APRIL 2021

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Table of contents

Table of contents………………………………………………………………...1

Introduction……………………………………………………………………...2

Methodolody…………………………………………………………………….2

Sample Specifics………………………………………………………………...3

Firm Behaviour………………………………………………………………….3

Post-COVID trends ...…………………………………………………………………6

E-commerce and fintech……………………………………………………………….6

Agritech………………………………………………………………………………..7

Case Study – Ricult……………………………………………………………………9

Consumer Behaviour…………………………………………………………..11

Survey summary……………………………………………………………………...11

Transportation Issues…………………………………………………………………11

The positive…………………………………………………………………………..12

Macroeconomic trends……………………………………………………………….13

Employment……………………………………………………………………14

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..15

The Team………………………………………………………………………16

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Introduction

With the advent of new technologies around the globe, economies are now being transformed

along various verticals. In this process, the public and private sectors are both actively driving

digitalisation efforts. Digitalisation, in turn, has a trickle-down effect on industries, consumers,

government services. It is transforming how businesses and organisations carry out their

operations and how consumers adjust and adapt within the constantly evolving digital

infrastructure. In Pakistan, the number of internet users and the rate of internet penetration is

rapidly increasing. With the rapid transformations that are now taking place, it is essential to

understand how digitalisation has impacted firm and consumer behaviour over the years.

This report aims to offer insights into how industries have transformed themselves according

to the changing digital landscape and how consumers are evolving with it as well. It also

explores Pakistan lags and consumer pain points where there is still potential for improvement.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to

significant disruptions in the digitalisation

domain. One section has been dedicated to the

examination of post-COVID trends in

digitalisation.

Methodology

The insights drawn in this report were derived through a conjunction of data available through

interviews with industry leaders to understand the relationship between digitalisation and firms

in Pakistan and a survey designed to analyse consumer behaviour. The survey was conducted

online via google forms and was circulated through social media platforms like Facebook and

WhatsApp. Both the interview and the survey were handled by the LCG team under the

leadership of its R&I Department. LCG corroborated all insights drawn through publicly

available data.

The survey instruments were designed based on

thorough literature analysis on survey design and the

digitalisation context. A pilot survey was run within

LCG to identify and remove any discrepancies within the

survey. The survey contained questions regarding

demographics, income, digital devices, access to the

internet, online transactions, industries with most online

transactions and issues with online transactions. All

responses were voluntary and remain anonymous. The

survey form can be accessed here.

Phase 1

•Problem breakdown

•Preliminary research

Phase 2

•Qualitative research

•Survey design

Phase 3

•Data collection

•Data cleaning

Phase 4

•Data analysis

•Report generation

Digitization DigitalizationDigital

transformation

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Sample Specifics

Firm Behaviour

The digital transformation discusses a business model motivated by "the changes associated

with the application of digital technology in all aspects of human society." It is executed as a

result of digitisation, i.e. the "ability to turn existing products or services into digital variants,

and thus offer advantages over tangible product." This digital transformation is a result of the

shift of the economy from a physical/brick-and-mortar to a digitally controlled economy where

digital technology plays a significant role in shaping the industry.

Technology has a powerful and growing impact on the economy as a whole. It increases

productivity and creates diversity. Moreover, it allows business models to transition to more

flexible production processes and effective ways of working and collaborating. Furthermore,

it allows greater mobility, and expedites decision-making and delivery, and supports higher

standardisation and customisation.1

Overall, in terms of digitalisation and information technology, Pakistan still lags far behind.

• In the Digital Evolution Index 2017, Pakistan was ranked 56th.

• According to the Huawei Global Connectivity Index evaluation of 50 countries back in

2016 Pakistan was 50th on the list.

• On the World Economic Forum's Networked Readiness Index, Pakistan is ranked at

110th.

• In the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) 2018, Pakistan ranks 148th.

