics from Karachi, Islamabad and Gwadar. The delegates also visited China-Pakistan Vocational and Technical Training Institute and other sites under CSR to witness the pace of progress. They interacted with the local students and teachers to observe their views.

ZoodPay, the digital lending platform, expands to Pakistan with landmark acquisition of Tez Financial Services

 

·         ZoodPay acquires Tez in the first-ever fintech M&A deal in Pakistan.

·         Pakistan is a high potential market for ZoodPay, with a population of over 230 million people with less than 5% benefiting from access to credit.

·         Entering the Pakistani market precedes ZoodPay’s series C round.

Lahore (Nut Desk) ZoodPay, the leading digital lending platform for e-commerce in the Middle East and Central Asia, has entered Pakistan by fully acquiring Karachi headquartered Tez Financial Services (Tez). Backed by leading investors including Planet N, Flourish Ventures (Omidyar Network) and Accion, Tez became the first fintech in Pakistan to be granted a Non-Bank Financial Company (NBFC) license in 2018 and ever since has carved out a specialized niche in the consumer lending space providing nano-loans to the unbanked and underbanked masses across 160+ cities in Pakistan. Through this acquisition, ZoodPay is positioning itself as a key new player in the digital lending and fintech industry in Pakistan.

Commenting on the expansion, Michael Khoi, CEO of ZoodPay said, “Pakistan is a market brimming with potential given the number of people seeking access to credit facilities. We’re confident that by combining ZoodPay’s unique ecosystem and experience operating in frontier markets with Tez’s local know-how, strong team and ecosystem partnerships, we’ll be able to positively impact the life of Pakistani people and empower them by giving them access to easy, affordable and reliable digital financial services”.

In the absence of credit histories and credible data, conventional players have been unable to assess risk, deterring their interest in serving the masses – resultantly less than 5% individuals in Pakistan have access to formal credit. ZoodPay aims to address this problem by leveraging its holistic B2B2C digital-lending ecosystem. The company’s lending strategy is fortified by three integral elements of digital infrastructure including, (i) Acquisition of consumers and merchants via its diverse distribution channels including its own e-commerce marketplace and network of retailers and partners, (ii) Deriving rich transactional data from its internal universe of fintech, e-commerce marketplace and logistics, and (iii) Leveraging its proprietary credit scoring algorithms to assess credit risk and extend credit to both consumers and merchants. This dynamic ecosystem is supplemented by the combined strengths of ZoodPay and Tez, whereby ZoodPay brings its supreme execution ability from regional markets with almost 10 million users across five countries and Tez brings deep insights into digital consumer lending with a successful track record in mitigating default levels.

Sharing their views, Naureen Hyat and Humza Hussain, Co-founders of Tez articulated, “We started Tez with an ambition to make access to finance for the masses as easy as access to a mobile phone. We are humbled and thrilled by the confidence shown in our business model by larger regional players and look forward to the next level of development for Tez where our learnings in crafting the digital lending journey and managing risk can serve as a foundation for delivering consumer-centric lending solutions at scale, while creating credit histories for the masses.”

ZoodPay has raised US$50 million to date, with participation from leading global and strategic investors including Zain, the leading MENA-based telecom entity and London based VC Fund Sturgeon Capital. The company has launched its Series C round, part of the proceeds of which will be allocated to ZoodPay’s expansion into Pakistan. With a population of over 230 million people, half of whom are young and digitally-savvy, over 100 million smartphones and 90% internet coverage, Pakistan represents a clear high potential market, with a dire need of formal credit.

Sharing his views on this transaction, Nadeem Hussain, Chairman of Tez said, “The Pakistani startup ecosystem has hit its inflection point. In addition to sizable fundraises, acquisitions of local players by international players are starting to take place. This further validates the global value Pakistani startups are creating. Planet N was one of the first in the market to invest in startups. We are now seeing the first mover advantage.”

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Syngenta is a leading multinational enterprise, revolutionizing the global agricultural sector, with its innovative products and solutions. Syngenta Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited recently organized a policy dialogue on sustainable agriculture in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. This event was also in sync with Syngenta’s vision to achieve food security through higher yields & productivity by deploying new technologies in the country.

