UN Women Pakistan and foodpanda Pakistan collaborate for the promotionof workplace safety and gender equality for women

Karachi: UN Women and foodpanda Pakistan have announced a partnership on promotion of gender equality in the workplace. Under the partnership various initiatives and training will be undertaken to address and implement strategies pertaining to gender-responsiveness and creating a healthy work environment.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard was recently signed in foodpanda’s office where both organizations pledged to implement capacity-building initiatives to empower women at all positions, leveraging the UN Women Empowerment Principles(WEPs). foodpanda Pakistan being the signatory of these principles has policiesin place regarding the promotion of women’s rights and well-being at the workplace which highlight it as an equal opportunity employer.

“Given the fast-paced world that we are living in today, it is imperative that we assimilate in the organisation while acknowledging the rights and needs of our female counterparts and ensure an all-inclusive workplace,” said Muntaqa Peracha,Managing Director, foodpanda Pakistan. “No economy can thrive without the contribution of women and here at foodpanda Pakistan, we are committed to advancing the agenda of empowering our female stakeholders at all levels. This includes entrusting them with decision making powers, placing them in key leadership positions, and designing an environment conducive to their professional growth.”

“Women’s economic empowerment lies at the heart of this partnership” said Sharmeela Rassool, Country Representative, UN Women Pakistan. She added “foodpanda has caused a positive disruption in society through its dignified approach to the food delivery profession. By creating an enabling and inclusive environment at the workplace, as well as particularly driving women inclusion as home based vendors and fleet of riders is an exemplary effort to enable them to break stereotypes at one hand and earn a respectable living at the other hand.” The private sector has emerged as the promoter of sustainable social development while having a positive impact on communities and the society at large, the rebypromoting their economic growth and prosperity.

The Sustainable Development Goal 5 specific to gender equality addresses the need of ending all forms of discrimination against women and empowering them that would eventually have a multiplier effect for sustained development. The Global Goals and the WEPs aim at uniting the public and private sectors, and civil society to expedite gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.

Sindh Government reduces sales tax on commissions charged by online platforms for home based vendors

Karachi: In the recently announced provincial budget 2022/2023, the Sindh Government took an important step in supporting home based vendors through allowing a reduction in sales tax on commissions charged for home chefs that operate on online platforms. The rebate is consistent with similar reductions offered by other provinces like Punjab and KP, and is expected to help grow the sector and support grass root economic empowerment (especially for women).

The rebate reduces sales tax from 13% to 8%, allowing for better unit economics and higher potential for growth for such HomeChefs operating on online food delivery platforms, such as foodpanda.

Dr. Wasif Ali Memon, Chairman SRB, stated, “This step by the Sindh Government will support home-based entrepreneurs working on online delivery platforms and drive economic viability for a large, and growing segment of the society. The rebate will lead to an increase in the number of home based vendors and create an enabling environment which is well aligned with the government’s focus on economic sustainability.”

Muntaqa Peracha, CEO foodpanda, while sharing his thoughts said, “This initiative by the Government of Sindh is in line with our vision of creating a favourable business environment for HomeChefs as they represent an important segment of our portfolio. This move will help grow a new sector that has significant potential for financial and economic inclusion, specifically women’s economic empowerment. We are excited to see its positive impact on food entrepreneurship and aim at scaling it further across the country.”

The reduction in the rate of Sindh sales tax (SST) on commission charged by online food delivery channels from home-based chefs will be applicable from 1st of July, for a period of two years, ending on June 30, 2024.

HomeChefs are essentially people operating out of their home kitchens who sell food through online platforms. Foodpanda, along with a few other players in the industry, currently has several thousand registered HomeChefs who have been taken on board after stringent routine checks for food hygiene, quality, safety, packaging, etc. The sector is expected to grow significantly, for example foodpanda aims to increase the HomeChefs base in the next two years and take it up to 100,000 registered HomeChefs.

Introducing Pau-Pau: foodpanda unveils first-of-its-kind brand ambassador to champion empowerment and sustainability

• foodpanda unveils Pau-Pau as the new face of the brand to better connect with millions of users across Asia, bringing a fresh and vibrant user experience to the platform.
• The new character, who is reflective of foodpanda’s fun, warm, and vibrant personality, also cares about empowerment and the environment.
• Pau-Pau will be introduced across all foodpanda touchpoints — from the app, digital and social media, as well as out-of-home activations.