• In the global connectivity index 2018, Pakistan is ranked 77th out of 79 countries

1 Pakistan needs digital transformation | daily times. https://dailytimes.com.pk/519332/pakistan-needs-digital-transformation/

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Subscribers

While Pakistan may not be an information

technology powerhouse, digitalisation is progressing

rapidly. Its IT industry falls in the top five net

exporters of the country. The reported FDI inflow in

the ICT sector (IT & Telecom) from July 2018 to

January 2019 is $114.4 million. In the last five years,

the services sector, which is now heavily powered by

e-commerce, fintech, and e-governance, contributed about 70% to the country's GDP growth.

Google's Head of Large Customer Marketing, South Asia, Lars Anthonisen has suggested

entrepreneurs consider the possibility of project and campaign expansion to Pakistan because

it's on its way to "produce one of the largest digital audiences in the world".2

"Promote the use of technology in education, health, agriculture and other key socio-economics

sectors. Encourage the use of ICT in public schools and ensure they are online and have a

meaningful impact on the current education eco-system in a phased manner" - Pakistan's first

ever digital policy announcement in 2018. The policy also extends further about both electronic

and mobile commerce, "Enhance the current market size of e/m-commerce. According to some

estimates, the market carries an enormous growth potential due to exponential growth in

broadband subscribers from 3.7 million in 2013 to over 44.3 million in 2017 and increasing.

With these growth trends projected to persist in the future, overseas investments will continue

to grow in e-commerce." The implementation of this policy was also observed through the

Election Commission of Pakistan's i-voting portal, allowing overseas Pakistanis to

vote in the elections through this portal.

• At the World Economic Forum in 2017, the chief

executive of Ebay recognised Pakistan as one of the

fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world.

• Pakistan's e-commerce market is worth 65

billion rupees

Digitalisation in Pakistan has allowed new economic models to emerge that have reshaped

business processes, creating a much more effective relationship between firms and consumers.

It has allowed the market for goods and services to extend to areas that still lack basic access

to business activities by overcoming physical barriers. Not only does this remove digital

divides that exist terrorrotially but also Digitalization has simplified business practices by

expanding access to marketplaces, replacing physical cash, and facilitating the processing and

delivery of orders over digital channels. Sectoral digitisation is extremely important in

establishing a modern, technology-led economy. The growing technologies in Pakistan help in

the advancing the digital transformation of industries and facilitating the development of new

solutions:

• Agriculture is one of the key sectors in Pakistan's economy. In 2017, Jazz in

collaboration with the GSMA and Farmerline, deployed last-mile digitisation solutions

for the dairy market.

• Branchless banking services (such as Telenor's Easypaisa and Ufone's UPaisa) have

proliferated, increasing financial inclusion in areas where banks have limited to no

2 One way or the other, the future is digital | https://www.dawn.com/news/1499342

3.7 million

44.3 million

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reach, and simplifying transactions and remittances between businesses and

consumers.

• In another key sector, transport, the National Highway Authority (NHA) launched an

app featuring two tools – 'Journey Planning and Interactive Maps' – to help commuters

plan trips. There has also been a sharp increase in the use of ride-hailing services such

as Careem and Uber.

• In the education sector, Telenor launched its "Internet Champion (iChamp)"

programme back in 2014 so students could gain a basic knowledge of mobile

technology. The second variant, iChamp2, was launched in 2017 to give students access

to 17 educational websites through a 4G connection by Telenor.3

The incumbent government has pursued the goal of digitising almost every sector of the

country's socio-economic sphere. According to the Annual Report 2017-18 of the State Bank

of Pakistan titled "Digitization of Services in Pakistan", the rapid digitisation in services,

commerce, fintech, businesses, consumer interaction, and e-government initiatives have

triggered a transformation in the country. The power of technology is explored for discovering

new possibilities to deliver efficient services to citizens. Online access has also made it more

convenient and cost-effective for the masses to avail of wide-ranging facilities.

The digital impact on the economy is by and large

significant. According to the Small and Medium

Enterprises (SMEs) development authority, about 90% of

Pakistan's businesses are SMEs, contributing a 40% share

in the country's annual gross domestic product.

