Tag: Pakistan

Singapore – IPG Mediabrands’s media agency Initiative has announced its recent affiliate agreement with IG Square Pakistan for its second new market launch: the Initiative Pakistan office.

The affiliate office aims to expand the agency’s network footprint across 14 different countries in the APAC region including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Speaking about the collaboration, James Smyllie, president at Initiative APAC said, “Initiative has had an exciting 2023, with our launch in New Zealand, and now our affiliate partnership with IG Square, creating Initiative Pakistan.” 

“Initiative’s continued expansion into growth markets is testament to the prevailing success of our unique proposition which is steadily building Fame & Flow for brands across the Asia-Pacific region,” Smyllie added. 

Adnan Shaikh, director and chief operating officer at IG Square Pakistan supported this particular announcement and said, “The extension of our collaboration with IPG Mediabrands by introducing Initiative to Pakistan is a dream come true. Not only does it signify another step towards enlarging IPG’s footprint in this market, but it answers the industry demand for global tools and experience with local knowledge under one single umbrella.”

The Initiative affiliate relationship with IG Square Pakistan is set to take effect immediately upon announcement.

Pakistan – Telecommunications firm Telenor in Pakistan has appointed Mindshare as its media agency for both traditional and digital marketing. With the partnership, Telenor will be leveraging Mindshare’s expertise in media, digital, and buying.

Agha Zohaib, managing director at Mindshare Pakistan shared his excitement over the partnership. “We are truly honored to be appointed as Telenor’s media agency in Pakistan. This provides us with an incredible opportunity to work with one of the most robust telcos,” he said.

He also added that the partnership seems “promising and passionate” with both companies’ tech-driven and agile mindsets.

Meanwhile, CEO of Mindshare Asia Pacific Helen McRae also commented, “Our ambition of connecting data to good growth for our clients is at the heart of our partnership with Telenor. We look forward to propelling Telenor to even greater heights.”

Mindshare is a part of GroupM and one of the largest media buying house in Pakistan. The company was also previously appointed by MasterKong Beverage as its agency of record in China.

Pakistan – Technology company Uber is discontinuing its ride-hailing services in five Pakistani cities namely Karachi, Islamabad, Multan, Faisalabad and Peshawar.

According to a report by Reuters, the exit is a move by Uber to reduce market overlap between the U.S. firm and its Middle East unit Careem.

However, Uber will still remain in the city of Lahore, where Uber is aiming at launching new products.

Former Uber drivers that are from the five cities can switch to Careem, a Dubai-based company purchased by Uber for US$3.1b in 2019 to dominate the ride-hailing markets in the Middle East and Pakistan.

“We know this is a difficult time for the teams who have worked incredibly hard to build this business over the past few years. We greatly appreciate everyone’s contributions and our priority is to minimise the impact to our employees, drivers, riders, and Hero partners who use the Uber app during this change in Karachi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar,” the company said in a statement.

Uber first entered into Pakistan in 2016 as part of a US$250m push to expand into the Middle East and North Africa. Uber had also recently offloaded its food delivery services to Zomato, a local rival, and sold its shares in the company recently at an assumed unrealized loss of US$707m.

Singapore – Global media agency network UM from IPG Mediabrands is expanding its presence in Asia-Pacific with a new affiliate office in Pakistan, launched in agreement with IG Square Pakistan.

The affiliate partnership takes effect immediately, and adds up to the 14 existing markets UM is in the region, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Speaking of the new affiliate office, Muhammad Sarwar Khan, chief executive officer at IG Square Pakistan, said, “We are very excited to be a part of IPG Mediabrands and I believe this relationship will bring a fresh perspective to the media landscape in Pakistan with data, technology and commerce playing a key role in reshaping consumer journeys and experiences.” 

He added, “I would also like to thank all of our clients and media partners for extending their support and I assure them that this new partnership will further equip us to deliver on our promise of imagining growth globally.” 

Meanwhile, Adnan Shaikh, director and chief operating officer at IG Square Pakistan, commented, “I am humbled and excited to share news of IG Square’s affiliation with IPG Mediabrands to represent Universal McCann (UM) in Pakistan, and introduce other agency brands in the future. We are extremely thankful to our team members, clients and vendors for their trust and confidence. We are committed to magnifying the UM brand image in Pakistan, and extend UM’s regional and global experience and expertise to our clients.”

