News Update Times

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) More than one hundred thousand people in Karachi to benefit from newly inaugurated water filtration plant at Pak Colony Karachi. Eugene Willemsen PepsiCo CEO Africa, Middle East and South Asia inaugurated the water filtration facility that was commissioned with the help of the international non-government organization, WaterAid, with funding from PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo. Country Director WaterAid Pakistan, Arif Jabbar was present at the inauguration ceremony.

The water filtration plant enables access to safe water for 100,000 citizens. The water facility has the capacity of filtering 50,000 liters of water every day. Clean water is served to multiple communities through 6 distribution points. Water access has been extended to three educational institutions in the vicinity of the facility. A water user committee have been formed to oversee the operation and maintenance of the water filtration plant. An integral part of the program has been community sensitization on hygiene, water safety and water conservation. 300 children were trained on hygiene promotion through interactive sessions competitions.

PepsiCo’s ‘Access to safe water’ program is supporting the Government’s Clean Green Pakistan initiative aimed at environmental sustainability by providing access to safe water to 200,000 people in the urban underserved areas of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.   

Mr. Eugene Willemsen, CEO PepsiCo Africa, Middle East and South Asia said, “Taking positive action towards the environment and communities is ingrained in our pep+ mission. Providing safe water access continues to be our priority in Pakistan and globally.”

WaterAid Country Director Arif Jabbar Khan said that “WaterAid values the longstanding partnership with PepsiCo for provision of clean drinking water to communities in Pakistan. The role of private sector is vital for achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal-6″ Mr. Khan also said that WaterAid has ensured greater ownership of and engagement with communities in Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad for long-term sustainability and continued benefits of the PepsiCo sponsored clean drinking water projects. This has been a key factor in success of these initiatives.”

PepsiCo’s water strategy is designed to enable long-term, sustainable water security for its business and for local communities that depend on an accessible and reliable supply of clean, safe water. Through partnerships funded by The PepsiCo Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, PepsiCo since 2006 has helped more than 55 million people gain access to safe water through distribution, purification, and conservation programs, far surpassing the company’s original target to help 25 million people by 2025. PepsiCo has set an ambitious new target to expand safe water access to 100 million people by 2030 with an immediate-term focus on supporting water distribution, sanitation, and hygiene practices.

Eugene Willemsen PepsiCo CEO Africa, Middle East and South Asia inaugurating the water filtration facility at Pak Colony Karachi.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan’s cellular and digital services leader, Zong 4G, has now come up with a powerful ‘Weekly Pro’ Package for digitally savvy customers. Offering the biggest data option in the industry, the Weekly Pro Package will allow subscribers to enjoy unmatched data and voice connectivity without any restrictions. The Weekly Pro Package gives customers 40 GB of all-purpose data, 250 Other network minutes, and unlimited Zong minutes and SMSs at the promotional Load price of PKR 399 only.

The Package brings ultimate convenience and unrivalled connectivity to the customers for the entire week, allowing them to work, play and always stay connected seamlessly. The Package is in line with Zong’s proactive approach in understanding and addressing the varied connectivity needs of its customers across different segments of the country. “The Weekly Pro Package is part of our ‘Let’s Get Digital’ motto and addresses the heavy data needs of our power users. We realize that people are increasingly depending on their connectivity and data for work – especially in the wake of Covid-19.

The Weekly Pro Package turns their handsets into a connectivity powerhouse.” shared Zong’s official spokesperson. As a customer-centric company, Zong aims to uplift its customers’ experience to newer heights. Through its most advanced digital solutions, Pakistan’s leading telecommunication network is innovating to provide sought-after solutions, services, and offers to its customers and promises to continue doing so in the future.

OPPO recognized for its Hinge & Display Integration on the Find N at MWC22 Barcelona

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) This week, OPPO was presented with the Disruptive Device Innovation Award at the 2022 Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards at MWC22 Barcelona.

The Award, which recognizes OPPO for its Hinge & Display Integration on Find N, was announced during a virtual ceremony co-hosted by Sasha Twining and Justin Springham from Mobile World Live and streamed to audiences around the globe via LinkedIn.