Developments in the digital sector are broadly helping

SMEs reach more consumers and achieve maximum potential growth.

The finance industry has had a low client turnover for decades. New contenders like FinTech

start-ups are flooding the market with innovation and creativity, and customers are more

educated than ever. The use of new technologies in the financial institution is applied not just

for marketing but also for developing new business models and learning ways. Without

Financial Inclusion, there would be no digitalisation possible; the term is typically defined as

the proportion of individuals and firms that use financial services in a country. The following

statistics must be kept in mind while sketching a road map to increase financial inclusion in

Pakistan through digitalisation:

• The financial inclusion rate of Pakistan is 13.9%

• The digital inclusion rate is 13.1%

• Less than 18% of the adult population is registered with a financial institution.

• While 59.7% of the population has an awareness of mobile money, only 12.5% have

access to it.

However, organisations in Pakistan are embracing the technological revolution in the past few

years, the telecoms and financial sectors being amongst the topmost in the race. They are

pursuing financial inclusion, branchless banking, enhanced payment systems, more adoption

3 Pakistan: progressing towards a fully fledged digital economy | https://www.gsma.com/asia-pacific/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/24253-Pakistan-report-updates-LR.pdf

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of financial tools by more than 80% of the unbanked population, mobilisation and more digital

education. According to the report on Digital Financial Services (DFS) - Innovation Challenge

Facility by State Bank of Pakistan:

"It is estimated that the market potential

of Digital Finance services in Pakistan

will cross the US $36 Billion by 2025,

providing a 7% boost to the GDP,

creating 4 million new jobs and resulting

in US$ 263 Billion new deposits."

Post-COVID Trends in Digitalisation

Spotlight on the e-commerce and fintech industry

As reported by Tribune a leader in the e-commerce industry commented that 2020 is the year

in which more Pakistanis will adopt digital solutions.

"In 2020, the mindset of a majority of Pakistanis changed," he said. "Firstly, people started

taking digitalisation seriously and secondly, work from home became widely acceptable."

According to the State of Pakistan's Economy report 2019-2020, traffic surged by 15% across

the country as soon as the lockdown was imposed. In the Fiscal Year 2020, the fourth quarter

recorded the highest growth in internet data usage of 89%. Government institutions and the

central bank highly encouraged people to switch to digital methods and payment channels.

However, even though the trend in e-commerce and fintech

increased in 2020, it was still below expectations. Telemart Co-

founder and Director Hamza Abdul Rauf said, "A jump was surely

witnessed in digital payments on the platform. However, the traffic,

number of orders, registered items and sales grew at a much steeper

rate than electronic payments. "He added that Pakistan failed to lift

digital payments because they are mostly done via banks. Since the

consumers for commercial banks are low, the use of digital

payments is limited.4

He highlighted another issue with digital payments. Since banks charge 2.5%-3% duty per

transaction, called the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), e-commerce marketplaces do not

promote digital payments since it will affect their profits. Hence, many e-commerce platforms

list a limited number of banks, so customers are forced to pay in cash. For this, he suggested

that the banks should incentivise payments for 1-2 years and keep MDR to zero.

4 Pakistan embraces digitalisation in 2020. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2278669/pakistan-embraces-digitalisation-in-2020

Digital payments

Sales

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Priceoye.pk CEO Adnan Shaffi also stressed the need for digital wallets. "We have an outdated

banking system, and digital wallets are needed to give a boost to digitalisation," he said.

Without digital wallets, freelancers in Pakistan who used to receive payments in dollars from

abroad were offered poor conversion rates and so faced losses.5

Now, the State Bank of Pakistan has approved many digital wallets to begin operations in

Pakistan, which will boost freelancing in the country and eliminate the need for PayPal.

Problems

According to Parvez Iftikhar, an IT member of the PM's Task Force, Pakistan's most prominent

digital infrastructure problems are that optic fibre penetration is low. Moreover, many small

towns lack even mobile towers or 4G services. Additionally, since taxes on IT and the prices

of ICT equipment are incredibly high in Pakistan, the country experiences sluggish progress in

terms of digitalisation.

