By Umer Nangiana


Prominent business leaders from Pakistan and Qatar gathered in Doha recently with the aim to boost the already-growing interest in entrepreneurship in both current and prospective businessmen.
Discussing their experiences and lessons learnt over time, a panel of eminent businesspeople encouraged the upcoming entrepreneurs to tap into business opportunities available in different sectors.
Supported by major sponsors such as Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Nasser al-Thani and Ooredoo, the 2015 PINNAQLE Conference (Pakistan Innovation Network in Qatar for Leaders and Entrepreneurs) hosted by Pakistan Professionals Forum-Qatar (PPFQ) at Intercontinental Hotel gave participants valuable insights into various aspects of Pakistan’s developing economy and business opportunities.
Speaking about opportunities in agriculture sector in Pakistan, Mohammad Younus Sandeela, CEO of Farmwell in Pakistan, noted that Pakistan’s favourable growing environment for both crop and livestock farming offers vast opportunities in the area. “While improvements in supply chain and land reform are required, investors can take advantage of excellent government incentives in this sector,” said Sandeela.
He is a seasoned executive with diversified experience in the fields of finance and agribusiness. During the earlier part of his career, Younus spent around 13 years working in the financial sector of Pakistan.
Maheen Rahman, Chief Executive of Al Falah GHP Investment Management, one of the panellists from Pakistan, provided an overview of Pakistan’s economy, currently enjoying favourable conditions due to low interest rates and oil prices.
She described how mutual funds were helping to diversify the investor base in Pakistan and emphasised the need for more venture capital investment to spur entrepreneurial growth.
Naveed K Latif, CEO of Converge Technologies, explained the rapid development of mobile data applications in Pakistan and the success of the subscription model. “Given the relatively low penetration rates of data users to mobile users, there is a tremendous scope for growth in the domestic market,” said Latif.
The keynote address was delivered by Abdul Razak Dawood, Chairman of Descon and Rector of the Lahore University of Management Science (LUMS). Dawood described the success of the LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship ‘incubator’ model for turning ideas into start-up businesses.
He also stressed the importance of education at all levels for the success of Pakistan, which has a large youth population. “The culture of entrepreneurship is gradually developing in Pakistan and in another 25 years, we will have more businessmen and a growing industry,” Dawood told Community.
Dawood is also a former federal minister and held the portfolio of Commerce, Industries & Production from November 1999 till November 2002. He has also served as a former Director of the State Bank of Pakistan.
The participants engaged the speakers in a Q&A session, which included feedback from Qatar-based business leaders Fawad Rana, CEO of Qalco, and Malik Qaiser Awan, GM of Ezdan Holdings. The panel discussed the need to build investor confidence in Pakistan, the booming services and retail sectors and potential areas of co-operation between Qatar and Pakistan.
Ambassador of Pakistan to Qatar Shahzad Ahmad was the chief guest at the conference. PPFQ President Adnan Kirmani expressed his thanks to the panellists, participants and sponsors, which also included QALCO, Ammico Trading and Modern Electrics T&C.