Hello readers! We’ve covered some major news this week but frankly speaking, there hasn’t been much of a hot flame going up as it was during the past few weeks. Our previous weekend roundups have received interesting responses from readers. We again request you all to share your valuable feedback so we can tailor our summaries in the best way possible, for your convenience. December is almost around the corner and we can expect the last month of 2015 to hold many surprises for us. For now, grab a mug of hot tea and enjoy the read!
Period Covered: November 21 (Saturday) to November 27 (Friday)
1. Telenor Pakistan Introduces Emergency Watches For Children
Summary: Norwegian telecom operator Telenor has introduced a relatively new concept in Pakistan: emergency technology. Children who come across an emergency (God forbid) can use ‘Companion’ watches to alert their parents. The Companion has a host of smart features which can be accessed with just 2 buttons: one to send an “SOS” alert and the other for phone calls. Similarly, parents too can reach their children through call as the Companion is fitted with GSM sims. This very resourceful gadget will cost Rs. 8000 to Rs. 10,000. PakWired appreciates this innovative products especially in light of horrifying terrorist attacks such as those on APS Peshawar.
2. IT Ministry Wants To Lure Amazon, eBay and PayPal
Summary: It seems the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication (MoITT) is on proactive mode to promote investments in Pakistan’s struggling e-Commerce sector. International industry giants such as Amazon, eBay and PayPal are among the first groups to be invited. IT Minister Mrs Anusha Rahman said that the environment today was more conducive that ever since Pakistan is now listed in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “white list”. This is a significant development since Pakistan was earlier in the gray list which caused much reluctance among foreign tech companies to invest in Pakistan. The Minister also revealed that State Bank of Pakistan is working on the establishment of an e-payment gateway in Pakistan. The Ministry of Commerce is developing a regulatory framework for the e-commerce industry. So far, PayPal has reacted on this development by saying that Pakistan provides a “great opportunity” but cautioned that “we are not able to comment on future plans”.
3. GSM Association Says Pakistan’s Digital Economy Has Substantial Growth Potential
Summary: UK-based mobile operators association GSMA released a report titled “Building digital societies in Asia: Making commerce smarter”. The report, released by Alasdair Grant, Head of GSMA Asia, says that Pakistan has substantial potential to grow its digital access and e-payments system since it has a “unique mobile subscriber penetration of 31%, mobile broadband penetration of 5%, and bank/mobile money account penetration among adults of 13%”. However, the report points out that realization of this potential is only possible after multiple challenges are overcome. These include low digital literacy, weak regulatory and legal frameworks. Most importantly, the report says Pakistan’s e-commerce market can grow from the existing #30 million to “several hundred million dollars” in the next 5 years. GSMA believes the best opportunity to realize this potential is to digitize government payments. So will the relevant authorities in Pakistan think over this report? Let’s wait and see.
4. GIKI Establishes ‘The Incubator’ With Rs. 1 Crore Grant From KP Government
Summary: The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has provided a grant worth Rs. 1 crore (100 million) to renowned Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) to set up a “The Incubator“. It is intended as a Technology Incubation Centre in a province which is largely deprived of resources and official support in the field. A poster uploaded on GIKI’s website says an Induction Fair will be organized on February 3, 2016 through which GIKI graduates and even fresh students can receive the required resources and assistance to develop their ideas and connect with potential investors. We believe this is a great initiative to promote entrepreneurial know-how among students in KP which, if properly focused, can match the level of expertise which Plan9 and PlanX have gained in Punjab.
5. China To Invest $1.5 Billion For ‘Pak-China Science Park’ In Islamabad
Summary: Pakistan’s all-weather friend China announced it will invest $1.5 billion to establish a world-class “Pak-China Science Park” in Islamabad. In this regard, an MoU was recently signed in Beijing between Mr Rana Tanvir Hussain, Minister for Science and Technology and his Chinese counterpart. Construction on the park is expected to begin from March next year. Let’s hope this project witnesses smooth completion and ushers in prosperity for Pakistan’s scientific research!
6. WhatsApp For Android Gets New Features
Summary: WhatsApp’s latest update for Android platform users includes Starred Messages (to bookmark your favorite messages), Rich Link Previews (before you actually visit the site) and Direct Share. The downside is that these new features will only be available to users with Android Marshmallow.
7. Charge Your Smartphones In Less Ten Minutes!
Summary: Professor Rachid Yazami, an energy scientist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, has unveiled a chip which he claims can charge a smartphone in less than 10 minutes (whoa!). Reportedly, the chip is so small it can be embedded into almost all battery types. Just so you know, the Professor is one of the original three founders of lithium-ion batteries. The development for this new technology took over 5 years and will be available for manufacturing licenses by the end of next year. Interestingly, Professor Yazami wants to meet famed electric car company Tesla Motors to discuss prospects of embedding this technology in its cars. Sounds super insane!
8. Introducing ‘Li-Fi’, 100 Times Faster Than Wi-Fi!
Summary: Donald Armbrecht wrote a very interesting article for the World Economic Forum on a new technology known as “Li-Fi”. He claims it will one day enable Internet speeds up to 100 times faster than the Wi-Fi services we generally use today. Li-Fi stands for “light fidelity” and has undergone lab tests in Estonian capital Tallinn achieving speeds of a whopping 1 GB per second (almost all of us here at PakWired fell unconscious on hearing this, no kidding!). Li-Fi works by flashing LED lights on and off at incredibly fast speeds, sending data to a receiver in binary code. These flashes are so fast, they cannot be detected by the human eye. In other words, we could use modify LEDs in our homes/offices to enable this facility. Holy heck!
9. Twenty Failed Startups In Asia In 2015 And Lessons Learned
Summary: Nadine Freischlad at Tech in Asia has compiled a list of 20 Asian startups that failed to achieve their target potential. All of them were forced to shut down this year. A commentary on why they couldn’t live up to their own expectations has also been added, giving startup enthusiasts in Pakistan some valuable lessons. We recommend your entrepreneurs to give it a read.
10. Six Sayings of Successful Entrepreneurs
Summary: Speaking (“writing”) of entrepreneurs, Neil Patel at Entrepreneur.com has published short but powerful motivational statements to give budding entrepreneurs a flavor of what lies in store for them (market risks, slow start, etc) and what it takes to climb the ladder of success. Patience and perseverance are necessary traits but what sort of approach should one have? We recommend you give it a read.
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