Agri-Tech in Pakistan

Agriculture accounted for almost one-fifth of Pakistan's

economy and 42% of the workforce in 2019. Yet, despite being

a substantial part of the economy, productivity in agriculture is

declining and so posing a threat to food security and the

economy.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that the

Internet of Things (IoT) can help increase agricultural

productivity by 70% by 2050. Moreover, Dr. Muhammad

Awais, a professor at LUMS, says that if IoT is brought to

Pakistan's smaller geography, farmers can have greater profits

and improved yields.

He added, "similarly, a gene-editing technique using Crispr has untapped potential for greater

crop productivity, enhanced nutritional value, reduced food wastage and climate resilience. In

Pakistan's context, small farmers are significantly more affected by insufficient information,

unpredictable weather changes, soil erosion, yield loss due to pests and insects, and increased

input and cultivation costs. Therefore, technology adoption is even more essential for the

transformation of agriculture. The use of high-yield crops resistant to disease, pests and adverse

weather conditions can potentially help alleviate poverty, conserve the environment and ensure

food security."6

5 Pakistan embraces digitalisation in 2020 | https://tribune.com.pk/story/2278669/pakistan-embraces-digitalisation-in-2020 6Need for innovation in agriculture - Newspaper - DAWN.COM. https://www.dawn.com/news/1573496

Agriculture share

of economy

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While many countries have experienced innovation in the agricultural sector, Pakistan lags far

behind. Despite heavy investment by the public sector for research, the commercialisation of

biotech crops doesn't seem to be occurring due to poor policy in the government.

Dr Yousuf Zafar, former chairman of the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC),

believes in adopting a more sustainable approach to agriculture. "We must adopt practices

involving sustainable use of our natural resources, allowing farmers to grow more with less.

Technologies such as laser land levelling, solar-powered high-efficiency irrigation systems,

smart water grids and drones need to be promoted for precision agriculture and higher

productivity. Leveraging drone technology in agriculture alone will enable farmers to increase

their productivity through improved pest management and increased precision owing to their

increasing applications, such as aerial mapping, plant health monitoring, soil analysis and weed

detection."

According to Dr. Zadar, the potential for digitalisation in the agriculture industry remains

vastly untapped due to the overarching legislative and policy framework which discourages

investment by the private sector in R&D. Moreover, the public sector lacks the necessary

financial resources to fund R&D. The adoption of technology has been slow, and Pakistan

severely lacks an environment to encourage innovation in Agri-Tech.

Currently, the government of Pakistan and the Higher Education

Commission are working on transferring technology for

agricultural development from China as part of CPEC.

Some start-ups that are working to bring innovation in the Pakistani Agri-Tech landscape

include Ricult (see case study), Cowlar, Peepu, and Pak Zar Zameen. Cowlar has received

$50K worth of funding and is working on digitising the process of monitoring dairy cows. They

produce smart non-invasive neck collars to measure the vitals and activity of each cow.

Moreover, Peepu, founded in 2019, operates a digital marketplace where farmers can sell their

produce online. Pak Zar Zameen, founded in 2018, facilitates farmers with the use of drone

technology, as suggested by Dr. Yousuf Zafar above. Additionally, their mobile application

"Kisan Zar Zameen" provides a health analysis of crops using satellite technology.

Tech transfer

Public Policy

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Case Study – Ricult Inc.

An Interview with Founder and CEO Usman Javaid

About Ricult

Ricult is a social enterprise that uses FinTech and

AgriTech based solutions to help smallholder

farmers in developing countries. Their website

highlights that Ricult has "7built an ecosystem in

which multiple players in the agricultural value

chain benefit from improved productivity and

profitability".

