The Government of Pakistan is actively pursuing agenda of enhancing the IT & ITeS exports. In this regard, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) have been working with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to ease the foreign currency retention and utilization issues faced by the IT industry. In order to address and resolve the issues, SBP has issued EPD circular letter No. 02 of 2023 titled “Exports of Software, Information Technology (IT) and IT Enabled Services (ITeS)” and EPD circular letter No. 03 of 2023 titled “Utilization of Funds held in Exporters’ Special Foreign Currency Account” on 13th January, 2023.

However, due to misinterpretation by the commercial banks, the exporters faced difficulties in converting the foreign currency remittances into PKR. This issue was highlighted to the Finance Minister and Governor SBP who took note. As a result, SBP issued directions to the authorized dealers vide EDP ICM letter No. 416458 on 27th January, 2023 to facilitate IT & ITeS exporters in swiftly opening of foreign currency accounts to retain up to 35% of export proceeds, and to ensure timely credit of remittances in PKR accounts of the exporters until the special foreign currency accounts are opened or the exporter declines to avail the facility of foreign currency retention.

The Governor SBP met with PSEB/MoITT and P@SHA representatives on 30th January, 2023 to review the industry issues and concerns. The Governor has assured that reported issues will be rectified without delay and emails received at [email protected] will be addressed immediately. Progress on the resolution of issues will be reviewed periodically by SBP, PSEB/MoITT and P@SHA. IT & ITeS exporters are encouraged to raise their specific issues and concerns including concerned bank’s details at the facilitation email address provided by SBP with copy to [email protected] and [email protected].

Facilitation provided by SBP in response to the IT & ITeS industry demands advocated by PSEB/MOITT and P@SHA will improve the business environment and deliver ease of business for the exporters. IT & ITeS businesses and freelancers are encouraged to join hands with the government at this important juncture and avail the opportunity by remitting export proceeds to the country hassle free.

Global payments and digital banking leader reports strong global demand for its services with another 50 new implementations slated to be completed before Q1 2022

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – December 7, 2021 – i2c Inc., a leading provider of digital payment and banking technology, today announced it had deployed more than 20 new payment and digital banking programs for clients across 10 markets and four continents during the month of November alone.

“The growth levels combined with the diversity of customers and programs we’re witnessing in our business today is a testament to our growth strategy and global team,” said Amir Wain, founder and CEO of i2c Inc. “We are thrilled to be the enabler of choice for visionaries in the payments and digital banking space as they work to accelerate financial innovation and expand access to millions of end users worldwide,” he said.

i2c powers industry leaders in fintech, digital banking, cryptocurrency, as well as traditional financial institutions on a single, agile global platform. This fiscal half’s success includes new enterprise partners, as well as product and global program expansions for several U.S. and international programs, including: 1derful (Australia), BEYON Money (Bahrain), Caary (Canada), Crypto.com (Brazil), Standard International Bank (Puerto Rico), Solid (USA) and TAG (Pakistan).

i2c powers a deep range of payment products and services from debit and prepaid cards to lending (both consumer and commercial credit, as well as BNPL and LOC), featuring access to every major network partner (American Express, Discover, Mastercard, Visa, and Union Pay). Additionally, the company provides partners value-added banking and payment services such as fraud prevention, contact center, dispute management, as well as white-label web and mobile apps.

Contact:

Heather Clifton

Chief Marketing Officer

[email protected]

Fintech arm of Batelco, the nation’s leading telco, to launch first mobile payments super app in region by year-end 2021

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – December 2, 2021 – i2c Inc., a leading provider of digital payment and banking technology, today announced its partnership with BEYON Money, the mobile super app launched by Batelco Financial Services, which is the fintech arm of Bahrain’s leading digital solutions and telecommunications provider.

Backed by a recently-secured, first-of-its-kind open banking license from the Central Bank of Bahrain, the BEYON Money super app will host a digital wallet that enables retail, bill, and peer-to-peer payments for its users, connects to bank accounts through open banking, delivers financial insights and provides digital remittances. BEYON Money will develop card issuing and processing functionalities through i2c’s agile banking and payments platform which will also integrate additional partners and services.

