Vibrant News

   H.E. Mr. Arif Alvi, President of Pakistan, recently welcomed the opportunity to speak candidly with CEO of Bookme, Mr. Faizan Aslam. In the meeting, the two gentlemen had a substantive conversation regarding the complex nature of the e-commerce industry, their interests and priorities across a range of issues, the impact that startups are creating upon the tech sector of the country, and the importance of managing competition responsibly.  Mr. Faizan accentuated the powerful impact that Bookme, as a startup, has originated in the e-commerce industry of the country. From being a comprehensive e-commerce solution for ticket booking to raising a prodigious 7.5 million investment, Bookme has made a splash in the tech sector of the country.  The continuous determination of Bookme being the best solution for its customers was also communicated in the meeting. As Bookme aims to engulf more verticals and services under its umbrella, it will be offering a supreme amount of...

              Exclusively live on Infinix’s official social media platforms, the rap battle can be expected to stun the audience with dazzling performances   Pakistan’s leading and most-selling smartphone brand, Infinix is all set to dazzle its audiences with the most exciting online rap battle between the country’s latest hit musical sensations, the Young Stunners and RAP Demon, this January 1 st , 2022. The rap battle will be aired live for viewers across the country to watch exclusively on Infinix’s official social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. The Young Stunners and RAP Demon will be bringing in all the heat and energy to this action-packed online rap battle, which comes as a celebration for the success of Infinix’s introductory campaign for its NOTE 11 series. The smartphone brand has previously been in partnership with the Young Stunners as brand ambassadors for its spectacular new model, the NOTE 11 AMO...

PSDF (Punjab Skills Development Fund) was awarded with a letter of appreciation by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, for its outstanding performance amongst public sector companies. PSDF was acknowledged for its effective ability to deliver its mandate of providing market-relevant skills training to youth of Punjab on behalf of the government of Punjab.  PSDF was lauded for continuously striving for excellence in this endeavor.   This year marks a decade for the organization, starting with operations in only 4 districts in Punjab today its funds trainings in all 36 districts and has successfully implemented trainings for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and World Bank.  PSDF is Pakistan’s largest skills development fund, dedicated to funding trainings to support skill development and creation of income generating opportunities for youth.  It has trained more than 500,000 women and men in the past decade through creating an eco-...

                 The G lobal premium accessory brand Oraimo, a subsidiary of Transsion Holdings, announced Nagina Electronics as its official distribution partner in Pakistan. Under this strategic partnership, both companies aim to expand Oraimo smart accessories portfolio nationwide. Oraimo is a part of Transsion group having well renowned Mobile Phone brands like Infinix, Techno, and Itel. Over 5 decades Nagina Electronics is a well-known name in Pakistan’s consumer electronics and Nagina is the official partner of various Multinational Consumer Electronics Companies for Pakistan. The signing ceremony was held in Lahore where key officials of Oraimo and Nagina Electronics were present along with media dignitaries. Talking on the occasion Country Head Oraimo Pakistan,  Mr. Steven Said : The opportunities in Pakistan are tremendous and the market offers robust potential for global brands. We aim to establish industry benchmarks by acquir...

                      A memorandum of understanding (MOU) renewal has been signed between ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and The IIA (the Institute of Internal Auditors). The three-year agreement will further strengthen and extend the current cooperation agreement and allows both bodies to continue to work closely together to advance their respective professions.   The MOU was signed by ACCA’s chief executive Helen Brand OBE and IIA president and chief executive Anthony Pugliese, CIA, CPA, CGMA, CITP. Under the terms of the agreement, ACCA and The IIA will focus on advancing the careers of members, enhancing governance practices and serving the public interest.   Helen Brand, chief executive of ACCA, said: ‘We’re delighted to be signing this new MOU with The IIA. We believe that we can develop research together that resonates with a global audience of finance professionals across different discip...

                RAM has never been more important than it is today with the ever increasingly demanding applications emerging in today’s app market.  Infinix ’s latest smartphone release, the NOTE 11 Pro integrates   Extended RAM, which allows the phone’s RAM to be boosted by up to 5GB in a single click - from 8GB to 13BG, allowing uses to choose different levels of RAM increases. This is a game-changer when you’re using more apps at a certain time and need a temporary boost in performance without compromising your daily battery life. Extended RAM technology means that a part of the ROM will be used to work as RAM when the RAM is not sufficient to ensure buttery smooth performance. Users can simply open it in the settings under -“ Storage"-"MemFusion". NOTE 11’s  Extended RAM  feature will be  available on NOTE 11 Pro / NOTE 11S / NOTE 11 . With Extended RAM activated, the phones can load games faster and ensure that users...

         The first renewable energy company to open a dedicated sales office in Kasur, the cold stores' city of Pakistan Beacon energy limited is proud to take our services to next level when it comes to providing our customers with before sale services and after-sale services. Our customers, mainly the businessmen in Kasur and rural Punjab are availing the solar system solution for the betterment of their business and daily life. After inaugurating offices in all major cities (K/L/I) of Pakistan, we were proud to open our 4 th  sales office in Kasur. After receiving a very positive response from all the other cities, we are now getting a great response from the businessmen of Kasur and rural Panjab. This event was attended by 150+ guests and state bank of Pakistan representatives provided a briefing about solar financing initiatives and facilitation by GOP. During the event, special shields were also awarded by the honorable Mr. Khursheed Kasuri (ex. Forei...

