APBF elects Islamabad board new president
LAHORE (Staff Reporter): National Board of All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) has conducted its meeting that was headed by Chairman APBF Khalid Rafiq while president APBF Ibrahim Quraishi was the co-chairman of this meeting. All the members unanimously elected Dr Inam Ullah Haq as the new president of Islamabad Board. The session was intended to evaluate overall performance of APBF Islamabad Board and its office bearers. Naeem Murtaza will hold his office position and will carry on as Secretary General of Islamabad Board. Ibrahim Qureshi welcomed Dr Inam Ullah Haq as a new President of Islamabad Board.
The National Board meeting saw enthusiastic participation from all board members, representing high-profiled enterprises, associations and institutions, belonging to numerous industrial sectors, from all over Pakistan. The members pledged to enrich the performance of APBF with fresh initiatives, leading to social development, economic prosperity and financial inclusion, by building fresh collaborations with resourceful enterprises.
‘Pakistan world’s best place for multinationals: Speakers
Lahore (Staff Reporter): Multinationals always play a fundamental role in economic uplift of any country as not only they do bring much-needed foreign investment and create employment opportunities for the locals but also give message to the world that this country is a good destination for doing business. “A large number of multinationals are operating in Pakistan successfully that is an ample proof of this fact that Pakistan is a best place for the foreign investors.” This was upshot of the speeches delivered at a Conference on “Role of Multinationals in the Economic Development” here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Thursday.
The speakers were of the view that Pakistan would have a special policy framework to attract more & more multinationals as they would bring foreign investment, create employment opportunities and help transfer of technology.
The LCCI President Ijaz A. Mumtaz said that Pakistan is a very attractive ground for multinationals. Majority of Multinationals are extremely happy as they make maximum profits and are freely able to repatriate their profits without any hindrances. They make maximum profits in this region.
JICA to implement four-year project
LAHORE (Staff Reporter): In response to a proposal of the SMEDA, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is going to implement a 4 years project for Technical Support to Auto Parts Manufacturing Industry of Pakistan in collaboration with SMEDA under the guidelines of JICA technical experts. Ms Yuko Enami, Representative of JICA Pakistan Office, and Dr Haroonur Rashid Rana, Project Formulation Advisor, held a meeting with Muhammad Alamgir Chaudhry, CEO SMEDA, Thursday to discuss the implementation phase of the project. CEO SMEDA was accompanied by Haroon Ahmed Khan, General Manger, Business and Sector Development Division and the technical team of SMEDA.
Yoko Enami informed that during the proposed 4 years program, technical support will be extended to 50 Auto Parts manufacturing units of Pakistan through five (05) JICA Technical Experts.
PPAF hosts ‘Naukri Ya Karobar’ Convention
ISLAMABAD (PR): The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) inaugurated a two-day Naukri Ya Karobar Convention at a local hotel in Islamabad, where NyK operators will showcase their successes and the NyK concept will be shared with participants so that they can replicate the model for the economic betterment of their communities. PPAF will also introduce the NyK Franchise to participants, elect a NyK Franchise Council and build the capacity of operators on franchise management at the Convention. As the name suggests, the NyK brand focuses on both ‘naukri’ or employment and ‘karobar’ or self-employment and enterprise development.
PPAF invests technical and financial resources in programs that transform the more marginalized and vulnerable segments of the population including the youth into empowered components of their communities.
By June 2015, PPAF had established a total of 76 NyK Centres across Pakistan and 20,733 men and women had registered with the Centres. There have been a total of 6,605 referrals, 2,652 successful placements and 2,578 businesses established. The NyK Centres have explored 327 different employers including opportunities overseas, industries, NGOs, Government departments, construction companies, and private schools, amongst others.
Dr. Syed Asif Hussain, Group Head Grants, said, “The proof of this sustainable concept is established with the fact that PPAF has not invested in a single penny to establish these centers except two individuals trained on employment cycle and enterprise development. However, all operational management expenses are borne by the community themselves.”
In terms of opportunities, one of the biggest, untapped sectors in Pakistan is the service industry, where there are immense job and entrepreneurial opportunities in both the formal and informal sector. NyK Centres do more than just link employers with employees; they also provide capacity building services and host activities such as job fairs and exposure visits.
Samia Liaquat Ali Khan, Group Head, Compliance and Quality Assurance Group, said, “PPAF believes in developing institutions of the poor as a means of empowering them. The NyK brand is one such institution. PPAF owns the NyK brand and will encourage current NyK operators to form a self-governing body for operating and spreading the NyK franchise for the benefit of vulnerable communities. NyK will therefore be an Operator-Governed Franchise (OGF) for employment promotion for the poor.”
There is a need for more NyK Centres across the country as approximately 60 percent of the population of Pakistan is below the age of 25. The youth must be either gainfully employed or given the skills and opportunities for self-employment which is why PPAF is facilitating the spread of NyK through a franchise model.
USF BoD approves rural telephony and e-services project
ISLAMABAD (Staff Reporter): USF Board of Directors has approved award of rural telephony and e-services project for Sibi, Loralai, Killa Saifullah & Barkhan districts. According to a handout of Ministry of IT, the project has a subsidy value of Rs 3,195 million - benefiting an un-served population of around 500,000 covering 505 un-served Mauzas and an un-served area of 23,617 sq kms. Under the chair of State Minister Anusha Rahman, the Board of Directors also approved award of special project for the establishment of computer labs in 12 Baitulmal Sweet Homes orphanages for facilitating underprivileged children. In the meeting, it was also decided to establish computer labs in the Women Empowerment Centers run by the Pakistan Baitulmaal.
The training content will be prepared in collaboration with the Virtual University.