Through i2c’s Fintech Fast Track certification, BEYON Money will tap into Visa’s network infrastructure to launch a digital-first debit program to the market with a physical card option available upon request. Additionally, i2c has integrated with local switch, Benefit, connecting consumers to billers across Bahrain, allowing them to pay utilities, rent, mobile, and more via their smartphone. The app is backed by the Central Bank of Bahrain.

“We are proud to partner with BEYON Money and its visionary team as they work to reimagine everyday financial life for their country,” said Aurangzaib Khan, General Manager, MEA Region of i2c Inc. “Our building block technology was designed to help visionaries like Batelco Financial Services to create new possibilities in banking and payments, and their BEYON Money super app is a perfect embodiment of that philosophy.”

According to the World Bank’s Global Findex report, nearly one in five individuals in Bahrain are unbanked, while the nation enjoys a 131% mobile penetration rate. With this super app, Batelco is looking to leverage its leadership position in mobile to accelerate financial inclusion across the nation, with plans to expand to more countries in the near future.

Contact:

Heather Clifton

Chief Marketing Officer

[email protected]

Karachi, November 5, 2021: 10Pearls, a leading end-to-end digital services company, hosted AI Summit 2021 on November 3, 2021. The AI Summit, Pakistan’s pioneering conference on Artificial Intelligence, celebrates innovations in AI, and powers conversations with leading international and local AI professionals.

This time the event was virtual, and attracted speakers and participants from across Pakistan, and worldwide. The event featured 30-plus eminent speakers, entrepreneurs and subject matter experts, who conducted engaging tech talks, hands-on workshops and product demos. More than 1500 participants registered and took part in the Summit. These registrations came from small and big cities in Pakistan, to countries in the Middle East, North America and Europe.

The Summit kicked off with keynotes by Zeeshan Aftab, Co-Founder & MD, 10Pearls; and Peter Hesse, EVP & CSO, 10Pearls. Peter, emphasizing on the potential of AI, said, “The next gen of AI solutions has the potential to completely overcome bias that can exist in AI; future AI tech will go beyond traditional machine learning, and create and test its own hypotheses. It will be truly intelligent enough to look at systems and data holistically, and without any inherent bias.”

The Conference track of AI Summit 2021 featured leading professionals in AI. Tech talks were conducted by Sohail Munir, Advisor and Director, Digital Dubai; Imran Moinuddin, Founder and CEO, NexDegree; Farrukh Khan, Founder, Inference Analytics; Hamza Farooq, Lead Data Scientist, Google; Mo Haghighi, Hybrid Cloud Build Leader EMEA, IBM; and Samia Khalid, Senior Software Engineer, Microsoft. They spoke on pressing AI-related issues, such as the impact of AI on digital government transformation, AI Ethics and Responsible AI, and scope of AI and Edge devices.

Ali Rehan, Engineering Manager, AI/Vision Products, KeepTruckin, stressed on how AI can play a crucial role in ensuring driver safety, “AI can be leveraged to extract complex insights and contextual data about driver behavior, build training models, and derive detailed insights on the model performance. Computer Vision and AI, deployed on a large and meaningful scale such as for driver safety, literally saves lives on the roads!

In addition to tech talks, a thought-provoking panel discussion on AI as a layer of knowledge and transparency was also conducted. The panelists, Zari Zehra, Co-Founder, Spekit; Smriti Mishra, Head of AI, EarthBanc; and Maham Shafiq, Head of Technical Delivery, DataPillar, and Moderator Mesum Raza Hemani, Founder, Karachi AI, discussed how and why to design transparent AI systems, based on various contextual, technical, informational and stakeholder sensitive considerations.

The Conference track also gave limelight to 11 promising AI startups from Pakistan. Each startup’s founder/representative talked about their company’s inspirational journey and gave a brief demo of their product/service.