The session brought together key stakeholders from the public, private, development, and academic sectors, including; the Secretary – Agriculture Department of KPK, Director General (DG) Agriculture Extension of KPK, DG Environmental Protection Agency of KPK, Vice-Chancellor University of Agriculture Peshawar and representatives from prestigious institutions like; UNDP, UN-FAO, Plant Protection Department, Pakistan, Sustainable Development Unit-KPK and the University of Peshawar. Providing insights about the KPK government’s valuable initiative for the restoration of over 900,000 acres of agricultural land in KPK, the Provincial Secretary of Agriculture highlighted the need for immediate actions to deal with climate change and food security issues in the province.

Other distinguished speakers shared their expertise about the global best practices and suggested valuable contributions to enable sustainable agriculture in the province. A way forward for making the country and the province food secure was also discussed, while the participants urged the agricultural sector and its peripheral industry for coordinated efforts to deal with overlapping crises of: Food insecurity, climate change, water scarcity and rising temperatures, across the country. Participants appreciated the pivotal role played by Syngenta’s innovative crop protection, crop enhancement, seed care products and seeds, in promoting sustainable agriculture and food security, all over Pakistan. They lauded Syngenta’s efforts to initiate a policy discourse on sustainable agriculture in the province and the company’s pioneering solutions that promise higher farm-profits, crop quality and convenience for the farmers.

The Head of Business Sustainability and Crop Protection Development at Syngenta Pakistan – Mr. M. Tauseef ul Haq stated that: “This was a truly insightful conference and I would like to thank the key stakeholders of the agricultural sector for their great response to this forum.” Over the years, Syngenta has evolved a wide range of solutions to protect and enhance all major crops (including Cotton, Wheat, Rice, Sugarcane, Corn, Vegetables and Fruits) from pests, diseases, rough weather and environmental stress through its crop protection, biologicals, biopesticides, seed and other crop enhancement products. Healthy farm produce gives higher profits, convenience and quality to fetch a higher market price for the farmers and accelerate their socioeconomic growth. Syngenta’s “Naya Savera” an exclusive network of over 850 franchise centers – provides its whole range of products along with seed-treatment facilities to the farmers to ensure peace of mind for the growers. Syngenta revolves around addressing the challenges faced by growers in order to contribute towards sustainable agriculture growth and subsequently providing greater food security.

Lahore (Nut Desk) Pakistan Footwear Manufacturers Association has lauded the Federal government initiative to impose an immediate ban on the import of luxury goods as one of the major preventive steps to forestall the looming default and control spiraling hike in dollar price against rupee.

In a statement issued on Friday here, Chairman Pakistan Footwear Association Mr. Zahid Hussain said that the long-awaited but much-needed step under taken by Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif would help in saving the precious foreign exchange besides arresting hike in dollar price. The ban on import of footwear would gear up local manufacturing and it will also generate more employments in the country.

However, Zahid Hussain the Chairman called upon the Prime Minister that the shipments which are enroute and their LCs (Letter of Credit) have been opened according to the bank record before May 19, they may be given one time exemption from this ban so that they are cleared on the ports without any delay.

The Chairman further said that the decision to ban import of luxury items will save the country’s precious foreign exchange while austere and financially stronger people must lead in this effort so that the less privileged do not have to bear this burden. “We will overcome all the challenges with resolve and determination,” he added. He said that it is wise decision of the Prime Minister which will support the balance of payments position, and will not apply on the imports in rupees or through barter mechanism by land routes.

The decision comes as the dollar has witnessed a meteoric rise against the rupee over the past few weeks on account of the country’s rising import bill, growing current account deficit and depleting foreign exchange reserves. On Thursday, the dollar shattered all records and soared to Rs200 in the interbank market.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Taking the lead in protecting the Pakistani telecom users, Pakistan’s cellular and digital services frontrunner, Zong 4G, has launched a nationwide public awareness campaign against thefts and frauds, which are becoming very common these days. Through the digital campaign, millions of Pakistanis are being educated on the growing occurrences of various forms of thefts and frauds that include fake prizes from game shows, fake calls from pretending bank agents, SMS with spam hyperlinks, etc. These scams usually target vulnerable users and are aimed at acquiring confidential information like CNIC numbers, credit/debit card details, bank account details, etc.

