MMBL partners with GSMA to expand Pakistan’s Digital and Financial Solutions

Karachi – To support the mission of promoting digital inclusion across the nation through innovative financial solutions, Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL), Pakistan’s largest digital bank, is collaborating with GSMA, the global organisation representing mobile operators and the broader mobile ecosystem. Through this partnership, MMBL and GSMA aim to reduce the gender gap in digital financing through MMBL’s flagship program, Women Inspirational Network (WIN), and other Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiatives. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will enable both partners to execute joint projects for connectivity and other areas for Information & Communications Technology (ICT) development in Pakistan.

Mobilink Microfinance Bank is part of the VEON group, a global digital operator that provides converged connectivity and online services across seven countries. As part of its digital operator strategy, VEON is transforming people’s lives, creating opportunities for greater digital inclusion, and driving economic growth across countries that are home to more than 8% of the world’s population.

Sharing his thoughts at the signing ceremony, Ghazanfar Azzam, President & CEO MMBL remarked, “The rapid growth in tele-density across Pakistan has opened great avenues for fostering financial inclusion through feature & smartphones. Through this partnership, we aim to leverage the technological expertise of GSMA for enabling digitally powered innovative solutions for our target segments, specifically women & persons with disabilities, increasing accessibility and affordability of mobile financial services on the way.”

Also speaking at the occasion, Sardar Mohammad Abubakr, Chief Finance and Digital Officer MMBL said, “Digital and financial literacy are key drivers to promote financial inclusion for all. Underserved, yet integral segments, particularly women, agriculture and SMEs lack access to banking channels due to little awareness and limited resources. Through this initiative, MMBL and GSMA will work in close collaboration to increase digital, and financial literacy, while boosting agri-tech services, through convenient and sustainable access to digital financial products and services.”

“We are pleased to support MMBL’s efforts to close usage and gender gaps and address the barriers to inclusion that affect so many,” said Julian Gorman, Head of APAC, GSMA. “We believe connectivity is a human right and giving it to those that are excluded empowers business, society, and local communities – helping them to thrive. We’re looking forward to working together to advance the Digital Pakistan agenda in support of inclusion.”

Through this partnership, MMBL and GSMA will undertake various digital and technological initiatives to empower the masses in various domains, including agri-tech, Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), and Women Financial Services, enhancing connectivity on the way. With the help of its strategic partners, MMBL is taking concrete steps to close the digital and financial gap by uplifting the unbanked and underbanked segments across the nation.

Meta Expands “WeThinkDigital” to Gilgit-Baltistan

Meta is expanding its digital literacy program, ‘WeThinkDigital’, to Gilgit-Baltistan in collaboration with Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) and the Gilgit-Baltistan Department of Education. The program aims to equip the people who live in one of the most marginalised regions in the country with the necessary skills to become responsible digital citizens.

With the expansion of the WeThinkDigital program to the Gilgit-Baltistan sub region in Pakistan, Meta expects to train over 30,000 students and more than 10,000 women to help them think critically and share online thoughtfully.

Lt.Col. (R) Abaidullah Baig Senior Minister Industries, Labour & Commerce, Gilgit-Baltistan attended as the Chief Guest and said “Really appreciate Meta for supporting people of Gilgit-Baltistan with a major program of this calibre and scale.”

The WeThinkDigital program was initiated in 2021 in Pakistan and it is one of Meta’s multifaceted approaches to building a safe and informed community in the country. The program has reached 130,000 students and 3,094 teachers across 28 districts of the country providing them a collection of accessible learning modules that help people think critically and share online thoughtfully, as well as empowering them with the skills needed to be informed and safe online.

Commenting on the development, Raja Azam Khan, Minister of Education, Gilgit-Baltistan said, “Over the last few years, our region has witnessed rapid and significant progress across diverse digital fronts. As we continue to explore broader horizons for learning and development of our community, it is a pleasure to have key players like Meta assisting in our objectives to bring sustainable change across Gilgit-Baltistan.”

Through its expansion in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, the program focuses on building awareness regarding cyberbullying, potential abuse over the internet, safe internet practices, safeguarding personal interests and assisting vulnerable segments like women and children on how to navigate digital spaces.

Speaking at the launch event Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama, Policy Programs Manager, South Asia at Meta said, “We care deeply about the safety of our community – and providing resources that can help people have meaningful interactions online is an important part of the work we do to help keep our community safe. We are grateful for the collaboration with the Gilgit-Baltistan Department of Education and hope this program will empower people in Gilgit-Baltistan with the necessary skills to become responsible digital citizens.”