The Summit also hosted various hands-on interactive workshops on topics such as Introduction to Deep Learning and its Applications for Assisted Driving, AI-based Recruiting Engines, Kaggle Progression System, Trusted AI, and Data Engineering in Cloud. The workshops were conducted by leading experts from KeepTruckin, Kaggle, 10Pearls, Karachi.AI, and IBM.

Zeeshan Aftab, MD & Co-Founder, 10Pearls, said, “Our purpose of launching AI Summit was to provide a platform for aspiring and successful AI professionals in Pakistan to discuss ideas, and leverage a network of like-minded peers and mentors. With AI Summit 2021, we have taken it to the next level, and helped power conversations with global leaders in AI. The journey of putting Pakistan on the global AI map is extremely rewarding and deeply resonates with our mission to lead in innovation.”

AI Summit 2021 event partners include IBM, Kaggle Days, Karachi.AI, PWiC, Ai Lounge, AI does AI, 10Pearls Labs, and the event was sponsored by KeepTruckin.

All speaker sessions (keynotes, tech talks and panel) will soon be available on the 10PearlsUniversity.org portal. To access the portal, sign up now!

For further queries, contact:

Amber Arshad

Assistant Manager – Content and Digital, 10Pearls

Cell: 0321-2834931

Email: [email protected]

5th October 2020 - Sybrid Private Limited, a Lakson Group company, has joined hands with Zaman Foundation (Sefam Group) to develop a crowdsourcing technological platform called ‘Sab Saath’ to streamline their philanthropic endeavours.

Sybrid Is one of the premier technology solutions providers in the country, providing integrated business solutions to various organisations across the globe. Additionally, Sybrid as part of its vision of creating impact in the society, has been an active player in CSR initiatives and partnered with many organisations for philanthropic and sustainability goals.

Zaman Foundation, formed in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake, is a philanthropic organisation which is part of the prestigious Sefam Group (parent company to brands including Kayseria, Bareeze, Leisure Club amongst others). They empower underprivileged communities through various types of relief work which includes the education and healthcare sector. Throughout their 16+ years of existence, they have set up scholarships in schools, vocational centres, blood camps, soup kitchens, rashan programs and so much more. Most recently they were able to help 20,000 families and 200 hospitals families during the first wave of covid 19 with a unique system that connected those who needed help with those who wanted to help.

Chief Executive Officer of Sybrid Ather Imran met with Chief Executive Officer of Zaman Foundation Omar Badi Uz Zaman and other representatives in Sybrid’s Islamabad office. The two organisations signed an agreement aiming to develop a crowdfunding platform (SabSaath). This platform will enable the Zaman Foundation to arrange urgent donations for deserving countrymen through crowdfunding.

Partnership enables first Black Card launched by an international bank on the island

Karachi: Thursday, September 24th, 2021

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – October 6, 2021 – i2c, a leading provider of digital payment and banking technology, has partnered with Puerto Rico’s Bancrédito International Bank & Trust Corporation (Bancrédito) to power its new American Express Black Card in Puerto Rico. i2c's highly-configurable global platform supports integration with American Express, the program’s multi-purse capabilities and more.

The American Express Black Card is one of the most exclusive credit cards on the market for premium clients seeking experiences focused on lifestyle and travel. The Bancrédito Black American Express CardBancrédito Black American Express Card includes contactless technology for purchases, a metal presentation, curated benefits, travel memberships, a loyalty program and more. The card is a great fit for Bancrédito which serves clients worldwide that are looking to diversify their investments and fulfill their international banking needs. The bank’s newest credit product features a full suite of interactive voice response (IVR) technology in both English and Spanish, enabled by i2c, to serve the boutique bank’s premium client segment.

i2c has been collaborating with American Express since 2019 to offer plug-and-play payment products to the LAC region. Financial institutions and fintechs benefit from the brand recognition of American Express and the flexibility of the i2c platform to quickly launch highly-differentiated products. i2c's global platform includes issuer processing for personal and corporate product (credit, debit and prepaid), acquiring, loyalty and rewards, and mobile/digital capabilities.

