The World’s Number 1 Best Selling BlackBerry Application is MADE IN PAKISTAN!

Taken from TechLahore:

The World's Top Selling BlackBerry Application is Lahore-based Pepper.pk's Photo Editor

Just a couple of days ago we shared Pepper.pk’s amazing achievement; their Photo Editor application for Blackberry devices had made it to the Top 5 best selling BlackBerry applications on RIM’s AppWorld. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I received an email from the Pepper.pk team who sounded on top of the world and could hardly contain their joy! Photo Editor is now the World’s #1 Best Selling BlackBerry Application across all categories. And it’s made in Pakistan! How sweet is that?

Pakistan’s IT industry has come a long, long way. The capabilities and skills of our companies are developing not just in the area of software engineering, but project management, product marketing and promotion. It’s no easy feat to leave HUGE names like Facebook and Monopoly, among dozens of others, behind! But what Pepper.pk’s laudable achievement proves is that not only are Pakistan based software companies ultra-competitive, they are, quite literally, second to none.

In December 2009 I had predicted that 2010 would be a breakout year for Pakistani mobile software companies. Specifically, I said that:

There will be a near-breakout level of success with a Pakistani based mobile software company. At least one company will claim 250K users for its mobile products by the end of 2010. It is very likely that two will.

Well, Pepper.pk has blown past those estimates, with well over a million users of their applications, and a Global Top #1 title for a major platform like the BlackBerry.

I wonder if someone at Adobe is listening, but they certainly need to. This young company has gone from obscurity to stardom in no time flat, and if you listen to them talk about their future plans, it doesn’t sound like they’ll be stopping to catch their breath anytime soon.

Long live innovation, and long live ambition!

The World's #1 Best Selling Top BlackBerry Application is Photo Editor from Pepper.pk!

Pakistani Politicians on Twitter

A very interesting article from ProPakistani Blog

Here's a list of some political figures on twitter:

@SalmaanTaseer (Salman Taseer)

@CMShahbaz (Shabaz Sharif)

@ImranKhanPTI (Imran Khan)

@PMPakistan (Pervez Musharraf)

@SenRehmanMalik (Rehman Malik)

@Kashmala_Tariq (Kashmala Tariq)

@Mushahid (Mushaid Hussain Syed)

@Fbuttho (Fatima Bhutto)

@marvi_memon (Marvi Memon)

Mandatory solar panels on Telco base stations

Universal Service Fund of Pakistan has taken an excellent initiative to ensure use of renewable energy in Pakistan.

In an interesting example of using public policy to drive long term benefits for society, USF has made the use of renewable energy compulsory for all Base Stations funded by USF.

Source: TelecomPK Blog

Telenor EasyPaisa

Further to my earlier post regarding the growth of financial services by telecom companies, here's another very nice article on Telenor's EasyPaisa. Bangkok Post has published this interview with VP (Roar Bjaerum) and Director (Arif Abdul Qayyam) Financial Services at Telenor.

There are three key strategies where a telecommunications company can engage in providing financial services. First is to provide services to those who do not have access, which is what Telenor is doing in Pakistan with EasyPaisa, and in Bangladesh. Second is to provide better financial services through mobile services, which is happening in developed countries and Dtac's ATM Sim project with Kasikorn Bank. Third is exploring the possibilities of technology for the future through Near Field Communciations (NFC), the Internet and other technologies.

Here's why telco-finance makes sense:

Telenor Pakistan has 23 million mobile users. Compared to traditional banks, Telenor's 150,000 dealers and telephone network coverage have a much broader geographic and demographic footprint. Initially, Telenor is training 6,000 of its best dealers to offer financial services and the plan is to expand this training to around 20,000 to 30,000 dealers. In contrast, Pakistan has just 9,000 bank branches and 3,000 ATMs nationwide.

Read the full article here for further details.

