Afridi launches charity hospital in Kohat
KOHAT (PR): Shahid Afridi has set out to conquer new frontiers and defeat social predicaments that distress the people of Kohat. He has set up The Shahid Afridi Foundation with the aim of improving and enriching the lives of the underprivileged by providing better healthcare, education, and community & sports development.
Poverty and natural calamities in Kohat prompted Afridi to build Sahibzada Fazal Rehman Memorial and Charity Hospital in Tangi Banda village. This is a 16-bed maternity hospital ready to provide free treatments, medicines, and quality care for needy patients.
Around 14 villages within the radius of 10 to 15 km are dependent on this hospital. In Afridi’s relentless efforts, he is has been joined by many and one such partnership has been fostered with HBL.
Aman Siddiqui, Head – Strategy & Investment, HBL stated, “HBL, as part of its core values aims to enrich lives of the people of Pakistan and our association with the Shahid Afridi Foundation is another step towards building a better future for the country. HBL commends the Shahid Afridi Foundation for providing medical and health care to the underprivileged.”
Mobilink, Nust launch business plan competition
ISLAMABAD (Staff Reporter): Mobilink in collaboration with the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) has launched Mobilink Discover - NUST Business Plan Competition - 2014.
The competition is organised on a national level and is aimed at encouraging students to introduce innovative business and entrepreneurship ideas. 2500 students from 70 universities are expected to be a part of Mobilink Discover- NUST Business Plan Competition 2014.
Omar Manzur Director Corporate Communications, Mobilink said” Corporate as well as individual patronage has always been one of the core motives of Mobilink. Mobilink Discover - NUST Business Plan Competition 2014 provides the youth with the opportunity to showcase their skills and play their part in bringing innovation to the business industry.
I am confident that the competition will play a positive role in contributing to the economic development and bringing better business opportunities to the country.
The competition was first held in 2011 and is one of the few events endorsed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. In 2013 the competition attracted more than 1600 students from 55 different universities and was recognised on an international forum for the business ideas it generated.
Winners and finalist of 2013 Discover were awarded at the inaugural ceremony of the 2014 Chapter held earlier this year. Students received cash prizes by President Mamnoon Hussain. Several participants of Discover Business plan competition are now successful entrepreneurs running their own companies.
Easypaisa pioneering branchless banking
ISLAMABAD (PR): Pakistan’s first and largest branchless banking service and a joint venture between Tameer Micro Finance Bank and Telenor Pakistan, Easypaisa continues to grow as the preferred choice of financial transactions for the millions of customers across Pakistan.
In 2013, Easypaisa moved over 1% of Pakistan’s GDP. It serves over 6 million unique customers every month from a nationwide network comprising 45,000 agents in 750 cities and towns across the country. In 2013, CGAP, a unit within the World Bank ranked Easypaisa as the 3rd largest mobile money service in the world.
Besides this remarkable performance, with more than 250 mobile money services in the world, Easypaisa also holds the distinction of being declared the “Best Mobile Money service in the World” at the GSMA Global Mobile Money 2014 awards in February 2014.
Despite a number of new players jumping in the local branchless banking industry, Easypaisa has maintained its leadership position both in the urban as well as rural areas of Pakistan with its innovative and customer-centric approach. With the recent launch of the Inter Bank Fund Transfer (IBFT) service, Easypaisa has become the first Mobile Money service which is now interoperable with the existing banking infrastructure enabling its customers to transfer funds between Easypaisa Mobile Accounts and a numbers of banks via the 1-link switch.
As per the last branchless banking newsletter released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), during the last quarter of 2013, almost 90% of the new ‘level 0’ branchless banking accounts were opened by Easypaisa. Moreover, Easypaisa has been witnessing constant growth in volume and value for utility bill payments, loan repayments, and mobile top ups with each quarter.
Easypaisa also holds the credit of introducing innovative services to the unbanked segment of the society including Mobile Accounts, Savings and Insurance, besides various other important facilities it offers to its institutional customers. Easypaisa has not just revolutionized financial services in Pakistan but has also become one of the most successful mobile money service models in the world.
Teachers’ training workshop
RAWALPINDI (PR): A four-day Elementary Teachers’ Training Workshop under the umbrella of Roots Continuos Programme Development Department (RCPDD) in collaboration with Kashmir Education Assessment Center (KEACE) was held at the Roots head office, 74 Harley, from 23rd June to 26th June. This ceremony comprised of some of the most eminent personalities i.e. President of AJ&K Sardar M Yaqoob Khan, Executive Director Roots School System and CEO IVY International Schools, Khadija Mushtaq and Deputy Director Education Extension AJ&K Tasneem Yaseen.
Thirty teachers from various parts of AJ&K travelled all the way from Kashmir to Rawalpindi to endorse themselves with the latest teaching techniques and knowledge.
Dawlance D’ Talent campaign
KARACHI (PR): Winners of the Dawlance D’ Talent campaign mesmerized the audience with live performances in several categories including music, dance, comedy, art and drama. Participants were encouraged to showcase their extra-ordinary talents and consequently required to submit video entries via an exclusive Dawlance D’ Talent app on Facebook. The event was conducted at The Second Floor (T2F) Café, and involved several celebrities from varied genre.
Dawlance, renowned to be the no.1 home appliances brand of Pakistan, launched this D’ Talent platform as part of their new campaign “Dawlance and You Making Pakistan Proud”, that aims to promote Pakistani talent and the good being done in Pakistan. Participants were declared winners on the basis of number of Facebook “likes”, the final winners were given the opportunity to perform live on stage through the D’ Talent platform and will also get a chance to appear on different mainstream TV and radio channels.
One of the winners, 14 year old Arbaz Khan, shared his excitement: “I am thrilled to be acknowledged and given a chance to perform my talent in front of such a huge crowd. Music is in my blood and I am really thankful to Dawlance for providing this brilliant platform of D’ Talent where common people can come in and showcase their unique capabilities.”