The initiative will see Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi as a key partner in implementing the objective.

Ericsson Pakistan launches Graduate Program to nurture the technology leaders!

The Graduate Program offers young, talented, and innovative minds learning and career development opportunities.
The Graduate Program provides on-the-job, project based, classroom training, and online learning to facilitate digital progress within the realm of advanced connectivity era.

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has announced the launch of its graduate program in Pakistan to offer young talents world-class learning and career development opportunities. The Ericsson Pakistan Graduate Program is focused on nurturing Pakistan’s technology leaders of tomorrow.

With experts from Ericsson training and supporting young Pakistani talent, the Ericsson Pakistan Graduate Program provides on-the-job, project-based, classroom training, and online learning in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and advanced technologies within the advanced connectivity era and as a contribution to the Digital Pakistan Policy.

The graduates are gaining valuable work experience, skills and knowledge that enable graduates to gain professional project-based knowledge, in a fast-changing ICT sector.

Aamir Ahsan Khan, President and Country Manager of Ericsson Pakistan says: “Ericsson has been in Pakistan for 60 years and giving back to society is one of our strong pillars. The Ericsson Pakistan Graduate Program enhances the skills and knowledge of the young and bright graduates while empowering them as technology experts. The youth are the catalysts to the realization of the Digital Pakistan Policy and will lead Pakistan’s digital future in different areas like FinTech, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and more. The graduates have great potential, and we are looking forward to their success.”

The young, curious, and innovative graduates are working alongside world-class industry expertise at Ericsson and are supporting the development of projects that are changing the world of communication in Pakistan and the region.

Graduates interested in the program can visit https://www.ericsson.com/en/careers/student-young-professionals to know more about future opportunities that Ericsson offers young professionals.

SAP Driving Digital Transformation for Progress in Pakistan

Saquib Ahmad, Country Managing Director, SAP Pakistan, held a media meet-up at a local hotel to apprise the press of the impact and contribution of SAP’s operations in Pakistan.

SAP is deeply-rooted in all segments of business and operations. For Pakistan, it has been instrumental in shaping and expanding the industry to create a global footprint for commerce and business.

The avenue created an excellent opportunity for Mr. Ahmad to showcase and explain SAP’s contribution and ongoing enrichment of the business operations of their clients, large and small.

“From industries producing household products, to automobile and energy industry, education networks, pharmaceutical companies and textile hubs, SAP has proven to be the success factor in enabling them with expansion and efficiency towards meeting targets and widening the horizon.” Saquib further added that the list of clients for SAP Pakistan varies from conglomerates to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and SAP is equipped to provide a tailor-made solution to consolidate all the requirements of the client and enhance it to achieve desired vision. He validated this further by relaying the example of a retail store that utilized the services of SAP and grew from a single unit to a national-level entity.

He was clear on SAP Pakistan’s vision. Profound yet simple, to help the world run better and improves people lives better. SAP, through their software, ensures a design and workflow that impacts the lives of the users (company and customers) most positively.

Answering one of the questions from the media regarding the security of sensitive information, Mr. Ahmad elaborated, “SAP ensures and controls security at all levels. We guarantee full compliance with all governmental protocols”. SAP’s strength lies in its efficient supply chain that expedites and delivers on time.

Mr. Ahmad emphasized the support provided to the economy by SAP. It enables economic expansion and creates more employment opportunities. The digital transformation provided by SAP helps creates a larger international footprint for Pakistan.

Presently, SAP holds a 70% market share for digital and IT-related services in all realms of business, industry, and education and is working towards an energized ecosystem for technology-driven Pakistan with a global presence.

CDC and CDNS sign MoU for the issuance of digital Savings Certificates

Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) and Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for mutually collaborating to convert and issue National Savings Certificates (NSCs) in digital form to reduce physical process flows of different transactions and develop a systematic framework through which NSCs can be inducted into the Central Depository System (CDS).

While addressing the occasion, DG CDNS, Mr. Hamid Raza commented that “The initiative is in line with CDNS’s ultimate objective of the digitization of National Savings Certificates. The recent circumstances with the shift to digitization make it all the more exigent for CDNS to undergo complete digital transformation. This platform will facilitate investors of National Savings Certificates, making it easier for them to invest in and maintain their NSCs in electronic format, thereby promoting and harvesting the savings culture in Pakistan at the grass root level.”

