Day: June 13, 2022

Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL), the largest digital bank in Pakistan, has partnered with foodpanda HomeChefs, the nation’s leading platform for home-based restaurants, and AdalFi, a Techlogix subsidiary focused on digital financing, to initiate short-term micro-financing solutions for household chefs.

Being a first-of-its-kind initiative, this strategic alliance will offer weekly loans of up to PKR 50,000 for HomeChefs to help resolve supply chain, marketing, and food quality issues, ultimately driving higher revenues and branding benefits for these home-based business ventures.

The HomeChef market in Pakistan is a significantly diverse and growing segment. It has enabled entrepreneurs, especially women, to explore new ways of being financially independent while leveraging their culinary skills.

foodpanda provides a viable platform to these talented individuals, facilitating them to seamlessly reach millions of customers across the nation, while giving them access to its extensive network of riders.

This strategic partnership is an exciting development for Pakistan’s economic and financial landscape as it enables an essential monetary support stream to help female entrepreneurs scale their ventures sustainably.

With the recent introduction of MMBL’s Dost Tajir, the bank has been prioritizing efforts to promote financial inclusion for the underserved masses through access to convenient and affordable digital financial solutions to empower them to scale their businesses.

Speaking on the development, Muntaqa Peracha, CEO of foodpanda, stated, “While empowering HomeChefs, especially women who are exploring a new field of entrepreneurship, foodpanda is on a mission to level the playing field for these talented individuals.”

“Through this partnership, we are easing one of the biggest barriers to growth in the market, i.e., financing. With the support of leading institutions like Mobilink Microfinance Bank and Adal Fintech, these HomeChefs now have the opportunity to grow without worrying about finances,” he added.

Addressing the partnership, Sardar Mohammad Abubakr, Chief Finance and Digital Officer at MMBL, added, “Collaborations with like-minded organizations are key to achieving our ambitious financial inclusion goals.”

“At MMBL, we believe in extending support to various segments of society, especially women, who constitute more than half of the nation’s population but have significantly low financial inclusion figures to date. We are at the cusp of not just empowering these entrepreneurs financially, but also creating innovative paths for them to be active contributing drivers of the economy,” he further said.

“We at Adal Fintech foresee women entrepreneurs as an emerging contributor to Pakistan’s GDP,” said Salman Akhtar, CEO of AdalFi. “The AdalFi mission is to equalize access to credit for all Pakistanis using data and AI to power credit decisions. foodpanda HomeChefs is a phenomenal example of our technology in operation,” he added.

As Pakistan’s leading digital financial institution, MMBL has over 40 million registered users, including 15 million monthly active mobile wallets. The Bank strives to facilitate customers by streamlining nationwide access to simplified and convenient financial solutions.

MMBL, over the past decade, has introduced multiple innovative and customized digital and financial initiatives, such as digital onboarding of customers, Self-service banking through the DOST App (available on both iOs & Android), Internet Banking, the Women Inspirational Network (WIN) program, and the Humqadam program to provide employment opportunities to the differently-abled and much more.

Source: Pro Pakistan

Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Nadeem Rauf and Group Leader Sohail Altaf in a joint statement demanded that the property tax levied in Finance Bill 2022-23 be withdrawn as it deprives the citizens of basic rights and discouraged business expansions.

“Doing one or more businesses or having more than one branch is a basic right of every citizen. The imposed property tax, deemed rental income, and fair value assessment in the budget falls into the category of double taxation. These anomalies in the budget should be removed,” he added.

RCCI President Nadeem Rauf said that it is the basic right of every person to do one or more business or to have multiple branches as long as these are registered in the income tax return and tax is being paid and such properties should be exempt from deemed income purview.

He said that Plots on which construction work is in progress or the plan is approved or under approval by the concerned Development Authority should also be exempted to encourage construction activities thus the creation of jobs and over 40 allied industries will get a boost. Where agreement between the landlord and tenant is already available in tax record, such cases should not be opened for re-assessment of deemed income, he added.

He said that the assessment must be on the declared value in the wealth statement if at all this deemed rental income is essential to be carried on due to any covet rationale linked with the IMF package.

Group Leader Sohail Altaf said that the country needs dollars at the moment, and more incentives and encouragement need to be given to overseas Pakistanis. He suggested that to encourage foreign remittances, the Overseas Pakistanis should be exempted from the deemed income clause. An individual sending dollars 100,000/ in a year be allowed to buy up to 800 cc locally assembled vehicles free of duty. A separate slab can be introduced for higher categories. Most needed foreign exchange will be attracted and also the local auto industry will benefit, he added.

Committees consisting of representatives of all chambers of commerce and traders’ associations across Pakistan should be formed for a fixed tax regime on small traders so that the implementation of fixed tax can be implemented by consensus.

He further suggested that a 0.25% turnover tax on poultry feed like flour mills and the waiver of GST be given on Grand Parent day old chicks as it is considered as seed.

Government must lift the sales tax on pharmaceutical Raw materials. Government, if needed, can impose a 1 percent fixed GST on pharmaceutical raw materials, he further suggested.

Source: Pro Pakistan

Agency21 International, one of Pakistan’s largest estate agency networks, has officially launched its services nationwide.

Several iconic landmarks across the country turned the brand’s distinctive shade of green, marking it as the beginning of a “new era in real estate”.

As part of the IMARAT Group of Companies, one of Pakistan’s leading real estate groups, Agency21 aims to revolutionize the real estate sector by ensuring transparent property transactions and addressing the need for a holistic real estate technology solution.

Real Estate, Radically Transformed

In business, disruption matters. But it’s not enough to be the sole instigator of change — a successful company influences real-world change by maximizing the reach and impact of its most valuable offering: ideas.

As part of the brand’s story of transforming Pakistan, the thought leadership at Agency21 plans to share its expertise and insights to promote a culture of continuous learning and provide solutions to the most pressing challenges in the real estate sector.

IMARAT identified four major problems: a lack of planning, lack of access to information, lack of regulations, and malpractices. To cultivate a client-centric, technology-driven, and education-based culture, the Agency21 model was designed, promising to maximize value on every transaction.

With services spanning all asset classes, it has the vision and leadership to keep the client at the center of the holistic real estate experience — all while enabling agents to grow through more connection and empowerment.

Powered by PropSure Digital Solutions, which offers online property verification and inspection services for the first time in Pakistan, Agency21 ensures the safety and security of clients with the delivery of cutting-edge smart services.

One Solution Doesn’t Fit All — Until Now

As the most trusted advisor in the market, Agency21 delivers a comprehensive range of customized solutions to meet the clients’ objectives with the best value and terms.

With a reach that spans the entire domestic market, it navigates the nuances of each person’s goals and requirements to provide unique and strategic advice.

From generating leads to closing a sale, it offers a range of end-to-end services, including instant property valuation, investment portfolio management, corporate and commercial leasing, document preparation, legal cover, and thorough market analysis.

Real Value, Real Momentum

Currently, Agency21 plans to set up a network of over 100 new offices in 22 cities in the coming months, namely Peshawar, Mardan, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Mirpur, Gujranwala, Mandi Bahaudin, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta, Hyderabad, and Karachi. This will also boost the employment sector with about 1000 new hirings.

The right agent can lead the way – and Agency21 is here to do just that.

Source: Pro Pakistan