Unilever and Telenor partner to enhance digital inclusion in Pakistan

F.P. Report

KARACHI: Unilever has joined hands with Telenor Pakistan to enable digital and financial inclusion in Pakistan through mainstream access to  digitalized retail services, digital financial solutions, digital products and skill enhancement across Pakistan.

Through this collaboration, both companies will integrate their expertise in the telecom and consumer goods industries to build a digitally inclusive ecosystem.

This partnership aims to reimagine how business should be run, harnessing the power of technology and big data to bring convenience and security for retailers and create seamlessly integrated shopping experience for consumers.

Together, the two companies aim to introduce cashless payment models, transform small and medium retailers access to financial capital, identify and generate livelihood and elevate standard of living in less accessible and remote areas.

As socially responsible organizations, both Unilever and Telenor Pakistan have also committed to building a platform to bring differently abled workforce into mainstream roles and to promote a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Shazia Syed, Chairperson & CEO, Unilever Pakistan, highlighted, “The merger of our expertise promises a highly disruptive and scalable approach for the accelerated digitization of Pakistan. In line with the government’s vision for a more digital economy, we aim to empower all those who are part of our value chain, including distributors, sellers, consumers and ultimately the larger communities that we work in.”

Irfan Wahab Khan, Head of Emerging Asia & CEO Telenor Pakistan, added, “As country’s leading digital services provider, Telenor Pakistan is fully geared to impact and transform various sectors of economy and empower the masses. Through our partnerships with Unilever, we aim to bring together our respective strategic advantages to lay the ground for a digitally and socially inclusive Pakistan, which is in line with our purpose of connecting people to what matters most to them.  We believe in the value of collaborative business models which is instrumental for the rapid adoption of innovative technologies and a faster shift towards a digitally-enabled national infrastructure to cater to those needs.

Amir Paracha, Vice President Customer Development, Unilever Pakistan, concluded: “Our goal is to create smarter end-to-end digitally enabled retail ecosystem that has the potential to reshape the way businesses operate within the country. The success of this collaboration could propel Pakistan at par with global standards with regards to digital adoption.

Sardar Abubakr, Chief Digital and Strategy Officer, Telenor Pakistan added “In today’s age, there is a need to look outside our traditional lens when we think of partnerships – real disruption for customer benefit often takes place when like-minded yet different industries come together and leverage unique skill sets and competencies for empowering society – which is precisely Telenor and Unilever’s aim with this partnership’.