He said the pivotal role of innovation in economic development is undeniable, with advancements in Fintech leading the change.

Innovative tech-based processes can lead to higher productivity, reduced turnaround times, lower costs and wider outreach.

At the occasion, describing the objectives of the project, CEO-CDC Mr. Badiuddin Akber said that “The core objective of establishing a Depository in Pakistan was to dematerialize all types of financial instruments in Pakistan.

Considering this as our ultimate vision, we have dematerialized almost all types of securities in Pakistan; however, National Savings Certificates are one major aspect yet to be dematerialized. As the Depository, we feel that it is our National duty to bring our processes at par with the international best practices, and it is indeed the need of the hour that a mechanism must be developed for investors to have NSCs in book-entry form.”

Through this project, CDC will facilitate Investors, with investment in a diverse array of securities, to maintain their complete portfolio of dematerialized securities in a single account at CDC. This project will eliminate the risk of theft, loss, mutilation, etc. as well as the hassle of printing, dispatching, maintenance, etc. of physical certificates by maintaining the NSCs in electronic format in the CDS. CDC will extend the same benefits to CDNS investors as it currently provides to investors of book-entry securities in the CDS, including easy, efficient and secure transfer process for certificates, online account access and pledging facilities. At present, CDC Account can be opened through CDC offices or through digital portal of CDC from anywhere in Pakistan; however, both organizations will also work on the possibility of opening of CDC accounts through the nationwide network of CDNS offices in order to make it more convenient for investors to open CDC Account and hold National Savings certificates in digital form.

The event was also attended and addressed by Chairman CDC – Mr. Moin Fudda. The event was also attended by the senior management of CDC and CDNS.

Paymob and NIFT Sign Agreement to Securely Enable Digital Payments in Pakistan

Paymob, the leading omni-channel financial services platform in the MENAP region, signed an agreement with National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) to facilitate digital payments in Pakistan and to secure payment transfers. Under the agreement, Paymob will enable digital payments for their merchants using the NIFT ePay payment platform which supports account, wallet, and card-based payments.

Paymob’s payment infrastructure enables SMEs to accept digital payments online and in-store whilst providing them better access to financial services. As an API integrator, Paymob’s gateway sits on merchants’ websites to facilitate payment capture. In addition to conventional bank cards, Paymob merchants will have access to mobile wallets, QR payments, bank card installment plans, and Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) options all of which serve to drive an increased volume of transactions and revenue.

Paymob plans to extend its Tap-on-Phone payment acceptance service to the Pakistan market. The company will also launch cards to enable B2B transactions for its merchants and build tools for merchants to better manage and grow their business.

NIFT was established in 1995 as a joint venture between six major Pakistani banks and entrepreneurs from the private sector. It is the leading Payment System Operator (PSO) in Pakistan for cheque clearing and is the country’s foremost Digital Payment Gateway, providing an electronic platform for clearing, processing, and switching electronic transactions in Pakistan under the brand name NIFT ePay.

Haidar Wahab, CEO of NIFT commented, “NIFT continues to play an important and proactive role in streamlining Pakistan’s payment system. As promoters of financial technology, NIFT is committed to delivering an efficient, secured, and convenient digital payment system in which our economic growth can further thrive. This new partnership with Paymob opens a range of exciting new possibilities for Pakistan’s payment infrastructure and puts it at the cutting edge of innovation in this space.”

Fawad Abdul Kader, Country Manager of Paymob in Pakistan mentioned, “We are proud to partner with NIFT ePay which will serve to drive ecommerce by making a variety of payment options available to merchants all across Pakistan. SMEs are the engines of growth in any economy and this partnership with NIFT ePay will serve to fuel that growth and drive revenue in today’s digital economy.”

PTCL, Huawei successfully deploys AirPON Solution

PTCL, the country’s premier Telecom and ICT services provider has successfully deployed AirPON Solution from Huawei Technologies, in its Fiber Access Network. AirPON is a unique and innovative Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) solution, that leverages existing cellular mobile network infrastructure to extend Fiber footprint, with improved Total Cost of Ownership and better Time to Market.

AirPON employs a purpose built pre-connectorized Optical Distribution Network (ODN) components, which offers a unique, efficient and agile deployment, that minimizes fieldwork through plug-n-play approach, while also greatly improving the quality of installation. The infrastructure available at cellular mobile sites is exploited for field deployment of Optical Line Terminal (OLT) Equipment, to serve its housing, power and transport needs. This solution is yet another step forward on PTCL’s roadmap for meeting rapidly growing consumer data traffic demands, by expanding its Fiber Access Network in areas otherwise difficult to reach for deployment.