Payments using Mobile Phones: Case studies from Pakistan and Other Emerging Telecom Markets

Pakistan Telecom Authority recently held an event in collaboration with LIRNEasia, where delegates from 20 countries discussed

...ideas and research regarding latest developments in various paradigms of cellular mobile services. The event also focuses on the opportunities for delivery of more-than-voice services (such as m-payments, m-government, m-commerce) through mobile platforms, explore the possibility of using mobile as the “triple play” in the developing world 

The event was also covered by TelecomPK blog. They have shared the presentations uploaded on google docs. Telenor's case study was presented by their Chief Strategy Officer:

... shared a presentation on the topic of Telenor’s experience with Mobile 2.0 initiatives and in particular with EasyPaisa. The vision for Easy Paisa is to bank the unbanked. The progress that EasyPaisa has made in 6 months is quite impressive: over 600,000 utility bill payments have been made and money transfer of about Rs.1 billion has been completed.

Kenya's case...

... has seen good progress with its m-Pesa program launched by the dominant mobile company Safaricom. Muriuki Mureithi, Summit Strategies, Kenya shared the reasons for success of mPayments in Kenya. He emphasized that the market was ready for a solution and the company exploited the situation well. See his presentation here. 

Talk with Abid Beli – founder of Beliscity.com

Here's an interesting talk with founder of famous Pakistani online shopping portal Beliscity.com.

"In 2001 I started selling few products through Beliscity.com as well as VOIP Devices & Cards like Yapjack, Komodo, IPStar & Net2phone, Then I add laptops & few unique products on it which is not easily available in the market. After 6months I change complete business module of Beliscity.com from internet hours selling to hardware selling. I have lots of my internet hours customer email data so I used it for new Beliscity.com & gradually its become a Biggest online retail shop in 2years period"

"We offer Cash on delivery & Credit card charge facility for our karachi & Lahore customer, Our riders deliver the products & collect cash from them or charge their card on the spot, For other cities we offered online banking deposit system. We are going to offer very soon COD & Credit card charge facility all over Pakistan inshallah. Paypal is not giving seller protection for Pakistan shipping so we are not using it for our Pakistan customers yes we are loosing our 20 to 25% business because of online money solution but at least we are in peace & not facing any fraud issues.... very soon Easypaisa option available on Beliscity.com"

Full interview here: Green & White Blog

GIKI Participates In The RoboCup Iran Open, 2010, And Qualifies For The RoboCup Finals, Singapore

A team from Pakistan participated in the RoboCup Iran Open, 2010, held from the 5th to the 9th of April, and successfully qualified for the RoboCup Finals, to be held in Singapore in June, 2010. The team consisted of students from the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI), and participated in the Real Rescue Robot League of the RoboCup. The competition was held in Tehran, Iran's capital city.

RoboCup is an international research and education initiative. It is an attempt to foster AI and intelligent robotics research by providing a standard problem where wide range of technologies can be integrated and examined, as well as being used for integrated project-oriented education. It is the premier robotics event of its kind. RoboCup comprises of many leagues, including the Rescue league that focuses on Urban Search and Rescue. 

RoboCup Iran Open 2010 is the first ever competition of its series that witnessed the participation of a Pakistani Rescue Robot, "SAVIOUR", designed and fabricated by a multidisciplinary team of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology. The team was selected from hundreds of applicants. It is worth noting that in a highly mechanized world, very few Pakistani institutes are constructively working on autonomous, flexible and tele-operated robotic mechanisms. The same team has previously competed in the RoboCup Finals 2009, in Graz, Austria, adding to the rich history of success for the team.

More than 350 teams from 10 different countries were competing in different leagues.
SAVIOUR was designed and built by a team led by Muhammad Fahd Waseem. The rest of the team comprised of Muneeb Saleem, Arsalan Khalid, Saad Noor, Faisal Kalim, Farrukh Sohail and Waqar Chughtai. SAVIOUR means "Semi-Autonomous Vehicle for Identification, Observation and Ultimate Rescue". The robot completes its tasks using various sensors and is controlled via a wireless network for full remote mobility. The tasks involve the location and mapping of 'victims' in a simulated earthquake hit 'arena'.


Source: GIKI Website