Careem celebrates 1 billion rides
- Careem Captains have driven over 9 billion kilometres across more than 80 cities over ten years
- The countries with the highest number of Careem rides are Pakistan (299 million), Saudi Arabia (242 million), and Egypt (230 million)
Careem, the region’s leading multi-service platform, celebrates 1 billion ride hailing trips across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. Careem Captains have driven over 9 billion kilometres across more than 80 cities over ten years. The countries with the highest number of rides recorded are Pakistan (299 million), Saudi Arabia (242 million), and Egypt (230 million).
The longest single ride covered 1,113 kilometres, from Riyadh to Jazan in Saudi Arabia in 2020. The shortest single ride was a 200 metre trip in Lahore. Careem has more than 50 million registered customers, and 2.5 million registered Captains who have collectively earned over $4 billion in earnings to date. The highest number of trips recorded by a Careem Captain is 35,139 trips by a Captain in Jordan. The highest number of rides booked by a Careem customer is over 9,500 rides by a customer in Saudi Arabia.
The 1 billionth trip was completed in Qatar by Captain Captain Razak Uppattil from Kerala, India, who has been driving with Careem for four years and has completed over 10,500 trips on the platform. To celebrate this milestone, Careem gifted Captain Razak a trip to his home town in Kerala.
The 1 billionth passenger was Genera Tesoro, a Careem customer from the Philippines who works as a receptionist at Padel In Aspire Zone in Doha. Genera completes more than 50 trips per month and says she chooses Careem because it is a more affordable option. Careem gifted Genera rides-hailing trips for one year* as a token of appreciation.
Mudassir Sheikha, CEO & Co-founder of Careem, said: “Reaching the incredible milestone of 1 billion rides is thanks to the hard work of our Captains and colleagues as well as the trust that our customers have placed in us. We feel blessed to have made it easier for people to move around and to have created earning opportunities for more than 2.5 million people. The opportunity ahead is large and humbling – our region is full of untapped potential and there’s so much more we must do to simplify and improve life for people in the region.”
Captain Razak Uppattil, the Captain who completed the 1 billionth ride, commented: “I thank God to have completed the 1 billionth trip. I have been at Careem for about four years and have so many favourite moments. It’s the people that I get to meet from all over the world that I really enjoy. I have three children back home in Kerala, India, and I am so excited to see them soon.”
Careem’s first ride took place in the UAE in September 2012 and was booked manually before the first line of code was written from Pakistan a few months later. Careem expanded in popularity across the region as the first ride-hailing platform to offer cash payments. The percentage of Careem rides paid for digitally has grown from 31% in 2016 to 44% in 2022.
Today Careem offers over a dozen services including ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, micro-mobility, payments, and partner services including home cleaning, car rental, event bookings, and on-demand laundry services.
Dawlance opens its fourth ‘Experience Store’ in Pakistan – the first in Karachi
Continuing its pursuit of delivering exceptional quality of products and services, Dawlance — the technology-leading innovator in Pakistan’s Home-Appliances industry, has recently inaugurated its fourth ‘Experience Store’ in Pakistan. Located in Karachi, this specialized outlet will provide customers with hands-on experience with a wide range of Dawlance products, all under one roof. As the company is committed to further expanding its nationwide network of dealers, it is promising great convenience for consumers all over Pakistan.
Dawlance is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arcelik AS — the 2nd largest manufacturer in Europe, based in Turkey. In Pakistan, Dawlance – Arcelik have plans to establish many more experience stores in future, with its vision to achieve unmatched customer care. The vibrant ceremony held in Karachi to launch this new Experience-Store was attended by senior management executives of Dawlance, many stakeholders of the technology industry, many loyal customers and other prominent personalities of Karachi.
The Director of Marketing at Dawlance — Syed Hasan Jameel stated that: “We are very excited about the opening of another revolutionary concept-store, to enhance the Consumer Retail-Experience. Our global parent company – Arcelik, has inspired this strategic investment to enable easier access for customers, who prefer to evaluate the performance of an electronic product, before making the purchase decision. It also reflects the confidence we have in our product line-up that promises more than 50% energy conservation. ”
Dawlance has the largest network of dealerships and distribution outlets in every major city across Pakistan. Every Dawlance Experience Store will have a standardized layout, decor and visual design, along with state-of-the-art equipment. The complete range of Dawlance home appliances includes; Refrigerators, Deep-Freezers, Washing-Machines, Dishwashers, Cooking Range and smaller kitchen appliances, with the highest European quality standards adopted by Arcelik, in Turkey.
