News Update Times

Girls in Science, Careem celebrates women smashing the Glass Ceiling in Technology

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) On United Nations (UN) International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Careem embodies its pledge to support women breaking stereotypes in the field of technology by reiterating its commitment towards diversity and inclusion.

Exemplifying the potential women can achieve in tech, Careem has numerous women working as engineers in data, software and development capacity to enhance the offerings of the Careem Super App, while making sure that our customers get perfect and seamless experiences.

With the mission of simplifying everyday lives, Careem appreciates the importance of its tech teams and continues to support and invest in premium engineering talent that not only helped the company make the Super App vision a reality, but also helped Careem be recognised as one of the Tech Unicorns in the region.

Wajeeha Akram – Senior Software Engineering Manager

Wajeeha is an integral part of Careem and is leading a geographically diverse team of engineers in Lahore, specializing in mobility engineering. Prior to joining Careem in 2019, she was a Software Engineer at Cisco Systems in the United Kingdom (UK) for around 10 years before moving back to Pakistan. 

Wajeeha is a Boston University Alumni and a Fulbright scholar and is also accredited with renowned universities in Pakistan such as FAST and LUMS. She feels passionate about building solutions that are paradigm-shifting towards the use of technology where women can play a stronger role to empower individuals and communities.

 Zobia Badar – Software Engineer

Zobia graduated from FAST Islamabad and has been working as a Software Engineer at Careem for the last three years. Being an integral part of the customer subdomain, she got the opportunity to work on several exciting challenges posed by the constantly evolving landscape of customer experiences.

Zobia is driven by the purpose and culture at Careem. Every single piece of code that she writes is working towards simplifying millions of lives everyday and that drives her to work even harder. She is also leading Pakistani Women in Computing (PWiC), a global community of Pakistani women which aims to bridge the gender gap in tech and create a platform to learn and grow together.

Maria Ehsan – Database Engineer

Maria joined Careem back in 2017 as a fresh graduate from FAST University as a Database Engineer. Her role revolves around managing terabytes of data, automation, building database infrastructure at scale, query optimization and designing schemas.

She believes that women all over the world are often given lesser opportunities to pursue the career of their choice but she, just like every other woman in Careem, is breaking the stereotype and working their way to achieve their dream.

Sidra Saleem – Development Operations Engineer

Sidra joined as a fresh graduate from NED University and has been working as a Development Operations Engineer since 2017. Her role is to coordinate with software developers, admins, IT operations staff and, facilitating deployments on a CI/CD basis. One of her essential tasks is to automate the entire process of working with a certain combination of tools and technologies.

 Furthermore, Careem Pakistan has 40% percent of women breaking stereotypes in top leadership managing fields such as Communications, Legal, Human Resources and Customer Care, ultimately aiding in pivoting the digital ecosystem.

The role of technology is not limited to management positions, so far more than 750 women have registered with Careem for becoming Captains and 48% care representatives work from home, making a healthy living by simple means of technology.

realme has opened doors to its first brand store in Peshawar aiming to launch 100+ across Pakistan

realme is the fastest-growing smartphone brand and has been focusing on both offline and online markets. With the “Dare to Leap” spirit, realme is all set to launch its brand stores all across Pakistan. The first store has successfully been opened in the famous city of KPK, Peshawar. The store features all realme products and focuses to provide customers with a direct retail experience.

The young and trendsetting smartphone brand, realme plans to launch 100+ brand stores nationwide. These brand stores will feature all products for sale from realme including smartphones, complete lineup of AIoT products including smart wearables, smart watches and Category N home/lifestyle products. The first brand store has launched in Peshawar and there will be more in major cities of Pakistan like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad very soon. Many customers, fans, retailers, distributors, and the hardworking realme team was there to celebrate this inauguration.

Globally realme brand stores exhibit the brand’s DNA of young, trendy, and fashionable products. These shops have been designed and developed as per realme’s “Dare to Leap” spirit. The brand has always focused on bringing trendsetting designs, improved software, and impressive hardware for enlightening the youth, making their lifestyle more fashionable.

realme will be opening its next store in the populous city of Karachi. In Karachi, realme will be opening its very first Experience Store as well. This will be an exclusive store for realme fans to directly experience with the brand’s retail services. The brand is all set to mark new records in Pakistan for a great customer experience.

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Wateen Telecom Limited, Pakistan’s leading ICT Company, has joined hands with Huawei to provide an all-service, intelligent router platform designed for the 5G and cloud era. The Huawei NetEngine 8000 Series offer the only E2E 400GE routers, redefining intelligent IP networks with ultra-broadband and committed SLA giving customers a unique edge. Wateen Telecom is the leading system integrator of the NetEngine 8000 router developed by Huawei in this collaboration between the two companies.