“We are excited to partner with i2c to power cutting-edge payment solutions for our clients and to connect them to the American Express brand and network,” said Frances M. Díaz Fossé, Bancrédito’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our partnership with i2c allows us to quickly integrate with American Express to offer scalable payment solutions on a reliable and differentiated platform that enhances our end user experience.”

"We are incredibly proud to partner with international banking innovator, Bancrédito, and with American Express in offering best-in-class digital payments and customer service with our global platform,” said Kevin Fox, EVP, Global Head of Sales for i2c. “We're delighted to join these organizations in providing such a prestigious and innovative product.”

Contact:

Heather Clifton

Chief Marketing Officer, i2c

[email protected]

Karachi: Thursday, September 24th, 2021

Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoITT) in collaboration with Pakistan Software House Association(P@sha) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) conducted a workshop on FBR matters related to the IT/ ITeS industry on Thursday at Karachi.

Federal Secretary IT and Telecom, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput was also present at the event. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput, the Secretary of IT and Telecom, said that by bridging the communication gap, we can solve many matters related to this sector. Pakistan is a very young country with a youth bulge, and this youth can be implied and give dividends in the IT sector, we can promote the GDP growth of our country, and create employment to grow the economy.

Secretary IT and Telecom said that we need to Invest in the HR, training of youth to make them employable for the industry, we need to give financial incentives to our IT industry, foreign exchange regime needed to be flexible, tax regime needed to be credible, to work for the global economy. Policymakers need to work to facilitate the growth, and the right set of policies will create that enabling environment that will promote the growth of this industry, and which will result in creating employment for our youth.

Barkan Saeed, Chairman P@sha, explained the issues of the IT/ITeS industry including the tax credit regime, exemption certificate issue, and appreciated the positive response of FBR management.

Dr. Aftab Imam, Chief Commissioner Corporate Tax Office, Karachi FBR said that FBR is with the MoITT and Industry, and they will solve the problems by following the open-door policy and on a real-time basis. He also appreciated the potential of the IT industry and said that FBR is the fiercely patriotic band of mapping brothers and sisters which is set out to do their bit to bring Pakistan out of the world.

Osman Nasir, Managing Director, Pakistan Software Export Board, highlighted and explained two major issues of the IT/ ITeS industry, i.e., Taxation, policies, implementation, and free money movement through the state bank of Pakistan.

Syed Junaid Imam, Member IT and Telecom concluded the session by thanking the FBR team, Industry, P@sha, and PSEB. He also said that we have a clear direction from Prime Minister Pakistan, IT Minister, Chairman FBR, and Finance Minister to support the IT/ ITeS sector, and to help them grow, we will work together to achieve the end goal which is remittance, increase of exports, creation of employment, which is also a priority of the government.

Karachi: Thursday, September 24th, 2021

Federal Secretary for IT and Telecom, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput attended the workshop conducted by Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoITT) in collaboration with the Pakistan Software House Association(P@sha) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday at Karachi. While addressing the event, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajpoot said we need to increase our IT export, polish our young talent, and invest in them to develop our economy. This workshop will decrease the communication gap between the IT industry and SBP. Secretary IT appreciated the steps taken by SBP to facilitate the IT industry.

Barkan Saeed, Chairman P@sha, spoke on behalf of the industry and highlighted the issues related to SBP including the payment gateway integration process, and discussed problems in detail.

Osman Nasir, Managing Director, Pakistan Software Export Board, explained the overall structure of the workshop and said that the State bank is already putting efforts into facilitating the industry, and this workshop will result in a negotiation product of IT industry and SBP.

Arshad Mehmood Bhatti, Executive Director Banking Policy & Regulations Group, SBP explained the foreign exchange related initiatives for the IT sector including revised equity investment abroad policy, acquisition of digital services, retention in FCY accounts by exporters, E-Commerce, B2B & B2C, Special FE regulations for special Technology Zone in Pakistan, the opening of accounts of freelancers, and end to end digitization of FX cases.

Bushra Shafique, Senior Joint Director Infrastructure, Housing & SME Finance Department, SBP, explained financing-related initiatives for the IT sector which includes secured transaction registry, financing limit, export refinance scheme, etc.

