KARACHI: Three years ago, Muneeb Maayr had what would turn out to be a $5.7 million idea: to launch a technology app that could transform two of the biggest assets of lower and middle income Pakistanis — the smartphone and the motorcycle — into a source of income.
Bykea, an Urdu-language bike-hailing and logistics app, was thus born in December 2016. Less than three years after its launch, the company has bagged $5.7 million in a Series A funding round from Pakistan’s first venture capital fund Sarmayacar and institutional investors from South East Asia and the Middle East.
The funding round is the largest ever in Pakistani startup history and a sign of Bykea’s growing popularity in one of the world’s largest markets for motorcycles.
“Smartphones and motorcycles are often the only valuable assets of low income persons and we thought to convert them into income generating assets through engaging them with Bykea,” Maayr, 40, told Arab News in an exclusive interview.
Maayr is a pioneer in Pakistan’s e-commerce landscape. In 2012, he founded Daraz.pk, the country’s largest online marketplace and retailer, now acquired by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. He was also Director of Operations for seven years at SNL Pakistan, now S&P Global, one of the largest IT exporters from Pakistan.
With Bykea, Maayr said, his aim was “to facilitate more and more people through easy public transportation in less time.”
“Now we will use the [$5.7 million] financing to expand our network, and further simplify the Urdu app for the common person, and make it easier to use for semi or illiterate people,” he said.
Bykea has to date been installed by 2 million users and employs a network of over 200,000 delivery partners, or motorbike drivers. Around 85 percent of the company’s operations — which include ride sharing and deliveries, couriers, bill payment services, wanted ads, classified ads and ticketing help — are run in Pakistan’s financial hub and largest city of Karachi.
The idea behind forming Bykea, Maayr said, was to tap into the largest segments of Pakistani society, lower and middle income citizens, who could not afford cars and were to a large extent not literate in English. Bykea’s Urdu-language app would do just that, enabling a crowdsourced network of motorbike owners to transport people and parcels, thereby supplementing their incomes while also delivering cost effective logistics solutions.
Pakistan, a nation of 208 million people, is the world’s fifth largest market for motorcycles after China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. With 7,500 new motorcycles being sold every day, Pakistan is also among the world’s fastest growing two-wheeler markets, according to 2018 figures from the Bureau of Statistics.
“There are 3 million motorcycles registered in Karachi city alone while countrywide registrations stands at 30 million,” Mohammad Sabir Shaikh, chairman of the Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers (APMA), told Arab News.
“We are not even covering one percent of the total market share,” Maayr said.
Pakistani tech startups like Bykea have also gained from the country’s expanding Internet penetration and infrastructure. Pakistan’s mobile Internet users as a percentage of the population were recorded at 21 percent at the end of January 2019, as per a Global Digital Report released by We are Social and Hootsuite. According to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, the country’s tele-density is 75.8 percent or 159 million cellular subscribers, 66 million 3G/4G users and 68 million broadband users.
With literacy at around 60 percent and a majority of Pakistanis only marginally fluent in English, Maayr thought it would be best to launch an Urdu app. He says what makes his service unique from ride-hailing apps like Careem and Uber, which also offer motorbike rides, was precisely that the app was in a local language, making communication much easier between customers and drivers, as well as rendering the app more accessible to common Pakistanis in general.
E-commerce is a rapidly growing industry in Pakistan, with sales of local and international e-commerce merchants doubling to Rs40 billion in 2018 from Rs20.7 billion in 2017, according to central bank data which only covers payments made through digital channels and not cash-on-delivery, a popular method of payment in Pakistan. If non-digital modes of payment are taken into account, figures for total e-commerce activity in 2017 and 2018 may have touched Rs 51.8 billion and Rs 99.3 billion respectively, the State Bank of Pakistan said.
“Pakistan can experience an increase in its gross domestic product by a cumulative 7 percent (roughly $36 billion) and create around four million new jobs during 2016- 2025 via an increase in the use of digital financial services alone,” the central bank said in its annual report for fiscal year 2017-18.