With extensive research & development, customer care and after-sales service, Dawlance strives to exceed the expectations of every customer and cater to their evolving needs. Since its acquisition in 2016, Arçelik has already invested in Dawlance, to ensure higher productivity and quality. Every employee is trained to ensure compliance with the global best practices, at every operational level.
MCB Bank allies with Bookme.pk to enhance acceptance of e-booking services across Pakistan
MCB Bank Limited, one of Pakistan’s leading Banks, has entered into an agreement with Bookme.pk, the leading provider of e-ticketing services in Pakistan. This partnership aims to facilitate hassle-free online ticket booking experience for the digital banking customer base of MCB Live.
Under this agreement, MCB Live users will be able to book and take advantage of opportunities for travel, leisure and entertainment available exclusively through Bookme.pk. This alliance aims to facilitate the growing demand for convenient and cost-effective e-ticketing services that can be safely and conveniently availed on the go or from the comfort of one’s home.
The agreement was signed between Mr. Jaffar Abbas Shirazi – Division Head Digital Channels & Branchless Banking MCB Bank and Mr. Faizan Aslam – CEO and Founder, Bookme.pk at MCB House, Lahore. Mr. Shahzad Ishaq – Group Head Digital Banking MCB Bank, Ms. Ambreen Latif Bawany – Head Marketing MCB Bank, Mr. Waseem Ahmed Malik – Department Head Branchless Banking MCB Bank and other representatives from MCB Bank and Bookme.pk were also present at the ceremony.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Jaffar Abbas Shirazi – Division Head Digital Channels & Branchless Banking MCB Bank, said “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Bookme.pk to facilitate MCB Bank customers with convenient access to bus, cinema and event tickets through our app, MCB Live. MCB Bank strongly believes in providing our customers access to convenient and innovative solutions to enhance their lifestyle and quality of life. This alliance is yet another step towards ensuring seamless and efficient digital payment services for our valued customers.”
Mr. Faizan Aslam, CEO and Founder Bookme.pk also added, “Today is a very special day as Bookme.pk adds its services to another leading bank in Pakistan. MCB’s huge user base will get access to in-app ticketing services within MCB Live and will get to enjoy hassle-free checkouts and greatly discounted ticket prices. MCB and Bookme.pk have pledged to work together to bring exclusive deals and pricing to MCB customers.”
PMEX commences Awareness Program for Farmers on Electronic Warehouse Receipts in collaboration with Naymat and GROWTECH Services
Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX), the country’s only multi-commodity futures exchange, in collaboration with Naymat Collateral Management Company Limited (NCMCL), the first and only CMC company licensed by SECP and GROWTECH Services, has launched a series of programs to create awareness about the benefits of Electronic Warehouse Receipts (EWR) mechanism among the farmer. The aim of these awareness programs is to educate smallholder farmers to become part of this landmark ecosystem to achieve three objectives: uplift the lives of farmers, documentation of the agriculture sector and improve food security.
The first program of the series was held at Depalpur, District Okara. A large number of bankers, warehouse operators, and more than 250 farmers attended the program. During the session, PMEX and NCMCL briefed the farmers about the three options under the EWR mechanism: 1) the safekeeping of commodities to avoid distress selling and post-harvest losses, 2) using EWR as collateral for borrowing from financial institutions, and 3) trading of EWRs at the PMEX platform. GROWTECH Services talked about increasing yields and saving input costs through its farm-specific services, finance, advisory, and access to the right markets. The session was followed by a Q&A where farmers took an active part in knowing the details of the EWR regime.
Ejaz Ali Shah, Managing Director of PMEX, Shakaib Arif, CEO of NCMCL, and Faisal Bilal of GROWTECH Services graced the event.
PMEX expressed its commitment to organizing similar awareness programs for the farmers in collaboration with NCMCL and GROWTECH in other agri centers located throughout Pakistan.
Resurgence of terrorism a threat to investment: Zahid Hussain
Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on December 2 said terrorism is resurfacing in the country, which has posed threat to local and foreign investment.
The terrorism has restarted soon after China’s plan to heavily invest in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s decision to set up a multi-billion dollar refinery which is pointing towards a neighboring country, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the government and the new army chief should make the elimination of terrorism their first priority so as to reduce the threats to the people and the country’s economy.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that all the peace agreements made with terrorists have failed. Now instead of talking, strict action should be taken and the country should be freed from this problem forever so that the people and the business community can breathe a sigh of relief.