KARACHI — To celebrate more than 5 years in Pakistan and 10 years in APAC, as the pioneering food and grocery delivery platform in Asia, foodpanda introduced a fresh face for the brand – Pau-Pau! A fun-loving and free-spirited panda, Pau-Pau is a first-of-its-kind brand ambassador, championing empowerment and sustainability across the region.

Pau-Pau’s identity as a foodpanda brand ambassador will be brought to life in full — from having his own language and story, to a full set of values, such as caring for the environment, empowerment and the belief in living life on one’s own terms. With Pau-Pau, foodpanda has created a personality that is relatable and can better connect with millions of users across Asia.

The pink panda, who made his first appearances in Japan, Taiwan and Cambodia in December 2021, has since been rolled out in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Laos, Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh and now Pakistan.

Pau-Pau will lead foodpanda’s foray into ever changing, live vibrant and media environments.

In introducing a new personality that fully represents the brand, foodpanda expands its digital marketing ambitions to look beyond traditional platforms. Customers will also find Pau-Pau on the WhatsApp and Instagram apps as emojis, stickers and filters for lively engagement, freedom of expression and communication. Pau-Pau will be rolling out progressively across all foodpanda channels and interfaces, from the app and website, to digital and social media platforms, out-of-home activations and more.

“As foodpanda becomes a partner in our everyday lives, we want Pau-Pau to be an inspiration for people to live life on their own terms and to its fullest”, quoted Muntaqa Peracha, CEO foodpanda. “Pau-Pau embodies and brings to life the foodpanda spirit by helping our communities reimagine how they use delivery and thereby adding vibrancy and fun in their lives. We are excited for our customers to meet Pau-Pau, officially!” he further added.

Pau-Pau is most passionate about three things — empowerment and living life on one’s own terms; the environment, as foodpanda’s sustainability champion; and enthusiasm, for food and fun. As a platform, foodpanda is an enabler of convenience for customers, freeing up their precious time by making it easier to get food and groceries delivered quickly, 24/7.

The introduction of Pau-Pau builds on foodpanda’s earlier brand refresh, which saw foodpanda revitalising its look with fresh visuals and a more vibrant colour palette across its design touchpoints, and more friendly user interface as the platform expands beyond just food delivery.

foodpanda publishes inaugural Social Impact Report;dedicated over US$35 million to grow communities, digitalise MSMEs and support riders in Asia

Karachi: foodpanda released its first Social Impact Report, titled pandapurpose, highlighting initiatives the company has taken to contribute to socio-economic and environmental sustainability challenges in Asia. As the largest food and grocery platform in Pakistan and in Asia (outside China), foodpanda dedicated over US$35 million to support communities, help Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) digitalise, train and upskill delivery riders across the region during the continued pandemic in 2021.

The pandapurpose 2021 report showcases how foodpanda uplifted riders, merchants and customers thrive through technology across its 12 operating markets – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. One key highlight in the report was the introduction of new digital tools that helped MSMEs expand revenue streams, while training and upskilling for riders, and programmes.

Several local programs in Pakistan successfully increased the percentage of economic participation from women entrepreneurs through the HomeChef program, while overall women ridership also increased compared to previous years. A new area of social impact focus in 2021 was the introduction of more sustainability initiatives.

“At foodpanda, we have been driven by our values to keep improving our processes as we are aware that it leads to making millions of lives better. We will keep working hard to sustain the standards that we have set and build an inclusive platform for our community of merchants, riders, customers, and other stakeholders,” said Muntaqa Peracha, Chief Executive Officer, foodpanda Pakistan.

foodpanda is a strong advocate of building an inclusive platform. In 2021, foodpanda raised the level of economic participation from women across Asia, tripling the number of female riders in its fleet and financially empowering women MSME entrepreneurs on the platform through its HomeChef programme. In Pakistan, female riders also joined its fleet while foodpanda created new opportunities for home-based small businesses — run mostly by women — to be financially empowered. Around 1,500 women have already registered as HomeChefs so far.

Marking its tenth anniversary, this Social Impact Report reiterates foodpanda’s commitment to growing alongside its ecosystem of riders, merchants and customers across 12 markets in Asia. foodpanda will look to expand its social impact initiatives in 2022 and the years to come by, positively empowering local communities to live better lives, powered by technology.