Kasper Aakerlund, president at UM APAC, commented, “I am delighted to be in a position to confirm our official affiliate partnership with IG Square for UM Pakistan. An important growth market for many of our regional and global client brands; the launch of UM Pakistan will serve to future-proof our regional efficiencies and expand our competitive remit and opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region.”

Amsterdam, Netherlands — Dastgyr, a Pakistan-based B2B e-commerce marketplace platform, has announced it has secured a US$15m investment as part of a series A funding. This investment will contribute to boosting Pakistan’s e-commerce market. The investment was supplied by VEON, a digital operator that provides mobile connectivity and services through its VEON Ventures division.

Dastgyr offers businesses a one-stop-shop application that connects thousands of retailers with suppliers to give them access to real-time visibility on pricing and financing rates. Platform partners have included Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Reckitt.

Dastgyr will remain an independent entity, with a minority position being taken by VEON Ventures. The new investment round will support Dastgyr’s expansion into 15 new cities in Pakistan, alongside its existing network in Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot and Gujranwala.

Zohaib Ali, co-founder of Dastgyr, shared, “We are thrilled to achieve this milestone in the current global economic environment. We welcome the new investors to the Dastgyr family as we continue to work relentlessly toward our vision of building an Alibaba for emerging markets worldwide.”

Ali adds, “We’re lucky to have found strategic partners who believe in our mission and have displayed unwavering faith in our team. Financial inclusion, which is central to the startup’s mission, will uplift and enable Pakistan’s small- and medium-sized retail entrepreneurs, potentially unlocking up to an additional US$10b for the country’s GDP, according to our estimates.”

Meanwhile, Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO of VEON Ventures, said, “As part of VEON’s transformation into a digital operator that delivers a growing range of services to our customers we are investing in leading digital companies like Dastgyr in the countries where we operate. These investments are the building blocks of the digital ecosystem that will enable us to deliver on our strategy.”

The deal is VEON Ventures’ largest investment in a Pakistani start-up and reflects the group’s continued commitment to the region and to the growth of Pakistan’s digital economy.

Cairo, Egypt — Payment industry giant Mastercard and fintech OPay have announced a strategic partnership, which marks a significant boost for wider financial inclusion and economic prosperity by opening up digital commerce to customers in Pakistan.

The collaboration enables OPay Pakistani consumers and merchants to engage with brands and businesses anywhere across the globe, thanks to a Mastercard virtual payment solution linked to the OPay eWallet. The partnership’s effect also reaches other regions namely in the Middle East and South Africa.

This partnership is the latest milestone in Mastercard’s emerging market strategy where the technology company is collaborating with growing fintech such as OPay to expand access to digital payments, enable multiple lifestyle services, and create new pathways to financial inclusion and support the next generation of super-apps.

Consumers are increasingly looking for seamless user experiences on a single platform offering easier interactions to complete various day-to-day needs, including sending and receiving money, ordering food and groceries, organizing transport, lending, investing and listing items they wish to sell.

In the initial phase of this partnership, OPay customers will benefit from the Mastercard virtual payment solution linked to their OPay wallets, to shop at well-known global brands for leisure, travel, accommodation, entertainment, streaming services and more. The service is available regardless of whether or not the customer has a bank account. It also allows small business owners to purchase from suppliers abroad and pay with the secure virtual payment solution.

Amnah Ajmal, executive vice president for market development at Mastercard EEMEA, said, “At Mastercard, our innovation strategy is rooted in partnerships to support inclusion at scale. Our partnership with OPay demonstrates our commitment to supporting payments providers across the world to create an interconnected global payments ecosystem that benefits an array of consumers with unique needs.”

Yahui Zhou, CEO of OPay, commented, “As the leading fintech in the Middle East and Africa, we are delighted to be partnering with Mastercard as we continue on our journey to promote financial inclusion, helping to open up the global economy to more consumers and businesses across the Middle East and Africa.”

Since its operations started in 2018, OPay’s active users have grown to 15 million in dozens of markets in which it operates. The company processes millions of transactions per day on average.

