CBD Punjab Assists Al Qaim Foundation To Combat Thalassemia.

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Lahore Central Business District Development Authority (LCBDDA) also known as Central Business District Punjab (CBD Punjab) arranged a blood donation drive at CBD Punjab house, to assist Al Qaim Foundation in combating Thalassemia. This initiative is a testament to CBD’s corporate social responsibility agenda. Al Qaim Foundation has been doing remarkable work for the treatment of patients suffering from Thalassemia, Hemophilia and Blood Cancer.

CBD Punjab employees & even apprentices volunteered in the noble cause and donated blood for the Thalassemia patients. Sharing his view on this collaboration the Executive Director Commercial, CBD Punjab – Mohammad Omer said: “CBD Punjab has always been at the forefront when it comes to supporting social causes. Through this assistance, we aim to encourage and actively take part in philanthropic activities for Thalassemia patients that they are not alone in this fight”. CBD Punjab, being a responsible entity, has always shown strong dedication towards the well-being of society and continues its support such causes in spreading awareness about thalassemia.

 

GameBird and Free Fire Pakistan League close a successful third season

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) GameBird, in collaboration with Garena Free Fire Pakistan League (FFPL), hosted a successful finale of the third season of the competition. The collaboration resulted in the biggest FFPL competition with a total prize pool of more than PKR 10 million. The event was attended by actors, influencers, and other notable personalities.

After qualifying tournaments in Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Multan,and group stages, the tournament’s finale was held in Lahore with a participation of 12 finalist teams.After intense competition, the team House of Bloodemerged victoriousand has now qualified to represent Pakistan at Free Fire World Series in 2022, which is expected to surpass the Free Fire League finale as the biggest Free Fire E-sports tournament. The event was accentuated with the GameBird experience area that offered audiences a sneak peek into everything the portal has to offer.

GameBird, being the E-sports pioneer in Pakistan, collaborated with Garena FFPL Season 3 to combine their efforts towards creating a culture of competitive gaming, by going into different cities. This lead to finding some of the best talent competing in later stages, by providing them with the opportunity to not only compete for the winning amount but also develop on their game plays for all the future engagements.

Areej Khan, Vice President Digital, Telenor Pakistan commented on the occasion, “The online gaming industry is booming in Pakistan and thanks to the increasing internet penetration rate, there is potential for further growth and uptake. We recognise the entertainment needs of the young Pakistani population who are eager for reliable gaming platforms with accessible premium features. The GameBird online platform does just that by offering Pakistan’s rapidly growing E-sports community a360-gaming experience. I congratulate all participants of the league and look forward to many exciting competitions to come in the future.”

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Free Fire producer, while talking about the event said, “A special thanks to GameBird for working with us and making FFPL III a successful event. Platforms like GameBird will be a great addition to Pakistan’s E-sports ecosystem as it enables gamers to stay connected by participating in E-sports tournaments across the country in a convenient way.”

GameBird also made a surprise announcement of a FreeFire Ramadan tournament which has already received an overwhelming response. Given how Pakistan didn’t have any E-sports platform, Telenor Pakistan bridged this gap by providing a one-stop gaming platform to cater to the needs of Pakistani gamers. The GameBird platform provides gamers with the unique opportunity of participating in E-sports tournaments, reading gaming news, watching live streams, and winning prizes/gratification upon winning the tournaments and completing in-app purchases through Direct Carrier Billing, and so much more.

