Digital Pakistan 2022: Broadband Penetration Soars to 90% of 15+ Population

[Riaz Haq]

The year 2022 was a very rough year for Pakistan. The nation was hit by devastating floods that badly affected tens of millions of people. Macroeconomic indicators took a nose dive as political instability reached new heights. In the middle of such bad news, Pakistan saw installation of thousands of kilometers of new fiber optic cable, inauguration of a new high bandwidth PEACE submarine cable connecting Karachi with Africa and Europe, and millions of new broadband subscriptions. Broadband penetration among 140 million (59% of 236 million population) Pakistanis in  the15-64 years age group reached almost 90%. This new digital infrastructure helped grow technology adoption in the country. 

Internet and Mobile Phone Banking Growth in 2021-22. Source: State ...

Fintech: 

Mobile phone banking and internet banking grew by 141.1% to Rs. 11.9 trillion while Internet banking jumped 81.1% to reach Rs10.2 trillion.  E-commerce transactions also accelerated, witnessing similar trends as the volume grew by 107.4% to 45.5 million and the value by 74.9% to Rs106 billion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.  

Pakistan Startup Funding in 2022. Source: i2i Investing

Fintech startups continued to draw investments in the midst of a slump in venture funding in Pakistan. Fintech took $10 million from a total of $13.5 million raised by tech startups in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the data of Invest2Innovate (i2i), a startups consultancy firm. In Q3 of 2022, six out of the 14 deals were fintech startups, compared to two deals of e-commerce startups. Fintech startups raised $38 million which is 58% of total funding ($65 million) in Q3 2022, compared to e-commerce startups that raised 19% of total funding. The i2i data shows that in Q3 2022, fintech raised 37.1% higher than what it raised in Q2 2022 ($27.7 million). Similarly, in Q2 2022, the total investment of fintech was 63% higher compared to what it raised in Q1 2022 ($17 million).

E-Commerce in Pakistan. Source: State Bank of Pakistan

E-Commerce:

E-commerce continued to grow in the country. Transaction volume soared 107.4% to 45.5 million while the value of transactions jumped 75% to Rs. 106 billion over the prior year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. 

Pakistan Among World's Top 10 Smartphone Markets. Source: NewZoo

PEACE Cable: 

Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) cable, a  96 TBPS (terabits per second), 15,000 km long submarine cable, went live in 2022. It brought to 10 the total number of submarine cables currently connecting or planned to connect Pakistan with the world: TransWorld1, Africa1 (2023), 2Africa (2023), AAE1, PEACE,  SeaMeWe3, SeaMeWe4, SeaMeWe5, SeaMeWe6 (2025) and IMEWE. PEACE cable has two landing stations in Pakistan: Karachi and Gwadar. SeaMeWe stands for Southeast Asia Middle East Western Europe, while IMEWE is India Middle East Western Europe and AAE1 Asia Africa Europe 1. 

Mobile Data Consumption Growth in Pakistan. Source: ProPakistan

Fiber Optic Cable: 

The first phase of a new high bandwidth long-haul fiber network has been completed jointly by One Network, the largest ICT and Intelligent Traffic and Electronic Tolling System operator in Pakistan, and Cybernet, a leading fiber broadband provider.  The joint venture has deployed 1,800 km of fiber network along motorways and road sections linking Karachi to Hyderabad (M-9 Motorway), Multan to Sukkur (M-5 Motorway), Abdul Hakeem to Lahore (M-3 Motorway), Swat Expressway (M-16), Lahore to Islamabad (M-2 Motorway) and separately from Lahore to Sialkot (M-11 Motorway), Gujranwala, Daska and Wazirabad, according to Business Recorder newspaper.

Mobile telecom service operator Jazz and Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei have commercially deployed FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) Massive MIMO (Multiple Input and Output) solution based on 5G technology on a large scale in Pakistan. Jazz and Huawei claim it represents a leap into the 4.9G domain to boost bandwidth. 

Pakistan Telecom Indicators November 2022. Source: PTA

 

Pakistan's RAAST P2P System Taking Off. Source: State Bank of Pakistan

Broadband Subscriptions:

Pakistan has 124 million broadband subscribers as of November, 2022, according to Pakistan Telecommunications Authority.  Broadband penetration among 140 million (59% of 236 million) Pakistanis in 15-64 years age bracket is 89%.  Over 20 million mobile phones were locally manufactured/assembled in the country in the first 11 months of the year. 