Plans are in place to launch OPay services in other markets in the next three to five years, significantly driving the growth of digital inclusion and digital commerce, while at the same time widening OPay customer inclusion into the global economy.

Punjab, Pakistan — The Bank of Punjab (BOP), a Pakistan-based financial institution, has signed an agreement with Mastercard, the leading tech company in the global payments industry. The collaboration will see the bank’s customers in the region and across the globe benefit from a new range of electronic payment products.

The agreement will see BOP issuing Mastercard debit and credit cards to its customers and enable point-of-sale and e-commerce acquiring, utilizing Mastercard’s industry-leading Mastercard Payment Gateway Services platform.

Representatives from both parties attended the ceremony, namely from BOP; Zahid Mustafa, group chief of consumer and digital banking, Asim Qureshi, head of cards, and Syed Shahzad Shahid, head of customers, among others. From Mastercard, a notable attendee was J.K. Khalil, country GM for MENA east of Mastercard.

Addressing the participants, Mustafa said, “Cards and payments are critical components of our digital banking strategy to provide ease and convenience to our customers. We have developed a strong value of proposition for our cards with the help of Mastercard as we seek to give value to our customers with our transactions.”

Mustafa added, “We are bringing learnings from international markets to Pakistan and partnership with Mastercard is playing a pivotal role in the digitization of retail, as well as government initiatives.”

Meanwhile, Khalil shared some insights of his own, saying, “Pakistan is fast embracing digital payments and the endless opportunities it presents to people and communities. We are delighted to deepen our long-standing partnership with The Bank of Punjab through this milestone launch.”

Pakistan — Financial wellness platform Abhi has announced the successful closure of its US$17m Series A funding round, which will be used to meet the massive customer demand, scale the Abhi team and build out marketing capabilities.

The financing round was led by international venture capital firm Speedinvest, supported by VEF, Global Ventures, VentureSouq, and more.

Founded in 2021 by Omair Ansari and Ali Ladhubhai, Abhi’s objective is to tackle financial stress by enabling employees to meet their financial obligations without exposure to negative loan spirals – but also to benefit employers. For employers, the platform has zero costs involved – thus avoiding any impact on the payroll cycle or cash flow.

Omair Ansari, chief executive officer of Abhi, said, “We are delighted to announce this US$17m funding round, especially with the calibre of investors involved. The continued backing of VEF, plus the support from other leading VC firms, is a testament to our platform, business model and the hard work of our team. We have grown rapidly since our inception in July 2021 and our momentum has opened up a significant B2B opportunity. All sizes of companies and their employees want the services we provide. The proceeds will support our exponential growth and help us meet customer demand.”

The company’s strong growth has continued since its inception and the company is cash-flow positive. Its total payment value processed has scaled rapidly, increasing from US$2m in November 2021 to US46m as of February 2022. Abhi works with hundreds of companies, including household names like Hilton Pharma, Soorty, Din Group, among others. The company has partnered with two of the largest banks in Pakistan – United Bank Limited and Bank Alfalah – and has also expanded its offering to business financing, taking the step from a pure B2C company to now being also a B2B company.

Dave Nangle, CEO of VEF, commented, “Our congratulations to Omair, Ali and all the Abhi team. We backed this team from the seed stage and watched all the impressive progress and traction they have achieved in less than a year of existence. It is the reason behind their ability to raise a size Series A round from a deep bench of quality investors.

Nangle adds, “From a capital perspective, In the wake of having placed our debut sustainability linked bonds, it feels appropriate to be able to deploy capital so swiftly into an asset like Abhi, supporting consumers and MSMEs in the vastly under-penetrated financial market of Pakistan. Abhi is a perfect example of how VEF, as a company, can positively contribute to financial wellness across emerging markets, while staying true to our mandate of delivering superior shareholder returns.”

Karachi, Pakistan – National private bank Bank Alfalah has partnered with fintech platform Paymob to drive payment acceptance in Pakistan, which will empower over 100,000 merchants across Pakistan and launch new innovative services in e-commerce acceptance for online merchants.

Through the partnership, both entities have collaborated to activate and support merchant acquisition and integration services across Pakistan. This is Paymob’s first collaboration outside its Egyptian home market and comes as part of its expansion strategy in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) region.