Bykea’s funding announcement follows a series of customer launches, including a collaboration with the country’s leading telecom network Jazz, to connect customers with drivers using a simple dial in mobile number 0307-1234567. In addition, the Company has received grants from USAID’s Small & Medium Enterprises Development Authority to help create jobs in the hospitality sector and the Mahvash & Jehangir Siddiqui Foundation to provide short term lending to enable motorbike owner operators with income opportunities.
Going forward, Bykea intends to use funds from the new raise to continue to focus on increasing its driver network and providing new members income generating opportunities in the transport, delivery and e-commerce space.
“After regularly visiting Pakistan over the past 3 years, the tremendous potential of the country is obvious to me,” said Singapore-based Jonas Eichhorst, who will join the company’s board as part of the $5.7 million funding transaction. “Bykea and its team are in a great position to play a leading role not only in advancing the nascent startup sector but can also become a local champion within the overall economy.”
Smartphones and motorcycles make bike-sharing app a golden idea for Pakistan
Smartphones and motorcycles make bike-sharing app a golden idea for Pakistan
- Bykea bags $5.7 million Series A investment, largest in Pakistani startup history
- Founder Muneeb Maayr says key to success was creating Urdu app, targeting low and middle income Pakistanis
UK announces £108 million to support Pakistani businesses tackle climate change
- Funds will help businesses develop climate technologies, support Pakistan’s private sector
- UK government says program will support the creation of over 100,000 Pakistani jobs
ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom (UK) government this week announced £108 million in funds to support Pakistani businesses adapt to climate challenges, saying that it would help them develop technologies and meet significant investments required to tackle climate threats.
The announcement was made at the culmination of the two-day visit by British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan Hamish Falconer to Islamabad on Friday.
The British government said the funding will support a first-of-its-kind investment facility to deliver climate technologies and private sector support in Pakistan. The program will be delivered in partnership with the International Finance Corporation.
“The UK and Pakistan are committed to tackling tomorrow’s threats today,” Falconer was quoted as saying by the British government on Friday.
“That’s why we’re investing in the expertise needed and supporting local businesses, alongside the Government of Pakistan, to get ahead of the challenges that climate change poses to the Pakistani people and the world.”
According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is among the countries most at risk from climate change. The 2022 floods, which experts linked to global warming, impacted over 33 million people, resulted in more than 1,700 deaths and caused an estimated $33 billion in damages.
Pakistan’s economic struggles and high debt burden put a strain on its resources and impinged its ability to respond to the disaster.
Pakistan has also been grappling with increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, including droughts, heatwaves, and heavy rainfall. This year, the country experienced its heaviest April rainfall since 1961, with 59.3 millimeters recorded. Additionally, several regions faced severe heatwaves in May and June.
“The program will leverage the £108m the UK puts in to mobilize 5-6 times that amount of investment from the private sector and will support the creation of over 100,000 Pakistani jobs,” the British government said on its official website.
Pakistan and the UK enjoy strong military, economic and educational ties, with the latter hosting a large Pakistani diaspora.
Recent high-level visits by military leaders from both countries have signalled a deepening of defense ties and cooperation. The strong relationship is built on a shared history and the significant presence of a Pakistani diaspora in the country.
Cannot allow Islamabad protest, Pakistan interior minister tells ex-PM Khan’s party
- Jailed Imran Khan’s party has called for “long march” to Islamabad on Nov. 24 to demand his release
- Pakistani authorities block roads, seal off motorways ahead of opposition’s Islamabad protest
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday discussed the prevailing political situation in the country with former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, warning him that the government will not allow the party to stage a protest sit-in or rally in the capital.
Thousands of Khan supporters are expected to arrive in Islamabad on Sunday for a “long march” to the capital. The PTI’s march is primarily aimed at pressurizing the government to end the jailed Khan’s imprisonment, which has lasted for over a year, on what his party contends are politically motivated charges.
