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Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Policy reforms urged to aid $1.2b gig economy
Listen to article A study by the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has called for urgent policy reforms to unlock the full potential of Pakistan's gig and digital economy, using foodpanda as a case study. The report, titled "Economic Impact Assessment of foodpanda in Pakistan", not only quantifies the platform's substantial economic contribution – estimated at $1.2 billion for 2023-2024 – but also underscores the need for a more supportive regulatory environment. The report highlights the platform's expansive role in job creation, SME enablement, and digital inclusion through its network of over 50,000 registered riders and partnerships with 13,000+ restaurants, many of which operate in the informal sector. While the findings underline foodpanda's growing influence on Pakistan's gig and digital economy, the study emphasises the urgent need for regulatory reforms to maintain and expand the impact of such platforms. LUMS recommends that the government preserve flexibility in labour laws to support gig and freelance workers who value autonomy and flexible hours. The study cautions that imposing rigid structures could reduce employment opportunities, particularly for youth and low-income groups. The report also stresses that informal food vendors should not be excluded from the digital economy, urging the government instead to collaborate with food delivery platforms to gradually formalise these businesses without disrupting their operations or incomes. Internet infrastructure was highlighted as another major concern. Since digital platforms rely on reliable and fast connectivity, service disruptions lead to order delays, customer dissatisfaction, and financial losses. The report urges the government to invest in broadband access, infrastructure upgrades, and incentives for private sector investment, especially in underserved areas. LUMS also flagged concerns over the proposed Personal Data Protection Bill. Provisions for local data storage, strict consent rules, and cross-border data restrictions could raise costs for digital platforms that use global cloud services. The report warns these rules may deter global investors and hinder scalability. The study also proposes a one-window licensing system for delivery riders. This would cover ID verification, vehicle checks, and licensing under one platform to streamline compliance, reduce administrative burdens, and enhance safety and accountability in the sector. To support the wider e-commerce ecosystem, LUMS recommends reducing import tariffs on technology and providing targeted incentives to local digital startups. The study found strong ripple effects across food, hospitality, manufacturing, transport, and retail. In FY 2023-24, foodpanda enabled Rs75 billion in restaurant revenue, created jobs, contributed Rs9.76 billion in taxes, and empowered 50,000+ riders and entrepreneurs through fintech.
Business Recorder
29-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Digitisation and cashless economy: Major hurdles impede govt's push
ISLAMABAD: Lack of infrastructure, affordability, legislation and cyber threats are among the major hindrances in realizing government's digitisation and cashless economy vision. This was the crux of background discussion with government officials, sector experts and international organizations report. Parvez Iftikhar, international consultant on Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Policy and Regulation told Business Recorder that many rural and underserved areas still lack reliable internet, electricity, and mobile connectivity. Without these basics, digital payment systems cannot function effectively. He further said that high cost of smartphones, data plans, and digital devices make it difficult for low-income groups to participate. Even point-of-sale (POS) machines are scarce among small retailers. Iftikhar said the legal framework is still catching up. While the government is pushing QR code payments and digital mandates, enforcement and clarity around digital taxation and compliance remain weak, he added. He said that trust, awareness and data protections are also among the major challenges to digitization. The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications is working on the Personal Data Protection Bill, envisaging to regulate the collection, processing, use, disclosure, and transfer of personal data and additionally provides a data protection mechanism including the offences concerning the violation of data privacy rights of an individual for the last five years. However, the required legislation is yet to be completed, he added. Government officials said that many people still perceive cash as safer and more convenient. Fear of fraud, lack of awareness, and limited tech skills discourage adoption, adding that merchants worry that digital payments will expose them to tax scrutiny. Further, officials said that online banking as well as fraud with BISP beneficiaries resulted in trust deficit, which needs to be overcome through proper legislation and awareness. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jazz Aamir Ibrahim told Business Recorder that despite strong growth in digital payments, Pakistan's transition to a cashless economy still faces structural challenges—particularly low smartphone penetration, usage gaps among women and rural populations, and deep-rooted reliance on cash in retail. He said many merchants are hesitant to adopt digital channels due to compliance concerns, while consumers often lack the trust or incentive to move away from cash. 'I'm encouraged to see the government's recent action plan moving in this direction, with a balanced focus on enablement, awareness, and accountability. With coordinated execution and a strong push for financial literacy, we have a real opportunity to drive meaningful progress toward a more inclusive and future-ready digital economy,' Ibrahim added. McKinsey Global Institute reports that Pakistan can experience an increase in its GDP by a cumulative seven percentage points (roughly $36 billion) and create around four million new jobs by increasing the use of digital financial services alone. Pakistan has made some progress in digitalizing its public services, especially in the online service delivery domain, but it still lags behind many of its peers in the region and globally, noted in a report of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Economic Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Anaplan expands operations in India: New local data centre designed for data residency and regulatory compliance