The two leading organizations announced the NetEngine 8000’s launch at a first-of-its-kind online event that hosted over 100 participants. The event comprised of end-user participants from across various verticals in Pakistan including ISPs, large enterprises, telecos, SMEs, and the government sector. The virtual webinar featured an online exhibition that allowed participants to interact with industry experts from both Wateen Telecom and Huawei, recreating all the elements of an in-person seminar. 

“As the world moves towards the 5G and cloud era, we have joined hands with Huawei to introduce this ground-breaking product bringing innovations in business and taking a step towards Wateen Telecom readiness in backhauling of 5G traffic. We are constantly exploring new channels to facilitate businesses and this partnership is a testament to that commitment,” said Farhan Haider, Director Technical at Wateen Telecom.

With this collaboration, Huawei’s award-winning and critically-acclaimed NetEngine 8000 Series will offer Wateen Telecom customers a wide range of industry-leading, next-generation routers designed around an ‘intent-driven’ philosophy that effectively liberates customers from unnecessary limitations and unlocks true network potentials.

Speaking at the event, Muhammad Rafid Ilyas Deputy CTO, Huawei  Enterprise Business Group Pakistan said, “To be able to manage traffic growth and adopt new technologies, we need to deploy networks that offers flexibility and automation to address business needs for our customers, together with our partners, Huawei is determined and will continue contribute to innovate the technology.”

Wateen Telecom stands as the leading integrator of the NetEngine 8000 series in Pakistan and is geared to transform businesses by catering to their unique needs. This collaboration demonstrates Wateen Telecom’s position as an industry leader the key contributor of innovation and digital transformation in the country. This collaboration will play a crucial role in building a digitally connected world with intelligent solutions that benefit both organizations.

Research shows growing confidence among consumers and business leaders that robots handle finance tasks better than people

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) has changed our relationship with money and people now trust robots more than themselves to manage their finances, according to a new study by Oracle and personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi.

The study of more than 9,000 consumers and business leaders in 14 countries found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased financial anxiety, sadness, and fear among people around the world and has changed who and what we trust to manage our finances. In addition, people are rethinking the role and focus of corporate finance teams and personal financial advisors, according to the research.

COVID-19 has created financial anxiety, sadness, and fear

The global pandemic has damaged people’s relationship with money at home and at work.

• Among business leaders, financial anxiety and stress increased by 186 percent and sadness grew by 116 percent; consumer financial anxiety and stress doubled and sadness increased by 70 percent.
• 90 percent of business leaders worry about the impact of COVID-19 on their organization, with the most common concerns centering on a slow economic recovery or recession (51 percent); budget cuts (38 percent); and bankruptcy (27 percent).
• 87 percent of consumers are experiencing financial fears, including job loss (39 percent); losing savings (38 percent); and never getting out of debt (26 percent).
• These concerns are keeping people up at night: 41 percent of consumers reported losing sleep due to their personal finances.

People see robots as a better way to manage finances

The financial uncertainty created by COVID-19 has changed who and what we trust to manage our finances. To help navigate financial complexity, consumers and business leaders increasingly trust technology over people to help.

• 67 percent of consumers and business leaders trust a robot more than a human to manage finances.
• 73 percent of business leaders trust a robot more than themselves to manage finances; 77 percent trust robots over their own finance teams.
• 89 percent of business leaders believe that robots can improve their work by detecting fraud (34 percent); creating invoices (25 percent); and conducting cost/benefit analysis (23 percent).
• 53 percent of consumers trust a robot more than themselves to manage finances; 63 percent trust robots over personal financial advisors.
• 66 percent of consumers believe robots can help detect fraud (33 percent); reduce spending (22 percent); and make stock market investments (15 percent).

The role of finance teams and financial advisors will never be the same

To adapt to the growing influence and role of technology, corporate finance professionals and personal finance advisors alike must embrace change and develop new skills.

• 56 percent of business leaders believe robots will replace corporate finance professionals in the next five years.
• 85 percent of business leaders want help from robots for finance tasks, including finance approvals (43 percent); budgeting and forecasting (39 percent); reporting (38 percent); and compliance and risk management (38 percent).
• Business leaders want corporate finance professionals to focus on communicating with customers (40 percent); negotiating discounts (37 percent); and approving transactions (31 percent).
• 42 percent of consumers believe robots will replace personal financial advisors in the next five years.
• 76 percent of consumers want robots to help manage their finances by freeing up time (33 percent); reducing unnecessary spending (31 percent); and increasing on-time payments (25 percent).
• Consumers want personal financial advisors to provide guidance on major purchasing decisions such as buying a house (45 percent); buying a car (41 percent); and planning for retirement (38 percent).