“We are extremely honored that Find N has received the Disruptive Device Innovation Award at this year’s GLOMOs. This is a huge recognition of OPPO’s products and technology not only from our peers in the industry but also end-users themselves,” said Billy Zhang, Vice President of Overseas Sales and Service at OPPO. “Following four years of R&D and six iterations, we are delighted to see that OPPO Find N is finally making foldable devices suitable for everyday people, rather than devices purely for tech enthusiasts. User experience has always been at the center of everything we do at OPPO, and it will continue to do so as we further explore how to deliver truly practical value to people through technological innovation.”

“The strict judging process makes the GLOMOs one of the most respected awards in the industry,” said Shaun Collins, GLOMOs Head Judge and Executive Chairman at CCS Insight. “The judges were particularly impressed by the innovations of OPPO’s foldable Find N. This execution of the technology by OPPO was praised by the judges for its durability and ease of use in a rapidly maturing sector of the market. The judges also noted that OPPO had delivered it in the most affordable large foldable phone on the market.”

The GLOMO Awards, chaired by Shaun Collins, Executive Chairman of CCS Insight, are adjudicated by over 200 independent industry experts, analysts, journalists, academics, mobile operator representatives, and CTOs; and are widely recognised as the most prestigious accolade in the mobile industry. The Disruptive Device Innovation category recognizes new technology products that make use of innovation in hardware and software to enhance performance and improve user experience. In winning the award, OPPO’s Find N was recognized for its distinct, self-developed hinge mechanism as well as its unique external design.

Released at the end of 2021, Find N is OPPO’s first flagship foldable smartphone. With its ergonomic design, Find N offers convenient use with a single hand, or a highly immersive, large screen experience when unfolded. To address problems associated with screen creases typically found on other foldable smartphones, OPPO introduced its own Flexion Hinge design. The new hinge not only improves reliability and reduces the appearance of screen creases, but also enables the screen to freely stand at varying angles (between 50-120 degrees) of the display. Over one million orders have been placed for Find N to date.

During MWC 2022, OPPO has showcased the depth and breadth of its achievements in technologies in areas such as 5G/6G, device form factor, imaging, flash charge, and AR. These include the launch of 150W SUPERVOOC_TM flash charge, which doubles the lifespan of smartphone batteries, and 240W SUPERVOOC_TM, which can fully charge a 4,500mAh battery in 9 minutes, as well as OPPO’s latest generation of 5G smart connective hubs, the OPPO 5G CPE T2. Also making an appearance at MWC 2022 was OPPO’s latest flagship smartphone series, the Find X5 Series, Find N, and OnePlus 10 Pro, in addition to breakthrough technologies such as the MariSilicon X dedicated imaging NPU, OPPO Air Glass, and OPPO Retractable Camera.

On the back of continued investment in R&D and new breakthroughs in product innovation, OPPO recorded a growth of 22% in global smartphone shipments in 2022. With a total share of 11% in the global smartphone market, OPPO also became the world’s fourth-largest smartphone company. OPPO’s diverse portfolio of 5G smartphones has helped it become the second-largest Android 5G smartphone company for two consecutive years. Facing greater integration between virtual and real worlds and the arrival of an all-encompassing 5G Internet of Experience, OPPO continues to strive to create a better, smarter connected future for more people through enhanced technology and user experience.

Further information about winners and nominees of the GLOMO Awards 2022 can be found here https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/mobile-awards.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Jazz, Pakistan’s leading digital operator (part of VEON Group NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), announces the appointment of Atyab Tahir as the CEO of JazzCash effective May 1 2022.

Atyab, currently serving as Country Manager MasterCard Pakistan & Afghanistan, has over two decades of international experience in banking and consulting. Atyab has also held senior positions at Fidelity Investments, HBL, Telenor Bank and easypaisa. He holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Babson College.

Commenting on Atyab’s appointment Aamir Ibrahim, CEO, Jazz  said: “While mobile phones and payment solutions have accelerated financial inclusion in the country, a significant portion of Pakistan’s adult population remain unbanked. I am confident that under Atyab’s dynamic leadership JazzCash will help boost financial inclusion across the board through innovative and customer-centric products.”

“JazzCash is at the forefront of Pakistan’s digital revolution processing more than 5 million transactions every day and accounting for almost 7% of Pakistan’s GDP. Our aim is to build a world-class fintech serving every single Pakistani, from youth, SMEs, freelancers, with a very strong focus on the unbanked and the underbanked. I look forward to joining the Jazz family and collaborating with our partners in the telecommunications and financial services sector to unlock the true potential of Digital Pakistan.” said Atyab.