Syed Sohail Javaad, Director Digital Innovation, and Settlements, SBP, explained initiatives for promotion of digital payments in Pakistan, which includes Enablement of FinTechs, Payment Infrastructure, Digital Cheque Clearing, etc.

Syed Junaid Imam, Member IT while closing the session thanked SBP officials, Industry representatives, P@sha, and PSEB for participating and arranging the workshop, he said the most important thing we need to do is awareness because the state bank is already doing multiple schemes for IT industry, we just need to educate ourselves.

Next-gen global issuing and processing platform sees favorable conditions in digital first, commercial, crypto and credit segments

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - September 21, 2021 - i2c Inc., a leading provider of digital payment and banking technology, today disclosed what it sees as key opportunities for growth in the UK and European markets, highlighting digital first, B2B commercial payments, cryptocurrency and credit as high-demand areas in which it is favorably positioned to compete.

“In the past 18 months, we’ve seen increased opportunities as well as validation and acceptance of our offering in initiatives where these criteria and related use cases play heavily to customers’ requirements,” said Jonathan Vaux, general manager for UK and EU at i2c. He also noted that the driving forces appear to be a combination of continued bank digitization, a surge in payments and financial innovation in the commercial space, heightened competition among crypto players to achieve faster innovation cycles and market expansion, and broad interest in reconstructing credit as an embedded feature.

According to the company, its platform features distinct characteristics that UK and European partners find compelling as they assess certain use case conditions, for example, span of product and geographies.

Among these elements is i2c’s membership in Mastercard’s Fintech Express Program, which allows the region’s issuers to tap into the speed and security of Mastercard’s global network.

“During a time of accelerated digital shift, consumers are seeking digital financial services. We are pleased to welcome i2c to our Fintech Express program. It will enable their customers easy access to the Mastercard platform, which hosts key products and programs in one place," said Jason Lane, Executive Vice President, Market Development, Europe, Mastercard.

Vaux also shared that the current pace of innovation and level of competition in digital first, commercial payments and cryptocurrency is affecting issuers in similar ways, be they UK or European mid-tier banks moving to instant issuance, fintechs addressing unmet needs in the commercial market, or corporates enabling their own modern payment capabilities.

“In Europe we initially saw a high demand from fintechs, such as neo-banks, to leverage pre-existing prepaid platforms and capabilities to get digital offerings to market locally and as quickly as possible,” Vaux said. “However, as the market has matured, we are now seeing increasing demand for extension into new capabilities, whether that be credit, debit, commercial or crypto, a much greater need to support global expansion, and much higher expectations of configurability to support tailored propositions that meet the needs of emerging segments.”

Among those partnering with i2c in Europe to transform the payments landscape, is UK-based EedenBull,a leading fintech specializing in B2B commercial payments technology.

“The payments world is evolving very rapidly, especially in the commercial banking sector. We’re launching new features and functionalities every 2 weeks, and have partnered with over 60 banks worldwide,” shared Nicki Bull Bisgaard, CEO of EedenBull. Adding, “i2c’s platform has provided the flexibility, reliability, and security we needed to expand into a truly global company and continues to enable our impact across the B2B space.”

According to i2c, the region which has been at the cutting-edge of initiatives such as open banking and fintech, is now seeing increasing sophistication in client requirements and expectations of their processing partnerships. To this end, the company said it had deepened its alliances with global partners, such the Fintech Express partnership with Mastercard, as well as its local partnerships with BIN sponsors and clients in the UK and Europe.

Contact:

Heather Clifton

Chief Marketing Officer, i2c

[email protected]

New collaboration to provide a streamlined path to enable issuers with the ability to offer Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) capabilities at the point of sale

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - MONTH XX, 2021 - i2c Inc., a leading provider of payments processing technology and digital banking solutions, today announced they are working with Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, to launch point of sale installments capabilities for their participating issuers in North America. Through this new collaboration, issuers and participating merchants can have an accelerated path to Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) promoting a consistent cardholder experience.