The party also aims to raise its voice against alleged rigging in the Feb. 8 general elections while calling for measures to ensure judicial independence, which it says has been undermined by the 26th constitutional amendment. The government denies this.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday directed the government to form a committee to hold discussions with the PTI. The court said that if no breakthrough was reached between the two parties, then the government would be responsible for maintaining law and order. It said that in that case, “no protest or rally or for that matter sit-in shall be allowed.”
“Mohsin Naqvi informed Barrister Gohar about the post-Islamabad High Court order situation,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. “He said we are bound by the high court’s order and cannot permit any procession, sit-in or rally.”
The minister informed the PTI chairman about the engagements of the 80-member high-level delegation accompanying the president of Belarus, who will be in Islamabad from Nov. 24-27.
“Barrister Gohar said he will inform the Interior Minister about the final response after party consultation,” the state media said.
MOTORWAYS, MAJOR ARTERIES SEALED
Pakistan’s National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) said on Friday that motorways across the country leading to Islamabad have been sealed from various areas to protect people’s lives ahead of the PTI’s planned protest.
Authorities sealed off major arteries and roads with shipping containers leading to Islamabad from the surrounding Rawalpindi city, including at the Faizabad terminal, and other areas on Friday.
In a notification released on Friday, the NHMP cited intelligence reports that protesters were planning to disrupt law and order in the capital, adding that they would be armed with sticks and slingshots.
“To prevent any untoward situation and to protect the lives of the people, motorways have been closed from various locations,” the NHMP said.
“The lives and property of the people will be guaranteed at all costs. Those who take the law into their hands will be dealt with strictly.”
Hours earlier on Friday, the NHMP had shared a notification on social media platform X in which it had said that certain sections of the motorway were closed due to maintenance work. These sections were: M-1 Islamabad to Peshawar, M-2 Islamabad to Lahore, M-3 Lahore to Abdul Hakeem, M-4 Pindi Bhattian to Multan, M-14 Hakla to Yarik and M-11 Lahore to Sialkot.
As per local media reports, the Metro Bus service between the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi will be suspended on Nov. 24 while a ban on public gatherings has been imposed in Punjab from Nov. 23-25 ahead of the PTI’s march.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s interior ministry had authorized the deployment of paramilitary Punjab Rangers and Frontier Corps troops in Islamabad to maintain law and order.
Pakistan’s parliament also passed a law earlier this year to regulate public gatherings in Islamabad, specifying timings for rallies and designating specific areas. The law prescribes three-year jail terms for participants in illegal assemblies and 10-year imprisonment for repeat offenders.
Cop among two killed in separate IED blasts in northwestern Pakistan
- No group has so far claimed responsibility for blasts which took place in Bajaur tribal district
- Seventy-five police personnel have been killed, 113 injured in militant attacks in KP this year
PESHAWAR: A police constable and a civilian were killed in separate Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, police said, as Islamabad struggles to contain surging militancy in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
The IED blasts took place in the northwestern Bajaur tribal district on Saturday morning, killing one cop and a civilian.
As per official data, 75 police personnel have been killed and 113 injured in militant attacks and targeted assassinations in KP province this year.
“Both blasts were reported in the premises of Loi Mamund police station earlier today,” Bajaur Police spokesperson Muhammad Israr told Arab News.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts so far.
“An IED was placed in front of the policeman’s house which detonated when he was leaving home for duty at around 9:30 am in Mena village of Loi Mamund,” Israr added.
He said the other blast took place around 8:00 am in Irab village, also located within the vicinity of Loi Mamund police station, in which one person was killed.
Israr said police have started investigating both incidents.
Pakistan blames the surge in militancy in KP province, which borders Afghanistan, on the Pakistani Taliban militants that it alleges have found safe havens in Afghanistan.
Kabul denies the allegations and urges Pakistan to resolve its security challenges on its own. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since November 2022 when a fragile truce between the Pakistani state and the Pakistani Taliban broke down.