Bank Account Ownership in Pakistan. Source: Karandaaz

Financial Inclusion Doubled In Pakistan in 5 Years. Source: Karandaaz

Documenting Pakistan Economy:

Pakistan's unbanked population is huge, estimated at 100 million adults, mostly women. Its undocumented economy is among the world's largest,  estimated at 35.6% which represents approximately $542 billion at GDP PPP levels, according to World Economics. The nation's tax to GDP ratio (9.2%) and formal savings rates (12.72%) are among the lowest. The process of digitizing the economy could help reduce the undocumented economy and increase tax collection and formal savings and investment in more productive sectors such as export-oriented manufacturing and services. Higher investment in more productive sectors could lead to faster economic growth and larger export earnings. None of this can be achieved without some semblance of political stability. 

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

Digital Silk Road

State Bank Targets Fully Digital Economy in Pakistan

Campaign of Fear Against CPEC

Fintech Revolution in Pakistan

E-Commerce in Pakistan

The Other 99% of the Pakistan Story

FMCG Boom in Pakistan

Pakistan at 75

Fiber Network Growth in Pakistan

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

 

PakAlumni Social Network

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan Economic Survey 2021-22

Chapter 5: Money and Credit


https://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapter_22/PES05-MONEY&CREDIT...


Currency in Circulation (CiC)
During the period 01stJuly-29th April, FY2022 CiC witnessed an expansion of Rs 991.7
billion (growth of 14.4 percent) as compared to expansion of Rs 673.0 billion (growth of
11.0 percent) during same period last year. Currency-to-M2 ratio reached 30.7 as on
29thApril, 2022 against 30.2 percent during same period last year. Significant growth in
CiC has been observed particularly in the month of April, 2022 on account of cash
demand during Ramzan and Eid Festive.

[Riaz Haq]

Although Pakistani startups posted a 36% decline in third quarter (July-September) of calendar year 2022 compared to the previous quarter, the financial technology (fintech) showed rising graph during the same period.

https://www.nation.com.pk/10-Nov-2022/unbanked-population-helping-p...

According to the data of Invest2Innovate (i2i), a startups consultancy firm, six out of the 14 deals that took place in Q3 2022 were fintech startups, compared to two deals of e-commerce startups. Fintech startups raised $38 million which is 58% of total funding ($65 million) in Q3 2022, compared to e-commerce startups that raised 19% of total funding. The i2i data shows that in Q3 2022, fintech raised 37.1% higher than what it raised in Q2 2022 ($27.7 million). Similarly, in Q2 2022, the total investment of fintech was 63% higher compared to what it raised in Q1 2022 ($17 million).

Sumbal Qureshi, a fintech consultant, told WealthPK that political situation has an impact on the economic situation of the country due to which a lot of foreign fintech companies have held back their initiatives. This situation is also a challenge for local fintech firms. The unusual growth is just because the existing fintechs and more established companies are trying to survive at the moment. They are trying to overcome the situation by continuing to invest in the fintech sector.

Imran Jattala, a well-known IT expert, told WealthPK that 5% of the world’s unbanked population lives in Pakistan. About 18,000 people are crossing the age of 18 every day in Pakistan, and unbanked population and those under 18 use fintech for their financial affairs. So fintech and digital banking is going to thrive despite a decrease in startup funding.

According to data of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), over the years, branchless/mobile banking has shown tremendous growth based on the telco-banks-fintech nexus, contributing significantly to financial inclusion. The m-banking network has expanded to over 534,460 m-banking agents and 74.6 million m-wallet accounts. This network enabled more than 2.2 billion annual transactions worth over Rs8 trillion in 2021. Despite these developments, cash still dominates economic activities and there is scant use of electronic payments, especially by micro and small retailers. Cash is the predominant payment method in Pakistan as it is considered ‘safe’ by the majority of retailers and suppliers. Many wages and salaries are also paid through cash.

The importance and usage of electronic banking and alternative delivery channels has increased during the post-Covid-19 period. Realising this, the State Bank of Pakistan further incentivised the use of digital financial channels by instructing banks to waive all inter-bank and intra-bank charges on digital transactions. This resulted in a substantial annual increase of 206% in inter-bank transfers and 122% in intra-bank transfers through internet banking. For mobile banking, the impact was even higher, with a three-fold increase in mobile banking inter-bank transfers from Rs765 billion in FY 2020 to Rs2.346 trillion in FY 2021.

[Riaz Haq]

The app (Sehat Kahani) was brought into the (Pakistani) federal government's 'Digital Pakistan' drive and used in 65 intensive care units (ICUs) across Pakistan under a project with UNDP, Health Services Academy and the federal and provincial governments. This allowed health workers to access critical care consultation through a Virtual Critical Care Specialist (VCCS).

https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/sehat-kahani-showing-pakistan-dig...

n connection with that project, and in collaboration with WHO and the federal government of Pakistan, six clinics were launched in hard-to-reach areas of Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a specific focus on sexual and reproductive healthcare services was also added to this project.