Anaplan, the leading scenario planning and analysis platform designed to optimise decision-making in today's complex business environment, announced the opening of a new data centre in India. This expansion supports Anaplan's previously announced $500 million investment designed to accelerate innovation while expanding the company's global presence. 'In response to the increasing demand for data-driven decision-making, organisations across diverse sectors—including finance, retail, manufacturing, and technology—are seeking scalable, high-performance solutions to improve agility and resilience. Anaplan's addition of our new data centre not only ensures data residency and compliance with local regulations, but it underscores the growing importance of the Indian market,' said Amit Bagga, Managing Director, APAC for Anaplan. Key benefits of Anaplan's new India data centre include: Enhanced performance and low latency: Significantly reduced latency for Indian customers will enable faster processing and real-time insights for critical planning activities, such as financial forecasting, supply chain optimisation, and workforce management. Significantly reduced latency for Indian customers will enable faster processing and real-time insights for critical planning activities, such as financial forecasting, supply chain optimisation, and workforce management. Drive digital transformation: By leveraging advanced data management, analytics, and local data residency, Indian businesses can accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, staying ahead in a competitive market. By leveraging advanced data management, analytics, and local data residency, Indian businesses can accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, staying ahead in a competitive market. Data sovereignty and compliance: The new local data centre ensures customer data remains within India, addressing the growing emphasis on data localisation under regulations such as the Personal Data Protection Bill, and providing enhanced assurance for businesses in regulated industries like Financial Services and Government sectors. The new local data centre ensures customer data remains within India, addressing the growing emphasis on data localisation under regulations such as the Personal Data Protection Bill, and providing enhanced assurance for businesses in regulated industries like Financial Services and Government sectors. Scaling for growth: All Anaplan data centres are designed to support the exponential growth of Anaplan's user base in India, facilitating seamless handling of large-scale, multi-dimensional planning models powered by Anaplan's technology. 'We have been leveraging Anaplan for the past couple of years and have steadily enhanced our Integrated Business Planning (IBP) capability,' said Arun Bhanumurthy, Executive Vice President- Strategy and Transformation , Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. 'Anaplan India is at the cusp of significant growth across industries. As we help our customers navigate increasingly complex supply chains and business operations, it becomes important to offer them the option of local data hosting through our India data centre. With this launch, we are directly addressing a key ask from our global banking and financial services customers, enabling them to partner with us more confidently and compliantly in India,' said Sanket Deodhar, Country Head for India at Anaplan. The India data centre allows existing and new customers in India to leverage its capabilities. As a part of the company's ongoing commitment to expand its presence in the Asia Pacific region, Anaplan anticipates launching a data centre in Indonesia in the first half of 2025, followed by Singapore in the second half. These expansions will ensure that businesses across the region can leverage the latest in data management and analytics, further enhancing their operational efficiency and decision-making capabilities. About Anaplan Anaplan is the only scenario planning and analysis platform designed to optimise decision-making in today's complex business environment so that enterprises can outpace their competition and the market. By building connections and collaboration across organisational silos, the platform intelligently surfaces key insights—so businesses can make the right decisions right now. More than 2,400 of the world's best brands continually improve their decision-making by planning with Anaplan. For more information about Anaplan's solutions and the new data centre, please visit . Disclaimer - The above content is non-editorial, and TIL hereby disclaims any and all warranties, expressed or implied, relating to it, and does not guarantee, vouch for or necessarily endorse any of the content.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Anaplan expands operations in India: New local data centre designed for data residency and regulatory compliance
Anaplan, the leading scenario planning and analysis platform designed to optimise decision-making in today's complex business environment, announced the opening of a new data centre in India. This expansion supports Anaplan's previously announced $500 million investment designed to accelerate innovation while expanding the company's global presence. 'In response to the increasing demand for data-driven decision-making, organisations across diverse sectors—including finance, retail, manufacturing, and technology—are seeking scalable, high-performance solutions to improve agility and resilience. Anaplan's addition of our new data centre not only ensures data residency and compliance with local regulations, but it underscores the growing importance of the Indian market,' said Amit Bagga, Managing Director, APAC for Anaplan. Key benefits of Anaplan's new India data centre include: Enhanced performance and low latency: Significantly reduced latency for Indian customers will enable faster processing and real-time insights for critical planning activities, such as financial forecasting, supply chain optimisation, and workforce management. Drive digital transformation: By leveraging advanced data management, analytics, and local data residency, Indian businesses can accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, staying ahead in a competitive market. Data sovereignty and compliance: The new local data centre ensures customer data remains within India, addressing the growing emphasis on data localisation under regulations such as the Personal Data Protection Bill, and providing enhanced assurance for businesses in regulated industries like Financial Services and Government sectors. Scaling for growth: All Anaplan data centres are designed to support the exponential growth of Anaplan's user base in India, facilitating seamless handling of large-scale, multi-dimensional planning models powered by Anaplan's technology. 'We have been leveraging Anaplan for the past couple of years and have steadily enhanced our Integrated Business Planning (IBP) capability,' said Arun Bhanumurthy, Executive Vice President- Strategy and Transformation , Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. 'Anaplan India is at the cusp of significant growth across industries. As we help our customers navigate increasingly complex supply chains and business operations, it becomes important to offer them the option of local data hosting through our India data centre. With this launch, we are directly addressing a key ask from our global banking and financial services customers, enabling them to partner with us more confidently and compliantly in India,' said Sanket Deodhar, Country Head for India at Anaplan. Live Events The India data centre allows existing and new customers in India to leverage its capabilities. As a part of the company's ongoing commitment to expand its presence in the Asia Pacific region, Anaplan anticipates launching a data centre in Indonesia in the first half of 2025, followed by Singapore in the second half. These expansions will ensure that businesses across the region can leverage the latest in data management and analytics, further enhancing their operational efficiency and decision-making capabilities. About Anaplan Anaplan is the only scenario planning and analysis platform designed to optimise decision-making in today's complex business environment so that enterprises can outpace their competition and the market. By building connections and collaboration across organisational silos, the platform intelligently surfaces key insights—so businesses can make the right decisions right now. More than 2,400 of the world's best brands continually improve their decision-making by planning with Anaplan. For more information about Anaplan's solutions and the new data centre, please visit . Disclaimer - The above content is non-editorial, and TIL hereby disclaims any and all warranties, expressed or implied, relating to it, and does not guarantee, vouch for or necessarily endorse any of the content.