This time, a new strategy should be adopted to defeat the terrorists because in the past despite the heavy loss of lives and money this disease has not been cured and terrorism resurfaces after some time.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that currently, the country’s economy is facing serious challenges while international organizations are not providing the necessary and legitimate support.
Pakistan has so far received 738 million dollars for flood assistance despite the promise of 3.4 billion dollars while the overall losses are more than 32 billion dollars.
The negative attitude of the international community is creating a human tragedy while the country does not have the resources to deal with it, he observed.
He noted that the global recession and gas shortage in Pakistan is hitting exports and foreign remittances due to which our foreign exchange reserves have come to the lowest level.
In these circumstances, the emergence of terrorism is a serious threat to the country, which requires a strong response. He said that the crisis caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine has less influence on the economic conditions of the country and the role of wrong economic policies of the past is more.
Due to these reasons, the IMF is not providing loans despite repeated requests and the trust gap between this important international organization and Pakistan is widening which is very worrying.
KiK Pushes for Stronger Safety Programs in Pakistan
During inspections in Pakistan this week, the CEO of textile company KiK, Patrick Zahn, announced a stronger engagement of his company towards more safety for workers and buildings. In this context Zahn emphasized that it remains his goal to bring the successful initiative Accord to Pakistan. The Accord is an independent, legally binding agreement between companies from the textile industry and trade unions in Pakistan and aims to create a safer, more socially responsible, and healthier garment and textile industry.
KiKs engagement in Pakistan
Thanks to the Building Safety Initiative that KiK launched in 2017, the company already has significant experience in Pakistan. For the CEO of KiK, Patrick Zahn, it is also personally important to initiate a strong agreement for Pakistan with the Accord to be able to achieve further improvements: “In the last five years, we have already achieved a lot in the areas of fire protection and electrical safety with our ‘Pakistan Building Safety Initiative’. With Accord Pakistan, we can work with many other stakeholders to ensure better standards for textile production.” The South Asian country is one of the most important exporters of textiles after Bangladesh.
He therefore called on the factory owners, trade unions and retailers involved in the agreement “to put aside their own interests shortly before the goal is reached and to bring about a swift and comprehensive solution for the sake of the thousands of employees”.
Commitment to the goals of the Accord
To reinforce his demand, he declared a voluntary commitment for his company and signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” with local stakeholders on Thursday.
After the signing, which took place in the presence of the German Consul General, Dr. Rüdiger Lotz, the KiK CEO said, “I welcome the fact that we are close to a breakthrough with the Accord. I appeal to all those involved to pave the way now quickly. With the planned safety training, complaint mechanisms and health committees, we can reach over one million textile workers in 700 factories.” He said KiK was proud to have actively pursued this agreement and to be able to facilitate a new level of social responsibility for the textile industry. This is also of great importance against the backdrop of the new Supply Chain Act, he said, to document the serious efforts being made to promote change in this area. 2
The successful concept of Accord
The Accord Pakistan will be modeled on the successful Accord Bangladesh. This alliance has led to an entire industrial sector in a developing country being transformed from the ground up. Since the Accord was established, there have been no major disasters in the textile industry in Bangladesh. The aim of the Accord in Pakistan is to build on this successful model.
IBA Karachi awards 2,067 degrees in convocation 2021-22
The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi held its biggest convocation for the Class of 2021 and 2022 at the Main Campus to award degrees to 2,067 graduates. The graduating batch included 988 graduates from the Class of 2021 and 1,079 graduates from the Class of 2022; and 1,496 undergraduate students from six programs, 564 postgraduate students from nine programs and seven PhD scholars from three programs.
Minister for Universities and Boards Department, Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development, Government of Sindh, Mr. Muhammad Ismail Rahoo; represented Chief Guest, Chief Minister of Sindh and Patron IBA, Syed Murad Ali Shah. President, Aga Khan University, Dr. Sulaiman Shahabuddin graced the ceremony as the Guest of Honor.
The Executive Director, IBA Karachi, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi congratulated the graduating students and said, “It makes me immensely happy to share that almost 40% of our graduates are young women and this number is steadily growing, which leads me to give a special mention to our first female PhD scholar in Mathematics, Dr. Nazish Kanwal. IBA is honored to nurture such skilled individuals and we take pride in empowering our women in every field.”