Jafar Khalid, Group Chief Technology Officer, PTCL Group, said, “We are committed to uplifting our customer experience through adoption of state-of-the-art products & solutions. PTCL and Huawei achieved another milestone by successfully introducing AirPON solution in our Network. We continue to invest in new technologies and products to modernize our network, with a major emphasis on expediting the reach of high-speed fiber access network to maximum customers, and AirPON solution will be a key enabler in meeting this ambition.”

Ahmed Bilal Masud, Huawei Pakistan Deputy CEO, stated that “Huawei is always committed to work closely with PTCL Group to explore the right solutions for meeting the evolving business requirements. Our goal is to offer innovative solutions to PTCL Group, while committing to minimize the deployment cost and time to market, with network simplification and emerging technologies. We believe that AirPON will pave the way for increasing fiber reach in the country, and support PTCL to offer fast internet services to its valuable customers.”

Faysal Islami introduces hotel booking services in partnership with Ascendant

KARACHI: Faysal Bank Limited, in partnership with Pakistan’s largest hospitality technology company – Ascendant, has launched a hotel booking platform for its customers that enables them to conveniently book hotels online through their website: www.faysalbank.com

The website offers 1600+ hotels and guest houses in 50 cities across Pakistan. This initiative by Faysal Islami, a leading Islamic Bank of Pakistan and winner of Best Islamic bank for Transformation and innovation at the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA), marks an integral step towards the promotion of domestic tourism. In addition, the bank also plans to introduce international hotels to this service to facilitate customers who wish to travel abroad.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch ceremony, Mr. Aneeq Malik, Group Head Consumer Finance and Payment Services Faysal Bank said: “We always aim to bring the best banking services to our customers at their fingertips. Faysal Bank has always believed in innovation and digitalization of services for the ease of customers. With Ascendant by our side, our customers can now not only check the rates of any hotel rooms across Pakistan but also book the hotel and pay online using their bank accounts, debit or credit cards through our website.”

CEO of Ascendant, Mr. Andre Privateer said: As the only hospitality tech provider able to offer real time rates and availability at more than 80% of Pakistan’s hotels, we serve the tourism sector by making the online booking experience better for the consumer. Through this strategic alliance with Faysal Bank, individuals can now book and pay with ease through this platform on Faysal Bank’s website and soon to be launched on their mobile app as well.”

Head of Unsecured Business and Payment services Faysal Bank, Mr. Feroz Khan further added: “This business alliance is a testimony of our commitment to our customers. We at Faysal Bank, continue to strive to build loyalty by offering innovative products and benefits for our valued customers. This collaboration aims to make travel and tourism across all corners of Pakistan more accessible for our customers.”

Faysal Bank is one of the most progressive Islamic banks in Pakistan and has concentrated on growth through improving service quality, investment in technology, people and utilizing its extensive growing Islamic branch network.

Ascendant is a specialized hospitality technology company revolutionizing the tourism landscape in Pakistan by unlocking exceptional value for travel suppliers and customers.

PayFast by APPS Becomes the First Fintech in Pakistan to Partner with Visa Through Cybersource

Karachi: PayFast by APPS (“PayFast”) is proud to become the first fintech in Pakistan to partner with international payments leader Visa through Cybersource. The nature of the partnership sees Cybersource offering its robust and dynamic digital payment solution suite to PayFast. It includes E-commerce checkout, digital merchant platform, Fraud Management, and SoftPOS. This initiative paves the path for PayFast to offer a dynamic and secure payment gateway with user friendly UI/UX, thereby helping businesses to offer the acceptance of online payments through debit and credit cards.

The partnership serves as a milestone that advances PayFast’s commitment to bring the company, and Pakistan, to the forefront of the regional fintech landscape. The State Bank licensed and regulated PSO/PSP envisions to extend its reach across international borders, starting with the MENA region

Further, the integration helps expand PayFast’s SoftPos initiative, which will greatly enhance digital payment acceptance for merchants of all sizes by introducing fast, secure, and cost-effective solutions for them to collect online payments. Currently, POS penetration in Pakistan is staggeringly low, with just over 90,000 POS terminals deployed nationwide compared to the millions of merchants in the market. One of the major reasons is the high setup costs that prevent acquirers to serve medium or small sized businesses. As the trend of contactless payments has grown worldwide by over 40% in the past two years, merchants will benefit from a simple, secure, and affordable digital solution to drive sales and maximize their revenue potential. By integrating Cybersource, PayFast can offer the ease, affordability, and speed of integration with SoftPos to its merchants.