Usman's Take on Digitalization in Pakistan

Pakistan lags far behind in terms of digitisation of both public and private sectors. Governments

in countries like Bangladesh and Thailand took steps towards digitalisation by launching

projects such as Digital Bangladesh and a Digitalization Ministry. However, in Pakistan, there

has never been a push by the public or private sector. In order for digitalisation to occur, there

need to be some enablers present. Some of the biggest enablers in terms of infrastructure are

access to the internet and access to smartphones, which are not readily available in rural areas.

The quality of the internet is based on the number of

telecommunication towers covering an area. Since

telecommunication companies in Pakistan are primarily

focused on urban areas, there are very few towers in rural

areas hence leading to internet connectivity issues.

Moreover, telecommunication companies will continue

to focus on urban areas as they get greater returns on

investment from there as compared to rural areas.

Therefore, government initiatives are required to promote

investments in rural areas.

How Ricult Operates

Due to the lack of access to the internet and smartphones in rural areas, Ricult shifted focus its

primary focus from on a digital smartphone application to enabling local infrastructure (aarti,

schoolmasters, dealers, field agents) to provide information to farmers, without increasing

Ricult's physical footprint.

7 Ricult. https://www.ricult.com/

Public policy

Capital

Info

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Ricult monitors customer behaviour by collecting data from farmers and "farm-related

services". It then shares this data with banks and mills to help farmers avail loans for buying

crops.

In terms of marketing, Ricult is highly focused on digital

marketing to farmers who have access to smartphones and the

internet. Usman realised that physical advertisements do not

have the same "reach".

Ricult is not concerned with the location of its employees since

all communication occurs digitally via platforms like Slack and

Google Hangouts. This has been occurring before COVID-19; hence

the internal operations of the company were not affected by the

lockdown and the virus.

The company provides Customer Service via a complaint

option on their mobile application since they are not selling a

product per se.

Ricult's Impact

Using technology, Ricult has enabled 2.1 million acres of land to be digitised. This includes

documenting the farms' boundaries, monitoring farm owners, and using satellite imagery and

statistical data models to predict crop growth and yield.

Future Challenges

Currently, Ricult focuses on farmers who own smartphones and have access to the internet.

Usman believes a problem will arise when Ricult reaches saturation in this segment of farmers

(70-80%), and they would have to start reaching farmers without smartphones and the internet.

Low footprint

Digitization

Data analysis

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Consumer Behaviour

Survey Summary

The survey was used to analyse trends and patterns as part of the consumer behaviour analysis.

The level of trust in online platforms was arduously analysed, which yielded that 47.9% of the

respondents were still indecisive regarding their trust in online platforms. However, a very

interesting fact to note here is the remainder of the respondents slightly leaned more towards

expressing their trust in such platforms as compared to being distrustful, which may point

towards people gradually becoming more comfortable with using online platforms. Moreover,

Pakistani's are generally sceptical regarding the efficacy and originality of the products and

services they find online: a majority of the respondents who chose offline shopping to online

stated intangibility as their reason for preferring the former.

This points to a form of ingrained distrust embedded within residents of our society that they

would rather make the effort of time and transport consumption to buy something, rather than

conducting that same transaction online and saving time. This was also reflected by the survey

results, as when questioned regarding the main factors why consumers chose not to shop online,

60.8% stated the intangibility of the purchase as their reason, and 69.8% stated fear of fraud as

the main factor.

Another main factor is the lack of proper

knowledge and awareness to be able to conduct

such transactions on such platforms. Considering

the demographic of our population, our population

pyramid flattens more as we move downwards,

which means a greater youthful population of

millennials and Gen Z. However, due to the

crippling poverty statistics and lack of education

in many fringes of our society, we have a huge

chunk of our population who cannot even conduct

transactions online, let alone hefty monetary expenditures. The government released a report

in 2019-2020 where a series of centres for education and innovation were aimed to be

constructed nationwide within the next five years to assist these individuals with hidden talents

and provide an avenue for them to explore themselves and their interests.

Transportation Issues

Most online platforms ideally use a third-party transportation service to transport the product

from the business to the consumer. Historically, this mediational service has been subject to

gross mismanagement and the occasional blunders at times as well, whereby the product ends

up taking much longer to arrive at its destination than was originally promised, or a mix up on

the rider's end leads to further issues.