Rabab Hashim pays a heartfelt tribute on the last day on set of Angna

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Rabab Hashim calls it a wrap as the journey of her character Eshaal comes to end. Angna a production of iDream Entertainment, starring Rabab Hashim along with Ali Abbas, Azfar Rehman and Areeba Habib. 
Rabab Hashim was full of praises as she thanked each and every one from the team in making this project a wonderful and memorable experience for her. 
“A big fat thank you to my super amazing, hardworking and very loving team of Angna as I wrap up shooting for the project” she expressed her heartfelt emotions about her entire journey while shooting for this project on her social media. 
She also added “Ali Abbas thank you for bringing so much positive energy on set each day! And being a really supportive costar and friend. Rubina Ashraf I am bummed we took this picture after you left but a heartfelt thank you for all the mentoring and love always! You know we love you”. 
Each episode topping the rating charts and the serial regularly being discussed on social media and media, Angna has everyone’s hearts. 
Rabab Hashim has out shone herself as she takes the lead role as Eshaal paired up with her co star Ali Abbas. A drama about families, their hope’s, their dreams and their up’s and down’s make Angna very relatable and close to home. 
Wishing Rabab Hashim many more weeks of success as Angna leads the screens. 

Supernet Receives Shariah Screening Certificate from Meezan Bank

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Supernet Limited (‘SNL’), a subsidiary of Telecard Limited has been awarded Shariah Screening Certificate by Meezan Bank Limited, based on the review of consolidated financial statements of SNL, certifying its compliance with KSE Meezan Islamic Index Criteria set out by Pakistan Stock Exchange, this was announced in a notice by Telecard sent to Pakistan Stock Exchange today.

According to Meezan Bank letter, Meezan Bank Limited, in the capacity of Banker to the book building, reviewed the Consolidated Audited Financial Statements of Supernet Limited based on June 30, 2021 which are in compliance with KSE Meezan Islamic Index Criteria set out by Pakistan Stock Exchange.

On the basis of reviewed financial statements, it is allowed to participate in initial offering of Supernet Limited with the provision that the investee will be required to purify is dividend income as per company’s annual dividend purification rate determined on semi-annual basis in KMI- All Share Islamic Index.

This is pertinent to highlight that the Shariah compliance status of the company’s financial statements may vary from one financial period to the other. So, this certificate shall remain valid as long as company’s latest available financial statements are for the period ended June 30.

LUMS alumni secure top 3 positions in SCSS Exams 2021

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) 28 LUMS graduates passed the recently held Central Superior Services (CSS) examinations with 3 alumni securing top positions. Hafiz Ali Naeem Sheikh, a graduate of BSc Management Science (2017) has secured a top position and has been inducted into the Pakistan Administrative Services (PAS). Hafiz is joined by Ahsan Fraz Gondal, a graduate of BSc Accounting and Finance (2019), and Haroon Sahu, BSc Economics and Mathematics (2020), who have both secured the second and third positions in the CSS exam 2021, respectively.

Congratulating the alumni on achieving top honours in their Civil Services exams, Vice-Chancellor of LUMS, Dr. Arshad Ahmad said, “We are very proud of your hard work that has resulted in this well-deserved achievement! The Central Superior Service Exams are no small feat, and it takes months (and in some cases years) of study and preparation to pass them and then eventually be placed into various posts within Pakistan’s Civil Service. This year, we are thrilled that the highest number of people to receive top marks in the exam are from LUMS. Ali, Ahsan and Haroon are among twenty-eight LUMS alumni who will enter the Civil Service to give back to Pakistan and through their work contribute to making critical changes in the lives of others.”

When asked about how LUMS helped the students in preparing for these examinations, Ahsan remarked, “LUMS played a key role in equipping me with analytical and critical thinking tools. The courses helped me become a better writer and enabled me to pass the CSS essay in the first attempt.”

Hafiz Ali Naeem Sheikh is also a National Outreach Programme (NOP) scholar. The NOP is an initiative aimed at promoting cultural diversity and inclusion by imparting world-class education to talented students from across the country with funding of over 140% for tuition and other expenses.

Crediting his achievement at LUMS, Hafiz shared, “I actively participated in extracurricular activities at LUMS and connected with peers belonging to different academic and social backgrounds. That experience helped me to get selected for the Near East and South Asia Exchange Scholarship Programme to study in the US for a year and ultimately motivated me to join the Civil Service.”