Highlighting IBA’s transformation from a business school to a multi-disciplinary institution, Dr. Zaidi added that “We are more than just a business school, we have expanded our disciplines and sent out graduates who have mastered diverse disciplines and today I extend my heartiest congratulations to the first cohort of MS Data Science and MS Management for excelling in their academic journeys and I expect the same excellence from them in their career trajectory.”
Dr. Zaidi added that IBA has established three autonomous schools with independent Deans. He said that it was a matter of pride that IBA being a public sector university is usually considered a private sector university as its educational standards are at par with private institutions.
Dr. Shahabuddin expressed his pleasure at being back at his alma mater. He credited IBA for the discipline and skills instilled in ensuring his professional success. Speaking about global warming and the role of youth, he stated, “It is your generation around the world that we see addressing global warming with the energy, creativity, and urgency it demands. We see young people building movements that are changing minds, spearheading sustainability initiatives and acting in their daily lives to reduce their impact on the environment. We see them reminding their elders, climate change is real, and it is already reshaping our world.” He urged the graduates to maintain their spirit and to thoughtfully address the many challenges we face in current times.
Mr. Rahoo stated that he was honored to celebrate the graduation day of the country’s future leaders. He commended IBA for being a leading institute of excellence and said, “There is a long list of notable IBA alumni who are transforming the world with their progressive leadership; around 120+ of them are CEOs, serving in leading roles around the globe.” He also appreciated IBA’s mandate of ensuring diversity and inclusivity by taking students from all socioeconomic backgrounds with the help of IBA’s Financial Aid Programs. Currently 35% of the IBA students receive some form of financial aid. He urged the graduates to achieve remarkable goals in life and to make the institution proud.
The convocation ceremony featured the position holders in various degree programs who were awarded cash prizes, medals, shields and certificates of merit. Alumni Mahoor Shahzad (Olympian and badminton player) and Rabia Shahzad (weightlifter) were awarded with ‘Excellence in Sports’ awards respectively.
Cheap petro products from Russia will support economy: Mian Zahid
Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on December 7 said the decision to buy cheap petroleum products from Russia is correct which will support our weak economy.
This will reduce the burden on the country’s exchequer, thereby reducing the current account deficit and inflation, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the price of petroleum products will also be reduced for the consumers, electricity will also become cheaper and the people will get relief.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that despite Russia’s attack on Ukraine and US sanctions, European countries, Saudi Arabia, India, and many other countries are continuing to trade with Russia, but we have waited for eleven in this regard.
Now, without wasting any more time, the import of crude oil, petrol, and diesel should be started, while the possibility of importing other essential commodities should not be delayed, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that a long-term contract to import LNG with Russia is also essential.
He said that the government has announced the import of cheap petroleum products from Russia, but the price details have not been released.
In January, the Russian minister is visiting Pakistan, during which long-term agreements should be made in the country’s interests, as demand and supply have been badly neglected in energy deals in the past.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that we should get a lesson from the ravages of the Coronavirus and the crisis arising from the war between Russia and Ukraine to develop our resources related to agriculture and energy because Pakistan’s $40 billion imports consist of the same two sectors.
Different sources should be developed for imports instead of one in order to keep the local market stable and to avoid crises.
The economy will not develop until there is cheap energy and agricultural self-sufficiency in the country. It is impossible to increase production and exports in the present conditions and the situation can be improved by getting cheap energy.
UBL, Sindh enterprise development fund sign agreement for institutional collaboration
United Bank Limited (UBL) and Sindh Enterprise Development Fund (SEDF) recently signed an Agreement for Institutional Collaboration to provide Subsidized Credit to Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) in Sindh.
The agreement signing ceremony, held at the UBL Head Office in Karachi, was chaired by Syed Qassim Naveed Qamar, Special Assistant to CM Sindh for Investment Department and Public-Private Partnership Projects. Mr. Khizar Pervaiz, CEO-SEDF and Mr. Shazad G. Dada, President & CEO UBL signed the Agreement in the presence of officials and dignitaries from the public and private sector which also included Syed Mansoor Abbas Rizvi, Secretary to Government of Sindh-Investment Department among others.
UBL will provide much needed project financing to SMEs and the agricultural sector and SEDF will provide mark-up subsidy on loans provided by the bank. This collaboration will create a win-win situation for the stakeholders and create an enabling environment to promote investments in the province.
Syed Qassim Naveed Qamar, SACM said that “This is a step towards financial inclusion of a neglected yet vital segment of the economy with a focus towards modernization of the rural economy of Sindh, with a hope that it will pave the way for balanced growth and financial inclusion of women entrepreneurs.”