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Many people have also had to endure issues with

accepting the package, whereby the money is

always enquired prior to giving the product to the

consumer for confirmation. This leads to the

liability and burden of exchange and returns falling

completely on the shoulders of the consumer, who

then has to go through the prolonged

return/exchange process. Customer service for

when such issues arise is also a factor of negligence

which has added to the divide and distrust for

consumers.

The positive

Now talking about how consumers

today are being attracted towards

online platforms, the vast majority

of respondents depend upon either

recommendation from

family/friends or search engines to

find relevant products, therefore,

investing heavily on both online

and offline means for insights

about products. This indicates an ever-increasing reliance on online shopping/outlets for prices/

information /recommendations. These findings perfectly match up to the research conducted

by Ipsos and Quantum on Pakistani consumers:

"When they (Consumers) are more willing to do heavy research, product quality, accessibility,

and popularity are what matters most. And as they explore reviews, warranties, celebrity

endorsements, and in-store availability, they're more likely to be open to discovering new

brands and products."

It is therefore not surprising to note just how much

emphasis is given to digital advertising as well as

sponsorships through celebrity endorsements. With

numerous Pakistani Youtubers gaining millions of

subscribers on YouTube they are able to influence

the decisions of many undecided consumers

through featuring constant ads/ sponsorships and

promotions on their channels." Given that more

than half of Pakistani YouTube users say they've

seen ads that help them decide which product or

brands to buy, brands can experiment with tailored

videos to engage undecided shoppers".

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Macroeconomic Trends

The survey conducted by LCG

aimed to analyse how people

viewed Digitalization in

Pakistan to grow over the next

few years and beyond. Based

on the replies given by our

respondents, 74.1% did not

expect much out of their initial

experience with online platforms or were indifferent to what to expect. After having gone

through the experience, 87.7% felt their perceptions shift which goes to show how digital

platforms and services are misconstrued or negligently analysed in Pakistan.

Given the advent of the pandemic and the shifting ideals and preferences of the consumers,

many believe that the digital age is not far away for Pakistan. The respondents to the survey

conducted progressively believe that the next five years or so will bring about a tantamount

shift where people would be more comfortable and willing conducting their every day and, in

some cases, hefty monetary transactions online. 68.3% of the survey respondents are willing

to shift their mode of payments either completely or partially online over the next few years,

especially given the emerging fintech start-ups and the new innovative perks and services being

provided by banks across Pakistan.

When specifically questioned

regarding the shifts which respondents

believe will be witnessed in the next

five years, 81.3% feel that online

transactions would increase, and

84.7% consider their traditional habits

having been affected significantly by online facilities.

All these statistics and trends show that the future towards the mass expansion of digital

platforms is very viable and should precipice soon. However, to ensure that the traffic being

attracted remains, existing issues need to aptly be curtailed to cement the trust of the consumers

in the digital realm and platform.

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Employment

Despite certain negative trends where Pakistan lacks behind the South Asian average in terms

of mobile internet penetration with 24% compared to the South Asian average of 33%;

however, there have been positive trends that indicate that Pakistan is moving towards a full-

fledged digital economy, and even the public sector is beginning to realise the massive potential

that Pakistan can unlock by putting greater emphasis on the digital realm. The unprecedented

growth in the Freelance market in Pakistan over the previous years is a testament to the fact

that Pakistan has a relatively untapped potential in the Digital markets.

Pakistan ranks 3rd in the world in terms of the amount of technical labour purveyed for online

services. Furthermore, "Software development and technology were the most sought-after

occupations" This is largely owing to the constant efforts to increase internet availability in

remote areas of Pakistan and the constant efforts of Private organisations and NGOs to equip

individuals in far-flung areas with proper skill sets and empowering them to generate revenue

streams for themselves. One prime example of this being Abacus consulting: "United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information

Technology Board (KPITB) have collaborated with Abacus Consulting to train and educate the

youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" providing a range of courses including Big Data analytics and

Microsoft Azure (MCSD: Web Applications).