                 ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Pakistan and Investors Lounge (a brand of Finox Private Limited) have entered into a partnership to promote financial inclusion and investor education amongst finance professionals and develop an understanding on areas of savings and investment management, financial analytics and stock trading.  The partnership was announced at a high-level MOU signing ceremony held at ACCA's office in Karachi. Both the organisations' leadership was present at the event where they discussed how this partnership would strengthen the country's finance profession and offer individuals world-class investment management resources to supercharge their careers and develop a better understanding of capital markets. Sajjeed Aslam, Head of ACCA Pakistan , said: Capital markets play a crucial role in mobilizing domestic resources and its efficient channelling towards productive uses, thus raisin...

                      Following the massive success of its latest series of smartphone handsets in Pakistan, Infinix is bringing the biggest, most exciting treat for its valued users ahead of New Year, with the announcement of exclusive discounts on its NOTE 11(4GB and 6GB) variants and a small upward change in the price of NOTE 11 Pro phones. The price has already updated online and in stores, where the NOTE 11 series are available on new prices. Below is a snapshot of the prices: Handset Model Original Price Discounted Price Infinix NOTE 11 4GB PKR 29,999 PKR 28,999 Infinix NOTE 11 6GB PKR 32,999 PKR 30,999 Infinix NOTE 11 Pro PKR 33,999 PKR 34,999 The NOTE 11 series have already garnered much praise since their introduction in the Pakistani market. Following are some excellent features these phones offer. Infinix NOTE 11 The Infinix NOTE 11 features a massive 6.7” AMOLED display with a 33Watt fast charging and 5000 mAh battery. N...

                Lahore Central Business District Development Authority (LCBDDA) also known as Central Business District Punjab (CBD Punjab) announces the country’s most unique graduate development program for young graduates and through this apprentice program, the youth can transform themselves into certified professionals. In this fiscal year only, there will be hundreds of apprentices placed in different batches and top performers from each batch will be given permanent slots, based on their respective performances. The program will offer 12 soft skill training programs and 10 hard skill training programs which includes personal and professional skill development courses. It is a great step in a new direction, providing an innovative approach in developing practical solutions for a better employment breakthroughs for the youth. Announcing “The Apprentice” program at Lahore College Women University, Dr. Shahbaz Gill – Special Assistant to PM on ...

                      Pakistan’s top smartphone brand, Infinix, has launched the country’s first esports-themed technology store today in collaboration with Garena Free Fire. The store is located at one of the most prime locations in Lahore, Packages Mall. For the Infinix x Garena Free Fire store launch, media persons, key media officials, Infinix, Free Fire officials, and other prominent industry members were invited for the store opening ceremony. Infinix also gave away exciting gifts to the loyal customers which were present for the store opening ceremony. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was presided over by Zeeshan Mian Noor, CEO Zenith, the chief guest of the occasion. Other attendees include Malik Khalid, Chairman of the All Pakistan Mobile dealers association, key personnel from Pakistan’s media community, Infinix Pakistan officials and Garena. Commenting on the successful launch of the store, Joe Hu, CEO Infinix Pakistan said, “...

                On Wednesday, 15th December 2021, ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Pakistan and Bahria University Islamabad, signed an MoU formalizing their long-standing partnership to develop a future-ready accountancy profession in Pakistan. In addition to enabling continuous learning opportunities for accounting and finance students via ACCA accredited programmes, the MoU aims to enhance academic cooperation between ACCA and Bahria University. The MOU signing ceremony was held at the Bahria University (BU) campus in Islamabad and was attended by the leadership of both institutions including Mr. Assad Hameed Khan, Head of ACCA Pakistan, Rear Admiral (R) Habib UR Rehman HI(M) (Pro-Rector Academics). T he areas of collaboration include enabling the academic and  professional development of students providing a pathway for students and graduates of the Accounting and Finance programme of BU to study the ACCA Qualification...

A new partnership has been agreed with ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and FreeBalance,  focusing on supporting Public Financial Management (PFM) Reform. The agreement was virtually signed by Helen Brand, ACCA’s chief executive and Freebalance’s president and chief executive officer  Manuel Schiappa Pietra. Under the agreement, ACCA and FreeBalance will  explore global opportunities to collaborate in support of their mutual objectives to promote and enhance stronger public financial management. The partners share a commitment to supporting the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), and to enhancing transparency, promoting good governance and implementing sound fiscal management. These shared goals, global connections and reach, combined with a wealth of technical expertise, make the partners ideally placed to jointly undertake initiatives to support stronger fiscal management, skills development and PFM reform. The partner...

