
Pre-launch ceremony of ‘Mera Brand Pakistan' held
KARACHI: The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) held a pre-launch ceremony on Thursday at a local hotel in Karachi, ahead of its third consecutive mega exhibition titled 'Mera Brand Pakistan', scheduled for January 3 and 4, 2026. Organizers announced that the upcoming event will be the largest of its kind, quadrupling in scale compared to previous editions.
Speaking at the ceremony, Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Chief, Monem Zafar Khan linked the initiative to a broader national and humanitarian cause. He described Mera Brand Pakistan as a response to Israel's ongoing brutalities in Gaza, condemning the Zionist regime for using starvation as a weapon of war against innocent civilians.
'You cannot slaughter our women and children with one hand and sell us your products with the other,' Monem Zafar stated, urging a nationwide boycott of Israeli goods and calling on all stakeholders to support locally produced alternatives.
Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) President Junaid Naqi echoed the call for strengthening domestic industries. He emphasized the need to enhance the quality and branding of Pakistani products and pledged full support to the Mera Brand Pakistan campaign.
'The nation must unite to prefer 'Made in Pakistan' over imported products, especially those linked to regimes engaged in oppression,' he said.
PBF Acting President Amir Rafi shared the journey of the exhibition's growth, noting that the first event was organized within just 21 days in a single hall at the Karachi Expo Centre. The second expanded to two halls, and the upcoming third edition will be four times larger. He expressed gratitude to both exhibitors and the public—particularly Karachi's women—for their enthusiastic response.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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Strategic and Operational Challenges in Pakistan From its launch in October 2015, Careem led Pakistan's nascent ride-hailing industry. It grew to over 12.5 million users and some 820,000 drivers in Pakistan before exiting. It offered a range of services (standard, premium, flexi bidding) and in-ride safety features, and even 24/7 helplines – at considerable cost. But over the last few years this position proved increasingly untenable. On the cost side, Careem repeatedly cited volatile fuel prices as a major constraint. Its local management noted that 'fluctuating fuel prices posed difficulties in adjusting fares to remain affordable for customers while ensuring fair payouts for captains'. Worsening that problem, Pakistan's road infrastructure is notoriously uneven: many highways and city streets are in poor condition, driving up vehicle wear-and-tear and maintenance costs. These factors squeezed Careem's margins. 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Many local startups – including Airlift (hyperlocal delivery), Swvl (bus service), VavaCars (used cars) and Truck It In (logistics) – have already shut down or scaled back under the strain. As one analysis put it, Pakistan's digital economy has been 'under pressure' by record inflation and weak consumption. Careem's leaders explicitly cited this tough finance backdrop. The CEO noted that global capital flows into frontier markets have tightened, making it hard to justify further investment in a low-return project. In plain terms, pouring money to subsidize rides became untenable when both currency and income levels were unstable. Rising fuel costs (Pakistan imports much of its oil) and interest rates further squeezed margins. Industry participants like Bykea's founder even lamented that their $30 million in startup funding was a 'fraction of what was spent on the Islamabad metro bus project,' arguing that 'crowd-sourced mobility solutions' deserve more policy support than capital-intensive infrastructure. Careem's trajectory underlines this point: success depended not only on technology and service, but on macroeconomic stability and accessible capital. The business environment was complicated by Pakistan's regulatory landscape. While app-based taxi services offered clear safety and convenience advantages (real-time tracking, vetted drivers, cashless payment), they initially clashed with legacy taxi laws. Ride-hailing firms have long lobbied for fair taxation and clear rules. For example, industry associations urged the government for 'standard practices, reasonable taxation, and fair competition', arguing that these would encourage growth. 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