Visa Installments is a payment technology created by Visa that enables issuers to offer installment plans for their cardholders under their existing credit account lines, and for participating merchants to display the installment plans to eligible cardholders. With Visa Installments, shoppers may have more choice and flexibility in how they pay for purchases.

Through this collaboration, participating i2c issuers offering Visa credit cards will have the capability to provide their cardholders the choice to pay with installments during online checkout. This new capability can be integrated into the point of sale experience and offers cardholders the option to convert larger purchases into smaller equal payments made over time, helping to make everyday purchases more accessible.

“Customers love the flexibility of being able to pay over time with installments, as evidenced by the rapid growth in the space” said Mary Kay Bowman, global head of buyer, seller, core and platform products at Visa. “At Visa, we’re working with partners like i2c to accelerate the distribution of more BNPL payment options for consumers, issuers and merchants around the world.”

"BNPL solutions have emerged as a must-have capability for both card issuers and merchants across the globe. We are thrilled to partner with Visa and to add Visa Installments to our existing BNPL product offering for our issuers and their cardholders," said Ava Kelly, Global Head of Products of Silicon Valley-based i2c, a global Visa Ready and Fast Track member.

According to recent forecasts by Insider Intelligence, BNPL's global rise in popularity is due to account for approximately $680 billion in transaction volume worldwide in 2025. Other projections like those by research firm CB Insights estimate the total U.S. BNPL volume could reach $1 trillion by 2025, or 10 to 15 times current levels./p>

Contact:

Heather Clifton

Chief Marketing Officer, i2c

[email protected]

Collaboration enables innovative commercial credit solutions

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - MONTH XX, 2021 - i2c Inc. , a leading provider of digital payment and banking technology, today announced its partnership with Credijusto, the leading technology-enabled small business lender in Mexico, to provide frictionless credit solutions for the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), through the forthcoming launch of the Covalto American Express credit card.

On a mission to change the accessibility and usage of contemporary commercial credit, Covalto will be available to businesses throughout Mexico in 2021. Issued by Credijusto, backed by i2c and supported on the American Express network, the modern credit card will be a first-of-its-kind corporate solution with digital onboarding. Fee and annuity free, the card and financial software provides an innovative means for companies to control expenses and have increased visibility into their business.

With the support of i2c and its highly-configurable payments technology, Credijusto will offer customers feature-rich, digital-first corporate cards with unlimited cashback, next-gen security, 40-days of financing, purchase payment options of up to five monthly installments and virtual card capabilities with a fully digital experience via the Covalto app. This will reduce onboarding times and allow customers immediate access to their credit lines.

“We’re thrilled to partner with and support Credijusto in delivering a truly novel product for the Mexican SME market,” said Kevin Fox, EVP, Global Head of Sales for i2c. “Innovative ventures like these are a great example of how current fintech and issuer-processor collaborations are reaching under-addressed, high-demand market segments.”

“i2c was an obvious technology partner with the technical capabilities, reliability and commitment we were looking for to support our efforts in developing an integrated partner ecosystem,” said Allan Apoj, Co-Ceo and Cofounder of Credijusto. “Beyond the technology, their dedication to our vision of bringing the future of banking to Mexican small and medium businesses was paramount to this partnership,” said Apoj. “Further, American Express, as an aspirational brand brought everything together,” Apoj added.

Credijusto’s Covalto commercial credit offering focuses on replacing the common practice of business owners resorting to personal payment instruments to operate their businesses as well as providing a number of value-added benefits.

Contact:

Heather Clifton

Chief Marketing Officer, i2c

[email protected]

August 25, 2021: mKhata, a Lahore-based fintech startup has launched its app, securing preseed funding from 10Pearls Ventures. mKhata is a free, multi-lingual bookkeeping app, aimed to help the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector digitize their bookkeeping and credit management.

Most local corner (kiryana) stores extend credit to customers in their neighborhood. This is either recorded on paper or not recorded at all. mKhata aims to digitize these transactions helping small businesses record and maintain credit history for their customers.