 

Our relationship with money has changed, it’s time to embrace AI to manage finance

The events of 2020 have changed the way consumers think about money and have increased the need for organizations to rethink how they use AI and other new technologies to manage financial processes.

• 60 percent of consumers say the pandemic has changed the way they buy goods and services.
• 72 percent of consumers say the events of 2020 have changed how they feel about handling cash, with people feeling anxious (26 percent); fearful (23 percent); and dirty (19 percent). More than a quarter (29 percent) of consumers now say that cash-only is a deal-breaker for doing business.
• Businesses have been quick to respond as 69 percent of business leaders have invested in digital payment capabilities and 64 percent have created new forms of customer engagement or changed their business models in response to COVID-19.
• 51 percent of organizations are already using AI to manage financial processes, compared with 27 percent of consumers.
• 87 percent of business leaders say organizations that don’t rethink financial processes face risks, including falling behind competitors (44 percent); more stressed workers (36 percent); inaccurate reporting (36 percent); and reduced employee productivity (35 percent).

 

Supporting Quotes

“Managing finances is tough at the best of times, and the financial uncertainty of the global pandemic has exacerbated financial challenges at home and at work,” said Farnoosh Torabi, personal finance expert and host of the So Money podcast. “Robots are well-positioned to assist—they are great with numbers and don’t have the same emotional connection with money. This doesn’t mean finance professionals are going away or being replaced entirely, but the research suggests they should focus on developing additional soft skills as their role evolves.”

“Financial processes in our personal and professional worlds have become increasingly digital for many years and the events of 2020 have accelerated that trend,” said Juergen Lindner, senior vice president, global marketing, Oracle. “Digital is the new normal and technologies such as artificial intelligence and chatbots play a vital role in managing finance. Our research indicates that consumers trust these technologies to accelerate their financial well-being over personal financial advisors and business leaders see this trend reshaping the role of corporate finance professionals. Organizations that don’t embrace these changes risk falling behind their peers and competitors; hurting employee productivity, morale and well-being; and struggling to attract the next generation of AI-empowered finance talent.”

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) TPL, Pakistan’s leading technology driven conglomerate, won nine awards at the  ’10th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Summit & Awards 2021′, held at the Marriot Hotel, Karachi on 4th February, 2021.

The prestigious national award event is the first and only platform in Pakistan registered with the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO-Pakistan). The investment holding company, TPL, along with its subsidiaries, TPL Properties Ltd. and TPL Insurance Ltd., were awarded for their contribution in the following categories:

TPL Corp Ltd. for Culture/Art & Music, Sustainability Initiatives and Business Practices, TPL Properties Ltd. for Women Empowerment, Social and Community Impact and TPL Insurance Ltd. for Reporting and Transparency, Stakeholder / Employee Engagement and Responsible Investment

It is evident that TPL holds a strong CSR footprint in Pakistan and has, over the years, proactively integrated Sustainability into their decision making process. Present at the award ceremony from TPL were, Muhammad Aminuddin, CEO, TPL Insurance, Rahim Kazani, COO, TPL Properties and Danish Qazi, Group General Counsel, Legal, TPL Corp.

Commenting on the Company’s achievement, Muhammad Aminuddin, CEO, TPL Insurance, said “I would like to express my gratitude to The Professionals Network for recognizing our efforts on a national platform and presenting TPL with these highly prestigious awards. CSR is at the core of everything we do at TPL, platforms like these motivate us to reach out to a wider network and create more impact in Pakistan.” 

USF awards contract to Telenor Pakistan for providing hi-speed Broadband in Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The Universal Service Fund (USF) awarded contract worth approximately PKR 1.37 Billion to Telenor for providing High Speed Mobile Broadband services in Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & HRD, Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari witnessed the contract signing ceremony held at the USF Office, Islamabad on Wednesday. The contracts were signed by Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, CEO, USF with Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor. The Federal Secretary for IT & Telecommunication and Chairman USF Board, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, and Chairman PTA, Major General (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa were also present at the ceremony.