A division of Jazz, JazzCash has grown rapidly to become a leader in the country’s marketplace for digital financial services. As shown in VEON Group’s FY21 results that were released on 28 February 2022, JazzCash has 15.2 million monthly active users (+24.9% YoY) and 130,800 monthly active merchants (up by 2.3 times YoY).

Lahore (Nut Desk)

After massive success in the Pakistani Mobile market, TECNO is rumored to be preparing for a new addition to its Spark series. The globally eminent smartphone brand TECNO has been working tirelessly in Pakistan for quite some time now. The brand has brought forward some great phones over the years with advanced technologies, pocket-friendly prices, and stylish designs.

Spark is TECNO’s famous mid-range series, bringing you quality devices at lower prices. Spark 8C is an entry mobile that is expected to be around PKR 19,499 to PKR 22,999. The price is not confirmed yet but we are expecting it around this segment. The phone is going to be a stunner in this range with Stylish Design and great Battery.

According to sources, Spark 8C will be equipped with better memory and memory fusion features than any other phone in this range. Memory Fusion Technology is specially designed to channel RAM operations by using unused read-only memory (ROM). This means it can expand the memory of 4+128GB to 7+128GB and that of 3+64GB into 6+64GB maximum. The RAM can be updated or expanded from 3GB to 6GB and 4GB to 7GB depending on the variant. If this is true, then Spark 8C shall be the only smartphone to provide such an amazing feature with 128GB in such an affordable price range.

Moreover, the phone is anticipated to provide efficient performance with a powerful processor and big battery. The 90Hz refresh rate, great display, and handy body design will make it a user-friendly device. The phone is expected to launch somewhere in mid-March 2022. Furthermore, the phone is being assembled in Pakistan to make it economical and pocket-friendly for the local consumers.

So, fingers crossed for this new Spark device to be soon launched in Pakistan. Stay tuned for more updates and much more about tech!

The 5G popularizer shows no signs of slowing down as it continues its takeover of the global smartphone market.

As the youngest among the world’s top 6 smartphone brands, realme has emerged as the fastest growing smartphone brand globally for the first time. Its robust and sustained growth has allowed realme to land a spot in the Top 5 in terms of 5G smartphone shipments across 20 global markets and enhanced its position as an industry leader in democratizing 5G.

According to the latest research report by Counterpoint, realme’s 5G shipments have experienced the most growth among all major smartphone brands with a whopping 165% YoY growth percentage in the fourth quarter of 2021. realme’s rapid growth has been fueled by the company’s expansion into Western European countries such as Italy, Spain, France, the UK, and Switzerland, in each of which it is the fastest-growing brand thanks to its multiple 5G-enabled smartphones as well as the GT series.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s first and largest Islamic bank held a learning session titled ‘The Glorious Role of Women in Islam’ for the female staff members of the Bank on International Women’s Day at its Head Office, Karachi. Alimah Sobia Hasan, Co-founder and Director at Maryam Institute – a non-commercial, non-political educational institute for women dedicated to classical Islamic learning and spirituality; conducted the talk on the importance of women seeking knowledge, spotlighting on the roles of great women in Islamic history. The event was attended by respective staff stationed in Karachi along with a live broadcast over Zoom across the country. Also present at the occasion were the organizing team headed by Mr. Khalid Zaman Khan – Group Head Human Resources and Learning & Development, Mr. Ahmed Ali Siddiqui – Group Head Shariah Compliance and Ms. Mehar Younus – Head Learning & Development from Meezan Bank.

Alimah Sobia Hasan has a B.Sc. Honors in Economics and Social Sciences from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and is a certified Islamic scholar. She has been into Islamic teachings for the last thirteen years across USA, Canada and Pakistan. During the session, she emphasized on the legacy of the female companions (R.A.) of the Prophet (PBUH), who held a powerful influence in the growth and understanding of the religion and held expertise in Islamic jurisprudence, medicine, nursing, education, etc. 

The talk was followed by a closing note by Mr. Irfan Siddiqui – Founding President and CEO, Meezan Bank, who highlighted the importance of women and re-emphasized upon following the footsteps of female role models of Islam while also emerging as true ambassadors of Islamic banking. He also thanked the audience for their hard work and dedication that has contributed to Meezan Bank’s success