Pakistan’s retail market is currently estimated to be around $152 billion, with an annual growth rate of 8%. However, the market is not digitized hence limiting financial inclusion of people. Serving as a digital ledger, mKhata aims to achieve this and promote financial inclusion by tapping the 6 million-plus MSMEs nationwide, and empower them through robust and seamless financial technology.

The founder and CEO, Umair Sheikh, elaborating on the need of mKhata, said, “mKhata is one of the few apps in Pakistan that will make the lives of small businesses easy. Using this app, consumers will be able to establish trust with MSME and businesses will have an opportunity to grow and move towards e-commerce.”

Speaking on the investment, Zeeshan Aftab, Director of 10Pearls Ventures said, “The MSME sector of Pakistan contributes significantly in terms of revenue, utility and employment. Enabling this sector with the right technology can help boost small businesses, which in turn, would have a significant impact on our economy. The purpose of mKhata aligns very closely with our vision to use technology for good, and to transform businesses and lives.”

The mKhata app comes with automated collection reminders, free SMS transaction alerts, detailed reports, and online backups among other features. It is free and can be downloaded from both the App Store and Google Play Store.

For details, contact:

Umair Sheikh

CEO & Founder, mKhata

Cell: 0321-9206902

Email: [email protected]

Amber Arshad

Assistant Manager – Content and Digital, 10Pearls

Cell: 0321-2834931

Email: [email protected]/p>

We’re thrilled to announce that 10Pearls has been recognized in the annual Inc. 5000 list for a third consecutive time, ranking among the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.

The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment— its independent small businesses. 10Pearls joins the likes of Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names who gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

“Our relentless focus on customer delivery is what has gotten us this accolade,” said Imran Aftab, CEO at 10Pearls. “I am proud of how our team has responded to the challenges posed by the pandemic to emerge as that leading digital product partner that businesses can depend on. As businesses worldwide continue to lean on us for digital transformation, we remain headstrong in our mission to both be the co-innovation partner of choice and continue making an impact on our communities. To be able to balance people with profits and social progress is not easy, and I am so proud of the team for achieving this.“ - Imran Aftab, 10Pearls CEO

According to Inc. Magazine, this year’s list proved exceptionally resilient and flexible given 2020’s unprecedented challenges. Among the 5,000, the average median three-year growth rate soared to 543 percent, and median revenue reached $11.1 million. Together, the listed companies added more than 610,000 jobs over the past three years.

Following our strategic acquisitions of Proximity, Likeable, and TCT Computing and the recurring support from our growing client base, we’ve grown 133%!

At 10Pearls, our growth strategy goes beyond our amazing client relationships, deep critical thinking around digital transformation, and commitment to acquiring the best and brightest companies to provide true end-to-end transformation. We believe, quite simply, that companies with a “double bottom line” outperform those that lack purpose.

Our growth is a testament to the booming digitization of business and the demand for service providers that combine innovation with purpose. We’re incredibly honored for this recognition, knowing it takes the hard work and dedication of every single team member as well as the support of our clients. All of us at 10Pearls couldn’t be more excited to continue building one of America’s fastest-growing companies while working together to create a better world.

 

August 4, 2021.

We’re excited to announce that 10Pearls is expanding its nearshore presence through the strategic acquisition of Proximity, a nearshore software development outsourcing company based in Costa Rica.

Proximity will further expand 10Pearls’ digital product innovation and technology acceleration services in a time when the need for companies to adapt and transform digitally has never been more critical.

"The wave of digital transformation that has come in the pandemic’s wake has caused organizations to struggle with technical talent and building high-velocity teams. Given these unpredictable times, businesses are leaning on technology partners to tap into diverse talent, cultural alignment, and similar time zones to speed up digital transformation." – Imran Aftab, 10Pearls CEO

According to Proximity founder and CEO Adolfo Cruz-Luthmer, “Joining 10Pearls gives Proximity the global platform to help businesses become more agile and productive, and ultimately accelerate through digitalization.” The acquisition also:

Strengthens 10Pearls’ global delivery capabilities, enhancing its nearshore services and custom software application development, testing, and ongoing support for clients

Expands 10Pearls’ presence in Latin America, adding nearshore software development operations in Costa Rica and Peru with resources from 8 countries in Latin America

Reinforces 10Pearls’ double bottom line focus by aligning with a company that shares similar values around social impact

Adds 120 skilled professionals to the 10Pearls team dedicated to delivering excellence for our clients, providing the resources and skillsets to scale larger projects quickly.