"Around 1,500 doctors across Baluchistan, KPK, and Punjab were trained in sexual reproductive services, primary healthcare, and telemedicine," says Dr Saeed.

"Telehealth services have the potential to bridge the gap between patients and physicians in Pakistan. However, poor education, illiteracy in rural areas, lack of resources, poor internet connectivity, excessive loadshedding, etc., have limited the accessibility of qualified doctors to reach to the population in remote areas," says Dr Zahid.

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Sehat Kahani, established in 2017, is a leading initiative in this regard. Its founder, Dr Sara Saeed, is a medical doctor whose mission is to help shore up Pakistan's fragile healthcare system by bridging the gap between patients and physicians through digitalisation.

"As per recent statistics, around 210 million people in Pakistan don't have access to basic healthcare facilities. To address this, Sehat Kahani connects a vast network of predominantly female doctors to patients in far-flung areas of Pakistan," says Dr Saeed. She and cofounder Dr Iffat Zafar Agha managed to raise seed funding of US$ 500,000 in 2018, followed by a pre-series of $1 million in March 2021.

In 2019, the app launched with about 60 doctors. Today, Sehat Kahani comprises a large network of more than 7,000 doctors.

Ninety percent of those 7,000 doctors are women. Approximately 50% of them are home-based female doctors who have returned to practice after leaving when they got married and had children.

[Riaz Haq]

Digital census to start tomorrow
By News desk -January 6, 2023


https://pakobserver.net/digital-census-to-start-tomorrow/


The training program of circle supervisors and enumerators for Pakistan’s first digital census in Sialkot district will be started tomorrow from January 7, while the seventh national census campaign will continue from February,1 to March 4, 2023. In this regard, Census Support Centers have been established in the offices of the Assistant Commissioners (ACs) of the Sialkot’s four tehsils.

Deputy Commissioner Sialkot Abdullah Khurram Niazi expressed these views while reviewing the arrangements for the 7th National Digital Census 2023 here on Thursday. District Police Officer (DPO) Sialkot Kamran Faisal, Pakistan Army officers and local officials of the concerned departments attended the meeting.

Addressing the meeting participants, Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Khurram Niazi said that according to the instructions of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, local officials and staff of the district administration, Pakistan Army, Police and other relevant departments would perform their duties as a national responsibility to mark the census campaign successful. He said that the five days training of 258 circle supervisors and 1689 enumerators were being started at the tehsil level in Sialkot district from January 7, 2023.

Deputy Commissioner said that 3368 blocks had been established in Sialkot district, including 49 Cantonment Board blocks. He directed the Assistant Commissioners (ACs) to personally supervise the training sessions.


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https://www.nadra.gov.pk/local-projects/social-protection/digital-c...

For the first time in Pakistan, NADRA proposed a comprehensive “IT Solution” to carry out 7th Population and Household Census of Pakistan, “THE DIGITAL CENSUS”. Span of this activity is covering the whole country, in 628 Tehsils comprising approx. 185,000 Census blocks. The activity shall be performed using android based smart devices, equipped with android based house listing and enumeration application synchronized with GPS & GIS.

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PBS organized an extensive training for census enumerators in 27 districts across Pakistan to ensure uniformity & quality through the process.

Pakistan’s first digital census will provide valuable information about population growth, urban-rural ratio, gender, age, literacy, languages, religion, disability, migration, ethnicity, and economic activities.


https://www.globalvillagespace.com/pakistans-first-digital-census-pbs/

[Riaz Haq]

Zong forays into Pakistan’s digital payments sector with PayMax launch

https://www.electronicpaymentsinternational.com/news/zong-digital-p...

Telecom company Zong has entered into the Pakistani digital payments market with the introduction of PayMax, reported Dawn.

The digital financial application has been rolled out by Electronic Commerce Company (ECCL), a fully-owned subsidiary of Zong’s parent company China Mobile Pakistan (CMPAK).

The move allows Zong to compete with various services, including JazzCash and EasyPaisa, provided by other telecom providers.

It comes shortly after Zong 4G began the tests of PayMax last month.

PayMax will initially facilitate peer to peer (P2P) money transfer, utility bills payments, mobile loads, online payment gateway as well as retail payments, among others, according to ECCL CEO Syed Naveed Akhtar.

These services will initially be offered to account holders of 1-Link connected banks.

Besides, PayMax aims to include additional vendors and solutions providers into its platform from various sectors to deliver several financial products, such as nano loans, handset financing, cross border payments along with insurance and merchant financing.