Director of Advancement Office, LUMS, Ms. Nuzhat Kamran also commented on this achievement. “In the past few years, LUMS graduates have secured positions in the CSS exams. And this year, they took the top three places! They are joining a community of over 200 alumni, who have passed these exams to date. This group mentors and guides fellow Luminites aspiring to join the Civil Services. I hope this tradition of mentorship continues and our CSS alumni inspire the community as they serve our country,” she said.  

In addition to Law and Humanities and Social Sciences students, this year many students from Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering at LUMS have passed and taken positions in the coveted exams. For the past few years, an increasing number of LUMS students and alumni are appearing for this competitive examination after graduation and have qualified. In line with the mission of the University, LUMS looks forward to its graduates contributing to the prosperity of the country through civil services. 

British Council trains 100 emerging young women for leadership role

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Celebrating the launch of its ‘Women in Leadership’ programme in South Asia, the British Council has reiterated its commitment to take more effective initiatives to increase women contribution towards nation building through women empowerment.

The British Council hosted a digital event across South Asia to celebrate the launch of its ‘Women in Leadership’ programme, a training programme for women in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Inspired by Her Majesty the Queen’s seventy-year service and leadership, this training programme was launched under which a network of 100 young women leaders in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the UK was built. This programme offered 100 emerging young women leaders (25 each from these four states) a learning opportunity through an eight-week online, self-access leadership course to become more effective in leading interventions to support gender equality and women’s leadership within their sectors.

Representatives from British Council, Clore Social Leadership UK, SoLF, Women in Leadership participants, and other experts participated in the event. The event was moderated by Sidra Iqbal, a celebrated broadcast journalist and media personality from Pakistan while Jehan Ara, Founder and CEO of Katalyst Labs was the keynote speaker.

A panel discussion also took place where stakeholders shed light on the factors hindering gender parity and women decision-making roles. The discussion called for more vigorous efforts to ensure an enabling environment for capacity building of women.

The panellists included Coordinator Nijera Kori, Bangladesh, Khushi Kabir; Member of Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, India, Archana Soreng; Country Director Marie Stopes Society, Pakistan, Asma Balal; and CEO Chrysalis, Sri Lanka, Ashika Gunasena.

During the event, inspirational stories of women who have been part of the Women in Leadership programme were also showcased.

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. It builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language.

TECNO’s AR Campaign with Man City #AnnounceYourself Shortlisted

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TECNO’s AR Campaign with Man City #AnnounceYourself Shortlisted for Best Brand Activation Involving Football at the FBA 2022

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The globally successful smartphone brand, TECNO got shortlisted at the Football Business Awards (FBA) for its #AnnounceYourself Augmented Reality (AR) Campaign for the 2022 Best Brand Activation Involving Football. The #AnnounceYourself campaign was a runaway success catching the eyes of many football executives and professionals all around the world.

Football Business Awards (FBA) is considered the industry’s foremost prestigious accolade. TECNO’s campaign blended the most advanced AR immersive technology, a storied club, and the aspirations of football fans all over the world making #AnnounceYourself attain attention from people around the globe.

FBA celebrates the vital roles businesses and clubs play in shaping the football industry both on and off the field. Through FBA it recognizes outstanding successes such as excellence in football media, marketing efficiency, as well as business and technology innovation.

TECNO, the Global Official Handset Partner of Manchester City, created a Metaverse-like experience for fans to interact with the club set in Man City. From visiting the Etihad Stadium and Man City Football Academy training campus to signing a new contract, selecting their squad number, and mingling with first-team players, this AR experience gave fans a chance to live out their dreams supporting their favorite football club.

Users could also take part in the 3D penalty shootout games before showing off their skills and scores on social media. The AR experience campaign culminated in a grand lucky draw where lucky contestants won rare VIP matchday tickets and travel to a Manchester City home fixture during the season.