Arshad Raza, Chairman– PayFast commended the company’s efforts: “PayFast aspires to make online payment acceptance hassle-free in Pakistan. By onboarding Visa directly through Cybersource, Ecommerce & Business partners of PayFast will gain access to the world’s most advanced industry standards, steering us closer towards this aim. We mark this as a pivotal chapter in our company’s history– especially as we venture to extend our services internationally.”

Adnan Ali, CEO– PayFast, added: “Visa has transformed payment acceptance for businesses worldwide. PayFast’s most recent partnership with them, through Cybersource, is a testament to our innovative strategies and continued promise to bolster Pakistan’s image on an international level. It also reaffirms our vision to make safe, fast and secure digital payment solutions in Pakistan the norm. We are excited to deliver an optimal experience to our clients through this new step and I am proud of the team for securing this feat of making PayFast the first ever Pakistani fintech to partner directly with Visa.”

Leila Serhan, Visa’s Group Country Manager for North Africa, Levant and Pakistan, commented: “As Pakistani consumers increasingly shift online, fraudsters have looked for more ways to exploit them. It is important that merchants are equipped to combat fraud and ensure that consumers feel safe using digital payments over cash-on-delivery. At Visa, we believe cybersecurity is a collective effort, and this partnership with PayFast is a testament to our efforts to help local merchants with their digital transformation.”

Kamil Khan, Visa’s Country Manager for Pakistan, added: “We are excited to partner with PayFast, the first Pakistani fintech company to launch our dynamic Cybersource solution, which offers multiple benefits to merchants and provides customers with a frictionless, secure, and convenient payment solution. We believe this initiative will pave the way for Pakistan’s cashless future.”

Present at the signing ceremony were: Ms. Leila Serhan, Visa- Group Country Manager for North Africa, Levant and Pakistan; Mr. Kamil Khan, Visa- Country Manager for Pakistan; Mr. Amaar Shaikh, Visa- Merchant Sales & Acquiring (Levant and Pakistan); Ms. Bisma Rizwan, Visa- Merchant Sales & Acceptance; Qandeel Fatima- Business Development Manager; Mr. Arshad Raza, PayFast-Chairman; Mr. Adnan Ali, PayFast-CEO; Mr. Faisal Alam, PayFast- Chief Information Officer; Mr. Soheb Roomi, PayFast-Marketing Team Lead; Mr. Fahad Khan, PayFast- Chief Compliance & Risk Officer; Mr. Yousuf Aziz, Head of Digital Payments & Services; Daniyal Ahmed, PayFast- Head of Sales; Jawad Hassan, PayFast- Head of Strategic Partnerships.

NOTE: PayFast is product by Avanza Premier Payment Services (APPS).

To learn more about PayFast visit: www.gopayfast.com

Huawei Technologies held “Digital Pakistan week” summit to engage Community to learn Huawei ICT solutions

Huawei Technologies Pakistan Pvt. LTD. held the Digital Pakistan Week in Islamabad. The event, which was attended by over 400+ representatives from the ICT Sector of Pakistan was based on the theme GUIDE to the future. Focusing on technological advancements and future target networks of Pakistan in ICT domain. This is an annual event held by Huawei to guide ICT industry about future Target networks and how Huawei can help build a true Digital Pakistan.

The event was also attended by Vice President, Huawei Middle East Carrier Business Group, Mr. Vanness You who was the Chief Guest at the event. Mr. Vanness You while addressing the audience said that, “Huawei Technologies is very proud to see that ICT industry in Pakistan are transforming from legacy to a truly Digitalized industry, it is an honor for Huawei to be the preferred vendor and strategic partner for operators, enterprises and government”. “We are happy to innovate together with the ICT sector of Pakistan, which is growing rapidly and we hope that this keeps moving further and towards Fully connected Digital Pakistan.”

This Digital Summit had the audience learn about the various ICT Solutions Huawei has to offer for the ICT Sector of Pakistan, particularly focusing on the Digital transformation through various steps which were explained by the experts who were present from Huawei’s Middle-East Regional Office.

The event also included demos of various solutions provided by Huawei. The attendees took a keen interest in the latest solutions and products displayed at the venue and the available Huawei Experts were engaged deeply to explain the various products and solutions and how they could benefit the ICT Industry of Pakistan.