At the event, Mr. Shazad G. Dada, President & CEO UBL said “As Pakistan’s most progressive and innovative bank, UBL’s vision is to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and agriculture sector of Pakistan, and in particular to empower the young entrepreneurs of our country so as to unlock their full economic potential. Agriculture and SMEs are the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and UBL is proud to play a pivotal role in supporting these sectors by partnering with like-minded institutions such as SEDF”.
Jazz partners with lums to launch empower, women’s leadership program
Ali Naseer. Chief Business Officer at Jazz, conducts a leadership training session held under the EMPOWER program at LUMS, Lahore.
Jazz, Pakistan’s leading digital operator and a part of the VEON Group, has partnered with LUMS, Pakistan’s leading research-intensive university, to launch “Empower,” an Executive Development Program for Women Leaders.
Empower is a three-day learning and residential program. Through this program, Jazz intends to instill valuable leadership skills among women leaders in workforce. Attendees include 75 women from Jazz, and the company will also be offering 20 scholarships through open enrolment for other women leaders to attend the program.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Sanam Sheikh, Chief People Officer at Jazz said, “Empower is launched with the mission to provide women leaders with skillsets needed to excel in leadership roles. The three-day immersive program reiterates our company’s commitment towards promoting gender diversity at the workplace by empowering women and helping them thrive as leaders.”
Spanning from December 6 to 8, Empower will provide trainees with cutting-edge technologies and best industry practices to help them navigate their managerial roles strategically and more efficiently.
Dr Arif Nazir Butt, Professor at the Suleman Dawood School of Business at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan reinforced, “Empower is a unique learning experience with a focus on enabling women leaders to cultivate their executive management roles by influencing business agility and organizational competitiveness. The program provides collaborative opportunities for self-reflection and development; steering the executives towards enhanced confidence and professional competence”.
Jazz is an equal opportunity employer. It’s one of the first telecom companies with a high female representation in its executive leadership. Jazz is also the signatory to the global Women’s Empowerment Principles, a set of Principles offering guidance to businesses on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community and was recently recognized for its Gender Inclusive Workplace at UN Women Asia-Pacific 2022 WEPs Awards. This award recognizes organizations that have incorporated the right measures to make themselves the preferred employer for women.
Shan foods rolls out digitalization, goes live with SAP S/4 hana private cloud edition
Cementing its commitment towards innovation and greater, better customer centricity, leading food brand, Shan Foods has gone live with SAP S/4 HANA Private Cloud Edition, hitting a critical milestone as part of the company’s digital transformation plan.
As one of the biggest food brands in the country providing premium quality products to its consumer base spread through more than 70 countries for 40 years, this investment in SAP’s latest real-time ERP business suite will allow Shan Foods to drive end-to-end digitized operations while inspiring instant value and progress throughout the company’s business processes. Previously, Shan Foods was using an in-house developed legacy system.
Commenting on this level-up in its transformation journey, Muhammad Bilal Khan, CIO at Shan Foods, during the ceremony, said, “Innovation and improvement are at the heart of how we do our business and we are committed to taking up the same values in the future as well. With the implementation of SAP’s ERP, our business will have renewed efficiency and advanced automation, with better than ever services for our customers and value for all our stakeholders through the supply chain. The credit goes to our business team who worked hard on this project. I am also thankful to SAP for their support in helping us achieve this milestone.
Saquib Ahmad, Country Managing Director at SAP, said, “I congratulate Shan Foods on setting the bar high by digitalizing its business processes to provide a seamless journey for their customers. From quality and material management to financials and human capital management, SAP will help Shan Foods unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth, enabling Shan Foods to continue with the same excellence it is known for.”
Isphanyar Bhandara honors minority citizens
Former member of the National Assembly Isphanyar Bhandara organized a lavish luncheon in honor of the minority community on December 3 at his residence.
According to the details, the luncheon in honor of the minority citizens was held on behalf of Isphanyar Bhandara at his residence at No. 1, Park Road, Murree Estate, Rawalpindi. Citizens from Sikh, Hindu, and Christian communities and other religions attended the lunch as the large number of people participated.
Speaking on the occasion, former member National Assembly Isphanyar Bhandara welcomed the participants and wished them all the best in the future.
He said that the role of the minority community in the construction and development of Pakistan is unforgettable. Since the creation of Pakistan, the minority community has played a role in the country’s development alongside its fellow citizens and, in the future, will continue to play a role in the country’s development.