Chief Guest of the ceremony, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque said: “With the help of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), districts of Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir can achieve better visibility, communication and integration into economic and tourism flows. High Speed Mobile Broadband services will enhance tourism and attract tourists, thus creating jobs. The Ministry of IT and Telecommunication will continue close cooperation to support the tourism industry of Pakistan and provide the basis for achieving sustainable rural development”. Furthermore, he extended his warm felicitation to the teams of USF and Telenor on the contract signing and emphasized on making Digital Pakistan vision a reality.

Guest of Honor of the ceremony, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & HRD, Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari while congratulating USF and Telenor on the signing of the contract said, “The use of ICT in tourism is a welcoming step for the residents of Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts. High speed internet connectivity will expedite activity in the region and make the travel process efficient and pleasant”. In addition, he expressed gratitude to the Federal Minister and the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication for the guidance and support.

Sharing his views on the development, CEO Telenor Pakistan, Irfan Wahab Khan said, “We are committed to ensure the basic right of connectivity to the people of Pakistan. At Telenor Pakistan, we are driven to continue empowering the country by bridging the digital divide, creating access to opportunities and uplifting the lives of millions. We stand firm in our commitment of connecting people to what matters most to them and aim to continue providing opportunities in the future.”

Also, sharing his thoughts at the ceremony, CEO USF, Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary said: “This project will benefit an unserved population of 0.7 Million in 648 unserved mauzas, thereby covering an unserved area of 18,212 sq. km. of Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts. We are committed to empowering the unserved and unserved communities of Pakistan and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with Telenor”. Moreover, he thanked the Federal Minister and the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication for adopting policies and mechanisms that are supportive of the digital revolution of tourist places.

Senior officials of the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, USF and Telenor were also present at the ceremony.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has spoken out about the benefits to be gained by deeper cooperation between US and Chinese companies in the technology field. Talking with international media in a recent press conference, the executive advocated for the easing of US-China trade restrictions, and more open US trade under the Biden administration. 

“Trade benefits all sides. Allowing US companies to supply goods to Chinese customers is conducive to their own financial performance. If Huawei’s production capacity is expanded, that would also mean US companies could sell more to Huawei. It’s a win-win situation,” noted Zhengfei. “We still hope to be able to buy a lot of US components, parts, and machinery, so that US companies can also develop with the Chinese economy.”

In recent years, the US has adopted stricter trade policies with China, particularly in the technology domain. Zhengfei acknowledged that some US politicians have concerns over the potential impact of 5G and the security of these networks. Reiterating comments from last year, Zhengfei stressed that Huawei’s open to working with US companies to transfer knowledge around 5Gand collaborate on technology licensing.

“As long as the US asks for it, we would transfer everything from the [5G] source programs and source code to hardware design. I meant what I said, but no US company has come forward. If they want to talk, we’d be happy to talk,” said Zhengfei.

The executive added that Huawei doesn’t have the energy to get involved in a “political whirlpool” and prefers to focus on technology innovation. The executive elaborated on how there are many industries that Huawei is not directly familiar with, such as airports, ports, coal mining, iron and steel production, and automotive and aircraft manufacturing. That is why Huawei has built joint labs to learn more about the needs of these industries. Huawei now has more than 100 research centers and joint labs around the world, most of which specialize in areas like mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and aesthetics.Some of these are applied research labs Huawei has built with its customers, such as joint labs with telecom operators.

“We are still winning trust from a large number of customers,” Zhengfei commented. He cited how Huawei’s networks in Europe are now among the top global network performance tests. The fact that consumers can now use products like the iPhone 12 to its fullest potential on Huawei 5G networks in Europe is a further testament to the quality of its networks.

“We’ll continue serving [our] customers well by creating more value for them. We want them to have lasting faith in us, and we hope that they won’t sway because of political pressure,” noted Zhengfei.

Responding to questions about the future of Huawei’s device business, Zhengfei confirmed that Huawei is not just thinking about mobile phones. “Everything that connects people or things are devices. That includes things like laser and ultrasonic radar, self-driving vehicles, household gas meters, and so on. Mobile phones are only one part of the device category. So Huawei may transfer our 5G technologies to other [areas] in the future, but will never sell our device business.”

Despite Huawei being added to a US entity list ban in recent years, the Huawei founder remains optimistic about the company’s future and that of the global technology industry. Zhengfei said he is more confident than ever about Huawei’s survival, due in part tothe company having more ways to overcome its challenges. He also cited Huawei sales revenue and profits in 2020 as being higher than the previous year.

“We rely on globalization. As humanity keeps making progress, no company can develop a globalized industry alone. It requires concerted efforts from around the world.We won’t give up this ideal of globalization, and will continue doing business this way, no matter how harsh the sanctions or blocks are,” concluded Zhengfei.