Zong primarily aims to provide PayMax services to its customers living in rural areas.

PayMax represents the second fintech solution introduced by Zong in Pakistan, with ‘Timepey Service’ being the first one.

Timepey Service was launched in partnership with Askari Bank in 2012. However, the mobile-based banking service ceased to exist since 2016.

Products launched by Zong are compliant with Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) regulations of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) 2019, under the Payment Systems and Electronic Fund Transfers Act, 2007.

[Riaz Haq]

Start ups bringing Pakistan's farming into digital age

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-ups-pakistan-farming-digital-age.html

Until recently, "the most modern machine we had was the tractor", Aamer Hayat Bhandara, a farmer and local councillor behind one such project told AFP in "Chak 26", a village in the agricultural heartland of Punjab province.

Even making mobile phone calls can be difficult in many parts of Pakistan, but since October, farmers in Chak 26 and pilot projects elsewhere have been given free access to the internet—and it is revolutionising the way they work.

Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan's economy, accounting for nearly 20 percent of gross domestic product and around 40 percent of the workforce.

It is estimated to be the world's fifth-largest producer of sugarcane, seventh-largest of wheat and tenth-biggest rice grower—but it mostly relies on human labour and lags other big farming nations on mechanisation.

Cows and donkeys rest near a muddy road leading to a pavilion in Chak 26, which is connected to a network via a small satellite dish.

This is the "Digital Dera"—or meeting place—and six local farmers have come to see the computers and tablets that provide accurate weather forecasts, as well as the latest market prices and farming tips.

"I've never seen a tablet before," said Munir Ahmed, 45, who grows maize, potatoes and wheat.

"Before, we relied on the experience of our ancestors or our own, but it wasn't very accurate," added Amjad Nasir, another farmer, who hopes the project "will bring more prosperity".


Apps and apples

Communal internet access is not Bhandara's only innovation.

A short drive away, on the wall of a shed, a modern electronic switch system is linked to an old water pump.

A tablet is now all he needs to control the irrigation on part of the 100 hectares (250 acres) he cultivates—although it is still subject to the vagaries of Pakistan's intermittent power supply.

This year, Bhandara hopes, others will install the technology he says will reduce water consumption and labour.

"Digitising agriculture... and the rural population is the only way to prosper," he told AFP.

At the other end of the supply chain, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) away in Lahore, dozens of men load fruit and vegetables onto delivery bikes at a warehouse belonging to the start-up Tazah, which acts as an intermediary between farmers and traders.

After just four months in operation, the company delivers about 100 tonnes of produce every day to merchants in Lahore and Karachi who place orders via a mobile app.

"Before, the merchant had to get up at 5 am or 5:30 am to buy the products in bulk, at the day's price, and then hassle with transporting them," said Inam Ulhaq, regional manager.

"Tazah brings some order to the madness."

In the Tazah office, several employees manage the orders, but for the time being, purchases are still made by phone, as the part of the application intended for farmers is still in development.

The young company is also tackling a "centuries-old" system that stakeholders are reluctant to change, explains co-founder Abrar Bajwa.

Record investment

Fruit and vegetables often rot during their journey along poorly organised supply chains, says partner Mohsin Zaka, but apps like Tazah make the whole system more efficient.

In addition to Lahore, Tazah is already operating in the largest city, Karachi, and is preparing to move into the capital, Islamabad.

A $20 million fundraising campaign is underway, the co-founder told AFP, at a time when investments are pouring into Pakistani start-ups.

Foreign investment in Pakistan startups exceeded $310 million last year—five times the 2020 level and more than the previous six years combined, according to several reports.

Further down the chain, Airlift—which provides grocery deliveries—raised $85 million in a record-breaking prospectus for the country in August.

[Riaz Haq]

Pak Optical Fiber Cable Project inked between Chinese Companies


https://pakobserver.net/pak-optical-fiber-cable-project-inked-betwe...

A Nationwide Optical Fiber Cable Network Project has been signed between PowerChina and Hunan Sunwalk Group, according to Gwadar Pro on Friday.

Phase 1, Lot 1 of the said project will aim to improve Pakistan’s telecommunication infrastructure for better interconnection with its neighboring countries.

Talking to Gwadar Pro, business manager Sunwalk Group said that the company plans to spend several billion dollars on Pakistan’s Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities to establish telecom infrastructure and fiber industry.

The nation’s broadband adoption will be increased for the digital revolution, which will benefit not only the business-to-business sector but also the government, enterprise firms, and end consumers, the official added.