The addition of Proximity rides on the heels of the Likeable acquisition and brings the total headcount at 10Pearls to over 1,000 employees, a key milestone in our growth trajectory.

The momentum at 10Pearls is unbelievably strong. We expect it to continue as more of the world’s leading enterprises look to 10Pearls to help them solve their most pressing problems and capitalize on the unprecedented opportunity to transform their business. Stay tuned for what’s next.

Read the full press release here.

 

Karachi, April 6, 2021.

Women Tech Quest 2021, an initiative of 10Pearls University, is a platform for women to compete, network and showcase their tech talents. The 5th edition of WTQ was held online on April 3, 2021. More than 700 women participated in the event, not only from different cities and towns of Pakistan, but also from across the world including USA, Italy, Jordon and Germany.

 

WTQ, launched in 2017, is a competition dedicated to inspire women to excel in technology careers. The women participate in hands-on Coding, Testing and Design competitions, and the winners get exciting prizes and exposure. Additionally, there are guest speaker sessions and panel discussions, whereby leading professional women share their experiences to help other women grow.

According to Zeeshan Aftab, Co-Founder, 10Pearls, “As a leading technology company, we want to create an ecosystem that enables women to demonstrate their creativity and expertise, network with influential professionals, and accelerate their careers. This edition of WTQ gave women across Pakistan an opportunity to compete, win prizes and learn from women excelling in the global tech landscape.”

The competition comprised of three streams; the Coding competition included a series of problems presented to the participants, requiring them to use any programming language of their choice to solve them. The Testing Competition presented contestants with a set of objectives to test their database and automation concepts, while the Design Competition required participants to solve a UI/UX challenge, where their approach towards user research, persona building and user flows were judged. There were 6 winners in total – two from Coding, two from Testing and 2 from Design competition.

Winners List – WTQ 2021

 

Coding	Maryam Nasir (Professional), Batool Ahmed (Student)
Testing	Syeda Ayesha Tanvir (Professional), Samrah Mazhar (Student)
Design	Aaira Suhail (Professional), Midhat Kamal (Student)

 

 

According to Ayesha Tanvir, Winner of Testing Competition, “Women Tech Quest gave me an excellent opportunity to get visibility, learn, and have great credentials on my CV. It felt great to be recognized for my skills and to win such a tough competition!”

Apart from the Competition, WTQ also featured inspirational speaker sessions by esteemed women such as Sundas Khalid, Senior Analytical Lead, Google (Opening Keynote), Ayman

 

 

Sarosh, Owner, WECan (Speaker Session), and Sarah Roderus, Vice President, Testing Services, 10Pearls (Closing Keynote).

In addition, an invigorating panel discussion on “Raising Women Leaders and Why it Matters” was also held. The event was moderated by Samar Hasan, Founder, Epiphany, and Panelists included Asma Shabab, Innovation and Experience Strategist, IBM; Zahra Shah, Co-Founder, Seers; and Puruesh Chaudhary, Founder, Foresight Lab. The discussion centered around enabling leadership qualities, overcoming obstacles, building confidence and the impact of women leadership in a company’s growth.

Women Tech Quest has always been supported by top names in technology and other industries. We are proud to have reputed names like Pakistani Women in Computing (PWiC), WomeninTechPK, Women Engineers Pakistan (WEP), GDG Kolachi, Women Techmakers and GDG Islamabad as our Event Partners for WTQ2021. The event was sponsored by Careem, Trashit, Vogue Aesthetic and Nails & Wood.

 

Contact Us

For any queries regarding Women Tech Quest, you may contact: WTQ team

Email: wtq@10p earls.com  Cell: 0320-8244441

Amber Arshad

Email: ambe r.arshad@tenpe arls.com  Cell: 0321-2834931