Bank Alfalah’s partnership with Paymob will drive financial inclusion and lead the way for swift payment acceptance, and will follow Bank Alfalah’s objective to support merchant acquisition and integration services across the country. This collaboration will enable an instant onboarding feature for the first time in Pakistan using Paymob’s advanced solutions such as payment gateway integration, POS terminals and SoftPOS.

Atif Bajwa, President and CEO of Bank Alfalah said, “Bank Alfalah is proud to partner with Paymob in one of Pakistan’s largest Fintech partnerships. Our collaboration will aim to serve thousands of merchants across Pakistan and the industry-first ‘Tap-on-Phone’ service will allow us to reach even the most remotely located merchants in Pakistan.”

Furthermore, the instant onboarding feature made by the partnership is empowered by the digital onboarding regulations recently published by the State Bank of Pakistan and comes as one of many positive steps the State Bank has led to enable MSME merchants in order to further digitise the ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Alain El-Hajj, COO of Paymob, commented, “This is a remarkable moment for Paymob. We are honoured to partner with Bank AlFalah under its progressive leadership to provide reliable and seamless digital payment services for SMEs across Pakistan. With this partnership we aim to contribute to the shared vision of economic growth and digitization of SMEs.”

Karachi, Pakistan — Automobile company PEUGEOT has officially launched operations in Pakistan through its exclusive partner Lucky Motor Corporation in Karachi. The partnership commenced with the opening of eight 3S dealerships that offer sales, after-sales and other services in six cities namely Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Gujranwala.

The tie-up also aims to facilitate the creation of state-of-the-art assembly facilities in Karachi to boost employment, localization and local automotive industry in Pakistan and enhance the internationalization of PEUGEOT.

PEUGEOT is an inventive brand that has been a pioneer in the automotive industry for over 200 years guided by its brand values; ‘Allure, Emotion and Excellence’, which represent sharp design, intuitive driving pleasure and uncompromising quality. With its entry into Pakistan, these values will be upheld as the brand strives to provide the market with the latest innovations and mobility solutions.

Linda Jackson, CEO of the PEUGEOT brand, said, “We are delighted with this partnership. This will be the first time a European car is assembled in Pakistan and we are excited to work with Lucky Motors to support employment, localization and the local automotive industry in the country. Internationalization is a key focus for PEUGEOT, with the B and C segment SUV growth in Pakistan, representing a great opportunity for us. This is also bolstered by the evolution of the legislation of the country towards electrification which is fully in line with our own strategy.”

Simultaneously, Samir Cherfan, chief operating officer of Stellantis Middle East and Africa, commented, “We are excited to embark on this journey in Pakistan with our new partner, Lucky Motor Corporation. We see tremendous potential and opportunity for PEUGEOT in Pakistan and are looking forward to serving customers in this exciting market.

Lucky Motor Corporation is a subsidiary of the Yunus Brothers Group, which has a legacy spanning over five decades. Yunus Brother Group’s robust and dynamic approach has enabled it to gain considerable market share in the Pakistani automotive industry and to set new benchmarks in terms of product offering and customer service. With the introduction of PEUGEOT, the company now aims to provide the best mobility solutions the European brand can offer its customers.

Asif Rizvi, chief operating officer of Lucky Motors Company, shared that Lucky Motors is set to change the automotive landscape of Pakistan by introducing PEUGEOT, the first locally made European brand in the country. Rizvi added that they are very excited to partner with Peugeot and look forward to being associated with Stellantis, a company that strongly believes in futuristic mobility solutions.

“Pakistan, with its 220 million population, offers a great opportunity for someone to come in and disrupt the automotive market. And we have no doubt that the Stellantis with its 14 brand portfolio, will be the one to do so. Lucky Motors is proud to become the first company in Pakistan to have multi-brand manufacturing and dealers. We are delighted to embark on this adventure, bringing with it the best automotive solutions, while also making meaningful contributions and investments that will support economic and social development in Pakistan,” Rizvi said.

The first step of the partnership will begin with the introduction of the locally built PEUGEOT 2008 model. The full-electric e-2008 local production is also considered. The introduction of the PEUGEOT 2008 is the first step of this ongoing commitment to Pakistani customers.