Previously, Sunwalk Group CEO Pakistan, Lan held a meeting with Federal Minister of IT and Telecom, Syed Amin ul Haque. Lan informed the Minister regarding investment plans for establishing a statewide optical fiber network and facilitating the growth of broadband in Pakistan.

He stated that his organization is prepared to invest approximately $2 billion over the next 8 to 10 years.

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan to Procure 126,000 Tablets From China for 7th Digital Population Census

https://propakistani.pk/2022/08/19/pakistan-to-procure-126000-table...

Pakistan will procure 126,000 tablets from China for the upcoming 7th Population and Household Digital Census by 11 December 2022.


The delivery of tablets will start on 20 August and will be completed in eight batches by 11 December 2022, according to official documents available with ProPakistani.

The National Database Regulatory Authority (NADRA) had earlier proposed a comprehensive IT Turn-Key Solution for the 7th Population and Household Census. As proceedings stand, the digital census will be carried out across the country in 628 Tehsils comprising approximately 200,000 Census Blocks. The activity shall be performed using android-based smart devices equipped with House Listing and Enumeration Application synchronized with Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS).

Of the 126,000 tablets to be procured from China, the first batch of 500 tablets will arrive on 20 August, followed by three batches of 18,500 each in October, and two batches of 18,500 each in November, the documents reveal. Two batches of 18,500 and 14,500 will arrive in Pakistan on 1 and 15 December, respectively. For carrying out pilot digital census and training in 83 tehsils, NADRA has already arranged 600 tablets from BISP on loan.

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan Pursuing Ambitious Program to Build Digitized Social Safety Net

https://www.riazhaq.com/2022/01/pakistan-pursuing-ambitious-program...

Pakistan's PTI government has built South Asia’s first digital National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) as a part of its ambitious effort to build a basic social safety net. The Ehsaas (also known as BISP- Benazir Income Support)) program's socio-economic registry includes household information by geography, age, income, education, health, disability, employment, energy consumption, land and livestock holdings etc. Ehsaas Programs include both Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCT) and Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT). Unconditional Cash Transfers are made only to people living in extreme poverty or distress. Conditional Cash Transfers like Waseela-e-Taleem and Nashonuma are given for education and nutrition respectively. In addition, there are feeding centers (langars) for the hungry and shelters (panahgahs) for the homeless.

The National Socio-economic Registry will be regularly updated to keep it current and deliver services to the Pakistanis most in need. The effort started in earnest in 2020 to hand out Rs. 12,000 per family to 3 million most affected by the COVID19 lockdown. Here's how a Pakistani government website describes the digital registry architecture:

"The Cognitive API architecture for Ehsaas’ National Socio-Economic Registry 2021 is one of the six main pillars of ‘One Window Ehsaas’. With the survey, which is building the registry currently 90.5% complete nationwide, Ehsaas is firming up its plans to open data sharing and data access services for all executing agencies under Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD). Data sharing will be done through the Cognitive API Architecture approach. The deployment of Ehsaas API architecture for data sharing will allow executing agencies to access data from the unified registry in real-time to validate beneficiary information. This will empower them to ascertain eligibility of potential beneficiaries".

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan Pursuing Ambitious Program to Build Digitized Social Safety Net

https://www.riazhaq.com/2022/01/pakistan-pursuing-ambitious-program...

Pakistan's PTI government has built South Asia’s first digital National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) as a part of its ambitious effort to build a basic social safety net. The Ehsaas (also known as BISP- Benazir Income Support)) program's socio-economic registry includes household information by geography, age, income, education, health, disability, employment, energy consumption, land and livestock holdings etc. Ehsaas Programs include both Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCT) and Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT). Unconditional Cash Transfers are made only to people living in extreme poverty or distress. Conditional Cash Transfers like Waseela-e-Taleem and Nashonuma are given for education and nutrition respectively. In addition, there are feeding centers (langars) for the hungry and shelters (panahgahs) for the homeless.

The National Socio-economic Registry will be regularly updated to keep it current and deliver services to the Pakistanis most in need. The effort started in earnest in 2020 to hand out Rs. 12,000 per family to 3 million most affected by the COVID19 lockdown. Here's how a Pakistani government website describes the digital registry architecture:

"The Cognitive API architecture for Ehsaas’ National Socio-Economic Registry 2021 is one of the six main pillars of ‘One Window Ehsaas’. With the survey, which is building the registry currently 90.5% complete nationwide, Ehsaas is firming up its plans to open data sharing and data access services for all executing agencies under Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD). Data sharing will be done through the Cognitive API Architecture approach. The deployment of Ehsaas API architecture for data sharing will allow executing agencies to access data from the unified registry in real-time to validate beneficiary information. This will empower them to ascertain eligibility of potential beneficiaries".