Due to such measures, a significant portion of the population that otherwise did not have access

to training, infrastructure or even proper communication with the outside world is able to

actively overcome these barriers and actively earn a living through the multiple freelancing

sites that operate in Pakistan. This influx of freelancing agents across different fields has

accelerated Pakistan's freelancing market growth and made it an attractive market for countless

international firms to outsource their projects/tasks. The potential for growth and Revenues

from freelancing has peaked Government interest in this industry as well. "A freelance

Information Technology (IT) hub, a project worth PKR 35 million, has been established by the

government of Pakistan in Rawalpindi." It has been set up to facilitate the IT sector and provide

better employment prospects for the youth.

Therefore, with a promising Freelancing industry, increasing Government support to rapidly

digitalise different sectors of the economy and greater availability of the Internet across

Pakistan, a proper transition to a strong digital economy seems more realistic day by day.

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Conclusion

Digitalisation has not been the

government priority in Pakistan. Despite

that, digitalisation may be the boost that

the Pakistani economy has needed.

While Pakistan lags behind the world in

terms of digitalisation, the growth that

has been noticed in the past few years

shows a promising future. Consumers

believe that digitalisation will play a

more significant role in e-commerce in

the future. At the same time, digitalisation has allowed many Pakistanis to gain meaningful

employment when finding employment has been hard in the country. Industries have begun to

evolve to the threat that digitalisation places on the current status quo. Many start-ups have

disrupted the financial sphere and have secured a place for themselves for the foreseeable

future. The emergence of start-ups has caused increased competition leading to more

innovation in the industry they are present in. However, this innovation is limited to a few

sectors of the economy as most start-ups are focused within a few sectors. Agriculture, one of

Pakistan's largest economic sectors, has the least innovation as there is not enough competition

to drive innovation. Effective policy creation and management from the government are

needed to maintain if not sustainably improve digitalisation in the country.

•Increased competition

•InnovationFirms

•Shifting preceptions

•Increasing salesConsumers

•Technical labour

•Youtube and social media influencersJob seekers

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The team

Mahnoor Hasnain Ahmad

Mahnoor is a junior at Lahore University of Management

Science pursuing a major in Management Science. She’s

working as the Director of Research and Insights at LCG with

the purpose of executing research projects, conducting

podcasts, and managing other research-oriented activities.

She loves poetry and can give a motivational talk any time,

any day.

Mohammad Mubariz Ali Wahla

Mubariz is a sophomore at Lahore University of Management

Sciences pursuing a major in Economics. As part of the

Human Resource Management team Mubariz works on

various projects like People’s analytics. Most of his free time

is spent on finding new ways to visualize data. When he's not

crunching numbers Mubariz can be found doing crunches in

the gym where he also likes to engage in "deep" conversations

with the bros.

Maheen Nadeem

Maheen is a junior at Lahore University of Management

Sciences pursuing a double major in Economics and Political

Science. She is a consultant and serves as the Director

Operations at LCG. She manages all the cash inflows and

outflows for LCG. She is a neat freak who likes to be

organized and has a particular interest in statistics and data

analysis.

https://lcg.lums.edu.pk lcg@lums.edu.pk 17

Muhammad Sumraiz

Sumraiz is a freshman currently studying Management

sciences at Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Being part of the marketing department, he works on

attaining sponsor ships, and developing the untapped field of

Meme marketing. When he isn't involved in society or

academic work, he is busy creating digital content (memes).

Muhammad Faaiz Aman

Faaiz is currently a Sophomore at Lahore University of

Management Sciences and hopes (read: dreams) to major in

Econ Math. During his time at LCG, he has worked

diligently with the Learning and Development team to

deliver workshops on Surveys and Market Research, while

working on guidebooks to facilitate other colleagues. He is

a huge Suits fan and loves to socialize with like-minded

individuals.