Global Soccer Venture and NED University Sign A USD12 Million Agreement

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NED University of Engineering & Technology (NED) and Global Soccer Ventures (GSV) have reached an agreement to build Pakistan's first soccer city stadium in Karachi over a 10-year period with a total investment of USD12 million.

The speculation surrounding Pakistan's much-anticipated soccer city comes to an end as the year 2022 commences with the signing of an iconic landmark stadium contract between GSV and NED University. The state-of-the-art stadium will be influenced and developed by German engineering to construct a series of football infrastructure projects in Karachi by GSV.

With a $12 million USD investment, Karachi will get a spectacular asset in the form of a new exciting sports stadium setting in its cityscape. It will not only provide FIFA international playing conditions but will also provide a memorable football experience for spectators and young talents, as well as a slew of commercial and innovation prospects for sponsors which never previously available in Pakistan's sports.

The soccer city will be built on the pulse of youth, mirroring the success of the college football growth model in the United States. GSV's strategy is to find and develop players at the appropriate age while pursuing their studies, which is a priority for Pakistani parents, and so provide alternative careers as a hotspot of potential in football on and off the ground.

Dr. Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi, Vice-Chancellor, NED University of Engineering and Technology said: “NED is world-renowned for being at the cutting edge of technology and science in its educational curriculum so why not football. It is a vision that only GSV can bring to life.  I have seen the science and evolution of football on offer and it will be a major transformation for football in Pakistan”.

Chairman GSV Yasir Mahmood said: “It is time Pakistan rediscovers itself in football infrastructure offering the much-needed professional and world-class facilities.  This flagship soccer city at NED will entice other cities or institutes to come forward and become part of GSV’s football legacy offering the best in technology, science, and football training all under one roof”.

Michael Owen said: “There is nothing more important than having a home and away fans in football stadiums.  This investment will not only ignite inter-city football rivalry but will also become the future of football development all over Pakistan with sports science at the forefront offering international opportunities”.

Zabe Khan, CEO of GSV said: “We are the foundation of a sports revolution in Pakistan with soccer city being our flagship show-stopper.  The ideology here is that we don’t want to tell people of our dreams we want to show them, so we build it, fans come and get fanatical about our players in Pakistan’s very own theatre of dreams to display their talent ”

A detailed press announcement and reveal of Pakistan’s first-ever soccer city is to be made by end of January 2022 by Michael Owen and a star-studded celebrity line up with the very first images and 3D virtual video of the stadium being unveiled as a new year’s gift to Pakistan – so stay tuned to GSV.

#FootballHoga 

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Karachi Eat Is Back With A Bang!

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The seventh edition of the biggest eat festival – Karachi Eat 2020 is back with a bang. This year, there are more than 100 eateries to tempt foodies. The three-day festival will give a chance to food lovers to taste sweet, savory and delicious food till 12^th January at the Beach View Park.

The 100 plus food stalls are set up by big multinationals to startups or home-based businesses. Keeping in mind the haphazard of previous experiences, the organizers are more precautious and have made some changes to accommodate the crowd. There are clear signs for directions, entry, and exit to avoid the rush.

The eateries will include Chipseez, (introducing their signature Beetroot, Sweet Potato, Potato Chips), Zoya’s Kitchen giving Cannoli (Italian pastries) and Lemon Grass, introducing Crying Tiger, Rigos ice cream, Churrosity will have Churro Hot Dog, Cloud Naan will have Chicken Naan, Spicogetti will introduce their new starter Chic ‘N’ Cheese Spaghetti along with signature Khausa, Singaporean Rice and Wrappeite will give you Bread Bowl Lasagna.

Some very distinctive titles will also be at Karachi eat 2020. These will include Drty Dogs, Khichdi Express, Brew Factory, Abid Chatkhara, Punjabi Dhaba, Arabi’s, Clucky’s, Lemon Grass, Leena’s Cevapi, Burger Boss, and D’oh.

