From urban kiosks and rural farmers to fashion stores, service providers, and entrepreneurs in countless other sectors, the small business segment in the United Arab Emirates has faced unprecedented changes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, further fueled by the rapid acceleration of digital transformation and e-commerce. To support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) […]

VavaCars, a Turkey-based online trading platform for buying and selling used cars, has raised $50 million to expand its operations in Turkey and Pakistan. Duquesne Family Office LLC (founded by Stanley F. Druckenmiller), founding investor, Vitol, plus one other new investor participated in the round. Since VavaCars’ launch in April 2019 in Turkey and January […]

Rider, a tech-led last-mile delivery partner for e-commerce retailers, has raised US$2.3 million in a seed round led by venture capital (VC) firm Global Founders Capital, Fatima Gobi Ventures, and Asian Development Bank. TPL E-Ventures and Transhold also participated. The Karachi-based B2B2C service was launched in 2019 by Salman Allana, who was previously head of […]

South Asia’s e-commerce market leader, Daraz, celebrates this month the third anniversary of its digitalized logistics arm, Daraz Express (DEX). As the first digitalized logistics company designed for e-commerce operations across Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Nepal, DEX has seen rapid growth since its launch in 2018, delivering close to 65 million packages in […]

HBL has launched WhatsApp Banking for its customers, enabling them to avail select banking services through the platform. The service is powered by E Ocean, a leading Cloud Communications provider. HBL WhatsApp Banking solution seamlessly facilitates one-to-one conversations with customers and responds to queries in real-time in a secure way. Customers can simply send a […]

Grand scale preparations are afoot at PTCL and Ufone for celebrating the 75th Independence Day of Pakistan with national zeal and fervor. PTCL Group has launched a week-long employee engagement program in connection with the national day leading up to the main event on the 14th of August. The employee engagement program that commenced earlier […]

Mari Petroleum Company Limited [MPCL], one of Pakistan’s largest exploration and production companies, through its recently launched CSR initiative “Mari Mobile Dastarkhawan” has served over 57,000 underprivileged citizens in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in a span of just over 3 months. Launched in partnership with Todd Shea’s Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRS) in April 2021, “Mari […]

Coca-Cola Pakistan and Ministry of Foreign Affairs commemorated Pakistan’s leading music brand, Coke Studio and launched a book called, Beyond the Wave — transcending boundaries. This event was held in the Foreign office open-air lawns as part of the Foreign Minister’s Public Diplomacy Initiative to showcase Pakistan’s culture and arts. Several foreign dignitaries, government officials, […]

Digi Khata, Faisalabad-based fintech, and part of Telenor Pakistan’s digital accelerator program, Velocity, has raised an investment of USD 2 million. Launched early last year, the startup has already gained over a million users in Pakistan. It offers a complete financial check and balance solution for small and micro businesses to digitally maintain their accounts […]

UBL, Pakistan’s fastest-growing digital bank, has signed an agreement with Temenos and National Data Consultant (NdcTech) to provide and implement a next-generation digital banking solution. As a pioneer of innovation in the Pakistani Banking industry, UBL, earlier this year, launched Pakistan’s first Islamic Digital Account and the first of its kind ‘UBL Pay’ where customers […]