View the full foodpanda pandapurpose: Social Impact Report 2021 at www.foodpanda.com/pandapurpose

foodpanda collaborates with Punjab Food Authority to train Homechefs

Karachi: In an effort to improve food packaging and follow hygiene standards during food preparation, foodpanda partnered with Punjab Food Authority (PFA) in order to train Homechefs regarding enhanced safety protocols and government SOPs.

The training session was conducted with the objective to encourage and promote food safety culture across Punjab, training the Homechefs on basic hygiene and safe food preparation.

Speaking on the occasion, Mustafa Dogar, Additional DG, PFA said, “We are pleased to collaborate with foodpanda and train these talented individuals on hygiene and safe food preparation. Our goal is to promote this culture and encourage everyone to adhere to these protocols for a healthy environment.”

Homechefs are essentially people operating out of their home kitchens who sell food through online platforms. foodpanda currently have several thousand registered homechefs who have been taken on-board after stringent routine checks for food hygiene, quality, safety, packaging, etc. The company’s aim is to increase the homechefs base in the next two years and take it up to 100,000 registered homechefs.

foodpanda reiterates commitment towards women empowerment

Karachi: Keeping up with its annual tradition, foodpanda pledged its commitment to work towards gender equality and women empowerment by featuring its HomeChef at ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’ ceremony at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The event was held to showcase and celebrate women playing different roles and how corporations should work together to achieve gender equality for a sustainable future.

The partnering organisation included Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Women on Board, International Finance Corporation, UN Women and Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG).

Muntaqa Peracha, interim CEO, members from the HomeChef team, and foodpanda’s HomeChef Atiqa Zaeem from Mrs. Zaeem’s Kitchen were also present at the ceremony to promote gender equality for a sustainable tomorrow.

Sharing his views on how foodpanda is working towards empowering women, Muntaqa Peracha said, “foodpanda’s vision is to enable economic empowerment in the country and our HomeChef vertical is the first step towards making this happen. foodpanda encourages and supports females across all channels and Atiqa Zaeem one of our HomeChefs, is a prime example of how females can earn from home and achieve financial stability. We envision to celebrate many such examples in the future.”

The session was opened by Atiqa Zaeem, foodpanda HomeChef, Jehan Ara, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Chairperson PSX; Ms Sima Kamil, Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan; and distinguished women of the country from various fields ranging from banking, financial, entrepreneurial, and corporate sectors to designing, medical, and legal professions.

Through its movements catering to women empowerment which includes the first female rider, Rubab Jumani, foodpanda has created various economic opportunities for home-based chefs. foodpanda’s collaboration with PSX highlighted the company’s objective to make the society a place where a woman can sustain herself financially by switching her dreams to a mode of earning.

foodpanda women choosing to #BreakTheBias

foodpanda, the leading e-commerce platform, on account of Women’s Day, handed over e-bikes to its female riders. The company celebrated its female employees, vendor partners, riders, and homechefs in an event in which Justice (R) Nasira Iqbal was invited as the Chief Guest. She handed over the bikes to female riders along with Muntaqa Peracha, interim CEO foodpanda, and Hassan Arshad, Principal Policy and Communication foodpanda.

The event celebrated women in foodpanda who are breaking the bias by opting for diverse income opportunities and becoming self-sufficient. The event showcased inspiring talks by not just the Chief Guest, but female employees, riders, and homechefs as well.

Caly Zehra Ispahani who is heading the B2B Solutions at foodpanda shared her story of how throughout her professional life she broke numerous biases to progress in her career. She has been revered and known for her powerful commercial and project management experience where she helped generate value through meaningful business opportunities. Besides breaking the glass ceiling throughout her career, she is a mother of two girls and has managed to strike the fine balance between a thriving career and a happy home life.

Ilsa Aleem, the Operations Cluster Lead – North for pandamart, is another role model who opted for an operational role and excelled in it as well. Breaking the bias, Ilsa joined pandamart in March 2021 as the First Female Warehouse Manager and was one of the pioneers in Islamabad Launch. She was also a part of the Lahore launch and has contributed to streamlining and digitizing on-ground operations. In her current role, she is leading pandamart operations in the Twin Cities and is keen to continue adding value and be an inspiration for other young females in the organization.

Justice (R) Nasira Iqbal also shared her inspiring story and reflected how it has always been difficult for women to choose a different course of action when it comes to professional and personal life. She said that in every era there have been numerous biases that stop women from progressing, but women have always stood firm and faced the challenges head-on. She urged women to never give up as it is never too late to pursue their dreams. She commended foodpanda employees, vendors, riders and homechef for taking control of their life and supporting other women to do the same.