Here are some details of the scams that Zong wants the Pakistani telecom users to be wary of: Fake Prizes: Users get a fake call or message telling them that they have won some grand prize at one of the country’s leading game shows. They’re then tricked into sharing confidential information like CNIC numbers or card/account details.

Fake Calls: Telecom users get a fake call from a pretend bank/insurance agent asking them for their confidential information like CNIC number, card or account details. Fake SMSs: Sometimes users also get an SMS from an unknown number with some attractive message prompting them to click some spam link through which their sensitive information is stolen. “We’re a customer-centric company and whatever we do at our organization is for the benefit and welfare of our customers,” shared Zong’s official spokesperson. “Staying protected in today’s increasingly digital world is not easy and the users who are not cautious fall prey to such scammers.

But we are here to educate the Pakistani telecom users on how to get the best of the digital world while staying protected,” the spokesperson added. Being a customer-focused organization, Zong 4G has adopted a subscriber-level SIM blocking and CNIC blacklisting service to control fraudulent users. Customers continue to be at the heart of everything Zong does and the awareness campaign is a testament to that commitment.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Director General National Logistic Cell (NLC), Major General Yousaf Jamal visited Lahore Prime and Downtown site at Central Business District (CBD) Punjab to review work in progress. Chief Executive Officer, Lahore Central Business District Development Authority (LCBDDA), Mr. Imran Amin, Chief Operating Officer (LCBDDA), Brig (R) Mansoor Janjua and the concerned directorate heads of LCBDDA welcomed him on the site. DG NLC was accompanied by Brigadier (R) Umer Farooq, PD NLC (Central) and Colonel (R) Arslan, SPM NLC. The delegation was given a detailed briefing about ongoing infrastructural work and its progress. Mr. Riaz Hussain, Executive Director Technical Directorate of LCBDDA also updated on the on-going construction and excavation for parking plaza. While sharing his views about the visit, Chief Executive Officer (LCBDDA) Mr. Imran Amin said that “NLC has always played a pivotal role in the development arena of Pakistan and having them by our side for infrastructural development at CBD Punjab is very encouraging. This working relation will definitely accelerate development work at CBD Punjab”. DG NLC, Major General Yousaf Jamal said “The pace of the infrastructural development work at CBD Punjab is way beyond satisfactory level. After visiting the site and witnessing the ample business opportunities, it is cleared that why CBD Punjab is the center of interest for domestic and international investors”. The infrastructure development work is gaining pace at CBD Punjab with high-end quality standards and procedures, which are a step forward of turning the dream of economically stable Pakistan into reality.

Karachi (Nut Desk)  TransKarachi, a Public Sector Company established and owned by the Government of Sindh to carry out the project implementation of the Karachi Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line, has initiated a tree plantation drive across Karachi through which 50,000 trees that are beneficial for the environment will be planted across the city.

These trees will be 5 feet high and include the likes of Lignum Tree, Gul Mohar, Coconut Palm, Khajoor and Peepal which are known to provide shade, bear fruit and produce oxygen throughout the year. Earlier in March this year, the Company rolled out an alternate route plan for the citizens of Karachi ensuring smooth traffic flow as people might face difficulties due to the development work. The Company also organized 3 Cheque Distribution Ceremonies to provide resettlement compensation to small businesses and vendors whose businesses have been impacted by the project before cut-off date.      

Wasif Ijlal, CEO, TransKarachi said, “The Red Line Project will be a game changer for the public transport sector in Karachi. Thousands of new employment opportunities have been created and once construction is in full swing, many more opportunities will be created. With daily expected ridership of 350,000 people, I am confident that Karachi is on its way to becoming a truly empowered city directly benefiting the youth which makes up for almost 70% of our population.”

The project will see the relocation of 8500 trees that may be cut to construct Karachi’s first BRT fueled by Bio Gas.