Death toll from sectarian clashes in Pakistan’s Kurram district surges to 54
- Sectarian clashes since Thursday have wounded at least 86 in Kurram, says hospital official
- KP Chief Minister sends high-level delegation to Kurram district to assess security situation
ISLAMABAD: The death toll from sectarian clashes in the northwestern Pakistani tribal district of Kurram rose to 54 on Saturday, a senior hospital official said, as fear grips the restive area days after an attack killed members of the Shiite minority.
Forty-one people were killed on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying members of the minority Shiite community in the Kurram tribal district.
The assault, one of the deadliest attacks in recent years in the area, took place in the district where sectarian clashes have killed dozens of people in recent months. As per various media reports, clashes continued until Saturday, leaving more people deal in the district.
“So far, we have received almost 54 dead and another 86 wounded from the clashes,” Dr. Mir Hassan Jan, medical superintendent at the district headquarters hospital in Parachinar, one of Kurram’s main towns, told Arab News.
“In addition, we have referred 16 seriously wounded to Peshawar who were in critical condition,” he added.
Dr. Jan said bodies had been brought to the hospital since Thursday, forcing him to instruct all medics at the hospital to remain on duty around the clock.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a week after authorities reopened a key highway in the region that had been closed for weeks following deadly clashes.
Previous clashes in July and September killed dozens of people and ended only after a tribal council called for a ceasefire.
Shop owners in Parachinar announced a three-day strike on Friday to protest the attack while locals described an atmosphere of fear across the district following the incident.
Separately, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur sent a high-level delegation comprising provincial Law Minister Advocate Aftab Alam, KP chief secretary, commissioner Kohat Division and deputy inspector general (DIG) of the Kohat division to Kurram to assess the situation there.
The delegation would take members of the local jirga, or tribal council, into confidence and attempt to restore law and order in the area, said Hashim Khan, media officer to the KP law minister.
“After the visit, the delegation will submit a detailed report to the chief minister,” Khan told Arab News.
“The provincial government will then comprehensive measures to control the situation in Kurram with the input of tribal elders.”
‘TRANSPARENT INQUIRY’
Separately, mourners on Saturday demanded the government hold a transparent inquiry into the incident.
“A transparent inquiry of this incident should be carried out,” Hayat Abbas Najafi, one of the mourners, told Reuters in Parachinar.
“We call on the government as well as security institutions that Parchinar, which is a great part of Pakistan, should be saved from sectarianism and should be provided safety and security.”
Sajjad Hussain, another mourner, said among those killed were infants as young as six months old and women.
“They were innocent passengers. What was their fault,” he asked.
With inputs from Reuters
UAE promotes Arab culture and cuisine at three-day festival in Karachi
- UAE consulate in Karachi kicks off celebrations ahead of nation’s National Day
- UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and major source of remittances
KARACHI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consul General in Karachi this week paid a visit to promote several stalls selling Arab cuisine and highlighting Arab culture at a three-day festival in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, ahead of the Gulf nation’s National Day.
Sindh’s Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah inaugurated the three-day Sindh Craft Festival on Friday which showcases traditional shawls, quilts, handlooms, and caps made by artists from all over Sindh at Karachi’s famous Port Grand entertainment hub.
UAE Consul General Dr. Bakheet Ateeq Al Rumaithi visited the festival on Friday to highlight Arab cuisine and review stalls promoting Arab culture at the festival. The UAE consulate is gearing up for celebrations to mark the nation’s 53rd National Day on Dec. 2.
“Various stalls have been set up at Port Grand keeping in mind Arab culture,” the UAE Consulate in Karachi said in a statement on Friday.
Al Rumaithi noted that women, children and the elderly were all taking part in the three-day cultural festival.
“We have a centuries-old relationship with Pakistan which is strengthening,” he observed.
The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE ministry of foreign affairs. The UAE-Pakistan trade volume rose to $7.9 billion in 2023, up 12 percent from 2022.
In May this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the Emirates had committed $10 billion to invest in promising economic sectors in Pakistan. The Pakistan Business Council (PBC), set up this September at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also aims to increase Pakistan’s bilateral trade volume with the UAE to $40 billion in three years.
The UAE is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates and the second-largest source of remittances to Pakistan after Saudi Arabia.