This campaign by TECNO received recognition from the judging panel of FBA as it reflects how technology can be integrated into our passions, and utilize platforms such as AR to unite fans and allow them to share common experiences. Moreover, with this AR campaign, TECNO demonstrated the extensive effects of sports marketing and worked to cement the brand’s presence on the global stage.

This campaign also reflects TECNO’s mission as a technology company to bring consumers an innovative brand experience through pioneering technology and some amazing marketing strategies. With the “Stop At Nothing” slogan, TECNO is committed to bringing the best and latest technologies to progressive individuals across global emerging markets, providing elegantly designed intelligent products that inspire consumers to uncover a world of possibilities.

 

 

Congratulations to the Winners of the Bajao Pakistan Nayi Awaaz Online Music Competition

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Lahore (Nut Desk)

After months of anticipation and amazing musical talents pouring in from all over Pakistan, three music geniuses have won the hearts of Pakistan to become the winners of Bajao Pakistan’s online music competition, Nayi Awaaz.

The moment that everyone has been waiting for! The three winners who have made it to the top of Nayi Awaaz:  3rd Position goes to Danish Butt (winning a cash prize of 2 lakhs) ,  2nd position is a tie between Sameen Khawaja and Zaira Ali (winning a cash prize of 4 lakhs each), and the winner of the competition is *drumroll* Noman Al Sheikh (winner a grand cash prize of 5 lakhs and a song produced by a leading music producer).

Congratulations to all the winners and we wish them the very best of luck for the future!

The team behind Bajao.pk, one of Pakistan’s leading music streaming platforms, devised an ingenious plan to promote and bring forward the hidden talent of Pakistan. Nayi Awaaz, the biggest and one of its kind online singing competition was launched with full hype and vigor on January 26th through Bajao Music’s social media handles including Facebook, Instagram and the Bajao Music App.  The celebrities onboarded included the most popular names from the music industry: Yashal Shahid, Abdullah Qureshi, Umair Jaswal and Bilal Khan.

Not only was the scale of the competition huge, but also the prizes that were announced for the top 3 positions were amazing. Major cash prizes for top 3 as well as the chance to work with one of the leading music producer (for 1st position) gave the contestants something to look forward and added to their incentive to come out as the best of the best in Pakistan!

After the competition was declared open, Bajao Music received an overwhelming response with 1000+ entries from aspiring singers from all over Pakistan. With so much talent and such strong vocals, the judges had a tough time shortlisting winners for the next round. Public voting was also given heavy weightage in the assessment process.

Nayi Awaaz received a lot of love from the people of Pakistan and massive attention from media.

Nayi Awaaz was based on 3 rounds, providing exemplary opportunities to underground singers to showcase their talent and become the next voice of Pakistan. From the 1000+ entries, 125 contestants were shortlisted and entered the 1st Round; 25 winners of this round qualified for 2nd round; and then 10 lucky winners made it through the 2nd round. After this, the 3rd and final round took place and 3 winners were selected. While the 1st round was based on cover songs and could only be judged on voice quality and performance, Round 2 and 3 had a twist! The finalists for these rounds were given three interesting hashtags to choose from and then this hashtag had to be included in their original songs.

Nayi Awaaz was not just another competition. It was a designed to be a musical journey for the singers, from developing voice quality to using their creative juices to produce music that brings out their personalities.

We look forward to many more musical events from Bajao Music. If you haven’t already, do download the Bajao Music App, and listen to the music that has won the hearts in this Nayii Awaaz competition!!!