The event entailed panel discussions where female riders, homechefs and vendors also shared their stories. Parents of some female employees were also invited to stage who shared their experience on how they have always supported their daughters and would encourage other parents to do the same.

foodpanda, the leading e-commerce platform, on account of Women’s Day, handed over e-bikes to its female riders

foodpanda, the leading e-commerce platform, on account of Women’s Day, handed over e-bikes to its female riders. The company celebrated its female employees, vendor partners, riders and homechefs in an event in which Justice (R) Nasira Iqbal was invited as the Chief Guest. She handed over the bikes to female riders along with Muntaqa Peracha, interim CEO foodpanda, and Hassan Arshad, Principal Policy and Communication foodpanda.

foodpanda collaborates with Climate Change Ministry to launch first e-bikes for e-commerce

foodpanda, one of the leading e-commerce companies in Pakistan, today became the first e-commerce player in Pakistan to launch e-bikes on its platform for delivery riders. As part of the ground-breaking initiative, which is being undertaken in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Climate Change, foodpanda handed over the first set of e-bikes to its riders in a ceremony held in Islamabad – which was attended by Malik Amin Aslam – Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change.

The initiative reaffirms foodpanda’s pledge to work towards environmental sustainability. foodpanda has partnered with Jolta Electric to scale e-bikes on its platform and will also explore financing opportunities with different banks to support its riders.

Malik Amin Aslam, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change while speaking at the occasion said, “This partnership is geared towards fostering a culture of environmental wellbeing, in line with Prime Minister’s Clean Green Pakistan Initiative. As the number of delivery riders have significantly gone up, this is going to be the first of its kind practical action. Needless to say, it is a collective action approach and will pave the way for other players to take this as an example and follow suit.”

While sharing his views, Muntaqa Peracha, Interim CEO at foodpanda said, “Launching e-bikes is in line with our core philosophy of embedding technology into our business and aimed at defining a direction for the future. foodpanda is today a household name and has over the years become an integral part of people’s lives through its value-added offerings. This is reason enough for us to stay one step ahead and demonstrate our commitment to climate action at a time when there is a great urgency to act.”

In December last year, foodpanda and the Ministry of Climate Change pledged to work together for launching and accelerating efforts to protect the environment. foodpanda recognizes that climate change is one of our greatest challenges which requires immediate action. Partnerships like these and other initiatives are small steps in the right direction to mitigate the impact of climate change.

The ceremony was attended by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, Muntaqa Peracha, Interim CEO foodpanda Pakistan, Hassan Arshad, Principal, Policy & Communications foodpanda Pakistan and Usman Sheikh, CEO Jolta Electric, along with other senior representatives from the companies.

foodpanda and Government of Gilgit Baltistan joins hands for strategic alliance

foodpanda, the leading food delivery platform and e-commerce company in the country, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Government of Gilgit Baltistan to bring forth economic empowerment in the region. A signing ceremony took place at foodpanda headquarters in Karachi whereby Hussain Shah, Minister of Information Technology and Special Assistant to Chief Minister from Government of GB, and Nauman Sikandar, CEO foodpanda along with other dignitaries were present.

Under the MoU, both the parties will be working together to generate economic opportunities for the masses. foodpanda shall accelerate its operations in GB through different verticals such as restaurants, pandamart, shops, etc., and government of GB will facilitate this expansion by creating a favourable business environment.

While sharing his views, Nauman Sikandar, CEO foodpanda, said, “We are accelerating our actions to economically empower people of GB by expanding our services via restaurants, shops, homechefs, pandamart and panda kitchens. This will not only enable people to earn a respectable livelihood but will also create financial and digital inclusion for the people of GB. We will utilize our extensive reach and network to create awareness and highlight this initiative #MYGB to mark our commitment towards this cause.”

Read More: Foodpanda Celebrates Its Riders By Unveiling The Vibrant New ‘Rider Kit’

Also expressing his views Hussain Shah, Minister of Information Technology and Special Assistant to Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan said “I am thankful to foodpanda for promoting economic empowerment and extending their services for the cause. Our people are extremely hardworking and they deserve lucrative opportunities which foodpanda has to offer. We will ensure smooth expansion of the company through our IT Ministry and shall provide assistance to foodpanda in terms of internet infrastructure, acquisition of lands and any other local requirements. We will also make our lock produce such as meat, dry fruits, minerals and the likes available on pandamart for this strategic partnership.”