      Lahore-based Bookme.pk announced today that it has closed a $7.5 Mn Series A funding round. Bookme is a travel and ticketing platform similar to Traveloka in Indonesia, providing customers with online bookings for Intercity Buses, Airlines, Hotels & Events in Pakistan The round was co-led by Zayn Capital, seed investor Lakson VC and UAE-based Hayaat Global  with participation from MENA based BY Ventures and Jabbar Internet Group, New York based Millville Opportunities and Silicon-Valley based Mentor’s Fund. “Our focus at Bookme has always been the customer experience. With this mind we have created a fully integrated platform that allows customers to seamlessly make bookings with the click of a button. We digitized the paper-based transport and travel sector in Pakistan to create a plug and play distribution system that inter-connects reservation systems of intercity buses, domestic & international airlines, hotels and events. In our view, making the ov...

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) will be hosting its third Africa Members Convention (AMC) from 14th to 16th December 2021, for the first time online. The theme this year is ‘ Repositioning the profession in Africa to drive and support economic recovery, sustainability, and social governance’  which has a forward-looking agenda aimed at helping the profession across Africa and globally build and sustain resilience in a still challenging environment due to Covid-19 and the climate crisis. In shaping the future of the profession, over 6,000 ACCA members in Africa have been invited, alongside key decision and policy makers across economies who will be engaged during the AMC, in order to drive actionable changes. Day 1 will focus on the role of African accountants at the heart of the continent’s route to recovery; day 2 will examine the role of digitalisation on the profession, and day 3 will focus on accountants and their role in policy development in Africa a...

              Infinix, the leading smartphone selling brand of Pakistan has successfully joined hands with Daraz as an official Diamond Sponsor for Daraz 12.12 mega year end sale. Up to 30% discount is to be offered on Infinix newly launched smartphone series, laptops and other smartphone accessories starting from 12 th  December till 22 nd  December.   Infinix will also be exclusively launching their new addition of Game on HOT 11 series i.e., HOT 11S which will be available to pre-order on Daraz 12.12 sale at a price of Rs 22,999. Exclusive discounts are to be offered on Infinix’s latest smartphones including the Game on HOT 11 series, ZERO X series, NOTE 10 Series and also on Infinix INBook X1 Pro laptop series. As an official diamond sponsor, Daraz will be celebrating December 13 th , 2021 as exclusive Infinix Day, during which additional discounts and giveaways can be availed as well. Additionally, gaming enthusiasts can now pre-ord...

           Cricket craze is evolving at a rapid pace across the globe and it is a sport that chases highest ideals. International cricket is a game for the elite nations and our nation has proved it by bringing the game back to our country! The confirmation of PAK vs WI Series from Pakistan Cricket Board came as a reprieve for cricket lovers after the abrupt withdrawal of New Zealand team from a white ball series in September when they returned home without playing a match.  Since at the mercy of fate, West Indies team is coming to our homeland to play the nation’s favorite game. We as a nation need to play our role in making the game even more valuable by filling the stadiums to back both teams. So what are you waiting for? Book your ticket now from Bookme.pk and show your game spirit to the world. West Indies team will be playing ODIs for the first time in Pakistan after December 2006. Notably, this season the series will feature 3 ODIs (One Day Inte...

  Bagallery, a digital-first beauty and fashion startup in Pakistan has raised $4.5 million in Series A funding. Round is co-lead by Zayn Capital, existing investor Lakson VC and UAE- based Hayaat Global . Bagallery is on a mission to reinvent how people shop for beauty and fashion products online. With its wide range of products spanning across the categories of skincare, makeup, fragrance, handbags, watches, and clothing, Bagallery serves more than 2,700,000 visitors per month and has 500,000+ satisfied customers across the country. Co-founded by Mina Salman back in 2017, Bagallery is Pakistan’s biggest female co-founded startup, now being valued 4X vs their Seed Round funding. With 40% of employees in the startup being women, the startup firmly believes in empowering women and giving charge to them, particularly in an industry where approximately 80% of customers are female. Quote from Salman/Mina: Pakistan is a country of 220 million people, and everyone wants to look beautiful...

Following the massive success of its latest series of smartphone in Pakistan, Infinix is bringing the biggest, most exciting treat for its valued users ahead for the New Year. Infinix ZERO X and HOT 11 series will now be available on discounted prices at both online and offline stores nationwide. The sale has already gone live on Infinix’s official ecommerce partner Daraz.pk and also on Xpark where ZERO X Pro, ZERO X Neo, HOT 11S, HOT 11, HOT 11 Play and HOT 10 are available on slashed prices. Below is a snapshot of the discounted prices: Handset Model Original Price Discounted Price Infinix ZERO X Pro PKR 51,999 PKR 49,999 Infinix ZERO X Neo PKR 35,999 PKR 33,999 Infinix HOT 11 PKR 24,999 PKR 22,999 Infinix HOT 11 S PKR 26,999 PKR 24,999 Infinix HOT 10 Play PKR 21,999 PKR 20,000   The ZERO X and HOT 11 series have already garnered much praise since their introduction in the Pakistani market. Following are some excellent features these phones offer. Infinix ZERO X series Infinix ZE...