NIC’s signs MoU with Huawei across Pakistan

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NIC’s signs MoU with Huawei across Pakistan to accelerate Cloud and AI enablement for start-ups

Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) Advancing their mission to promote the startup ecosystem of Pakistan, Huawei Cloud signed MoU’s with National Incubation Centers in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, during the Huawei Cloud Summit Middle East in Dubai. The summit, the first major offline ecosystem event of 2022 in Dubai, centered on digital transformation for organizations within the region and included various leaders from the Pakistani startup ecosystem including Head of Program, NIC Pakistan, Zeeshan Bin Shahid, NIC Karachi Project Director, Omar Abedin, Program Manager, Syed Azfar Hussain, Director NIC Lahore and Quetta, Mr. Nauman Zaffar, along with other senior NIC and Huawei officers.

This is the first time any cloud company has brought together to bring all together all major incubation centers on one table, on such a grand scale, to discuss the ideas and challenges they face. The partnership hopes to enable a “Digital Pakistan” and aims to bolster the implementation of Cloud technology as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) through knowledge sharing. Under its terms, Huawei Pakistan will provide the NIC’s with start-ups special cloud service packages and allow their participation in its international competitions.

In addition, Huawei will enroll relevant selected start-ups to the Huawei Cloud Spark Program, its global accelerator that provides training on cloud computing and talent, as well as funding support for tech-enabled start-ups ready to scale. The goal is to expand relationships through collectively agreed talent capacity building. Such actions will culminate in a pool of highly competent and in-demand professionals who are capable of creating job opportunities.

NIC Karachi, Project Director, Omar Abedin joyously stated at the signing,

“Partnerships with Huawei like these are essential for not just the growth of Pakistani startups but they reiterate the confidence the world has in Pakistani talent.”

“NIC believes great things happen when we team up. This collaborative synergy with Huawei secure and stable solution will enable the Pakistani startup ecosystem to achieve new heights” said Zeeshan Bin Shahid- Head of Program, NIC Pakistan.

Director NIC Lahore and Quetta, Mr. Nauman Zaffar stated, “Our partnership with Huawei Cloud is a colossal step to enable start-ups and small-medium enterprises in Pakistan to leapfrog towards tech adoption and optimization. The opportunity to innovate and digitize with Huawei Cloud services is limitless, and the window for Pakistani start-ups to accelerate growth and scale up is now. We are thrilled to have partnered with one of the top five cloud services in the world, so our start-ups can actively contribute to a reliable and strong ecosystem that is propelled by data and driven by technology.”

Mr. Wang, Regional VP Huawei, stated on the occasion, “We are pleased to partner with the National Incubation Centers, who are driving the knowledge-based economy of Pakistan. Globally, Huawei is committed to enhancing the tech enablement of startups through Huawei Cloud and launch the Spark Program to facilitate the startup ecosystem in Pakistan, with the aim to incubate and accelerate tech startups towards a connected and intelligent world, as a friend and a technology partner.”

Huawei is the chief IT and Telecom equipment supplier in Pakistan. Huawei has established secure end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices, and cloud computing.

Jazz shines at Effie Awards Pakistan 2022 with 5 awards

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Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan’s leading digital operator Jazz has won five awards at the Effie Awards Pakistan 2022 held last night in Karachi.

The company received three silver awards under the following categories: ‘Corporate Reputation’ category for its ‘Super Nahi Tou 4G Nahi’ campaigns showcasing the brand’s impact on creating an inclusive digital ecosystem, ‘Positive Change: Social Good – Brands (Services)’ category for its women’s day campaign, and ‘Seasonal Marketing (Services)’ category for its ‘Creating a Digital Pakistan’ campaign.

Jazz also bagged two bronze awards under the ‘Marketing Disruptors’ and ‘Topical Marketing’ categories for its drive-in cinema initiative.

“Being recognized for our unique marketing approach to build trust and inspire change feels tremendously special. This is an endorsement of the hard work our teams and partners put in to drive growth and create a brand legacy,” said Jazz CCO Asif Aziz.

These accolades are a demonstration of Jazz’s continued focus on marketing communications that is social, rooted in a collective purpose and is able to change culture. This is in line with its business and sustainability objectives of driving digital and financial inclusion, especially for women.