Following are some picks from Karachi Eat 2020 that you must try out,

Made Easy

For a yummy sweet dessert, visit Made Easy stall by National Food Ltd. Here you will find the tasty Royal Falooda. Made Easy is also offering delectable Bun sliders with a unique filling made up of Nihari, Karhai, and Tika Boti. Their other items include Chullu kebab and other BBQ wraps Scene on chaat Lebanese magmour and Kachori. You can win a Free biryani on a digital game at the stall.  

Ice Cream by Rigos

Select the base of ice cream asper your choice and Rigos will add two gold flakes.

Brew Factory

As the Karachi is witnessing extra windy weather, the Brew factory’s coffee is favourite among the foodies.

Khichdi Express

This traditional food stall is offering yummy dishes including the khichdi, poppadoms, bhagaray baingan, khattay aloo, chutney, etc.

Delina

Don’t forget to try their latest addition, the Hot Mess dessert. Taste the unique taste of Lotus crumble, layers of caramel sauce, cream and cake all covered in a delicious sauce made from condensed milk.

2 Guys 1 Grll

If you are a fan of typical Chicken and Beef Burger than this 2 Guys 1 Grll is the place for you at Karachi Eat 2020.

The Nugget Town

Who can resist nuggets? Yes, no one can! The Nugget Town is offering crispy nuggets with Korean sauce, served with mac and cheese. A taste that you will remember.

Khan Haleem

You have heard about Matka Biryani and Matka Chai but this is something new. Khan Haleem will serve you their hot Haleem in a matka with a savory topping.

The above mentioned are some of the picks from the eat festivals. There are numerous others as well that you should try. 

On Sunday, the festival will be open for the public from 12:30pm to 10:30pm.

The Ticket costs Rs450. 

Happy eating! 

Photo: Web 

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Swvl, An App-Based Bus Hailing Service Launched In Karachi

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The Egyptian firm expands its operations further in Pakistan and launched its services in metropolitan city Karachi. 

Swvl is the first of its kind app-based bus hailing innovator, announced an investment of $25 million in Pakistan by mobilizing half a million Pakistanis by 2023. The investment plan will create around ten thousand jobs a year. 

After the successful launch in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the new bus service expands its services for another big city, Karachi. At the moment, the country's largest city has the meager infrastructure and deteriorating public service facilities from the government. So, the Swvl will be welcomed by Karachiites as it will provide comfortable and safe transport at an affordable price. 

The Swvl is also planning to start an incubator to fund pre-seed startups to kickstart a healthy tech ecosystem in Pakistan. Moreover, the company plans to open an offshore support and engineering office in Pakistan. 

The bus-hailing service, Swvl claims to be a convenient, reliable and affordable transport solution with an aim to revolutionize people's lifestyles including transportation by running busses on fixed routes that users can book seats in through the Swvl app.   

Swvl provides an air-conditioned top-notch bus hailing service for just Rs20 through its app which uses the person’s location and destination to determine the shortest possible trip time based on the nearest bus stop. 

The Swvl app is now available for both the android and ios app users. SWVL also aims to give women a safe and comfortable ride and enable women to reclaim public space by mobilizing them through safe and sound travel options.

Mostafa Kandil,  the founder of Swvl said, "We are also planning to start an incubator to fund pre-seed startups to kickstart a healthy tech ecosystem in Pakistan. Moreover, the company plans to open an offshore support and engineering office in Pakistan.”  

“Currently we have introduced 13- and 22-seater vans and Coasters but it doesn’t end here. The buses and vehicles would grow gradually as well as their capacity. We have close to 100 routes in Karachi alone,” said Shahzeb Memon of Swvl Pakistan. 

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Review - Beauty & You Created Beautiful Moments For Karachiites

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Not many events happening in my city are women oriented. So, whenever there is an opportunity to attend an event particularly organized for women and their families, I always mark my calendar to attend it.

Recently, I was lucky enough to be invited to an event that focused on beauty, fashion, makeup, tips. It was organized in the spacious Global Marquees by Cool and Cool. The three-day-long, starting from 24^th to 26^th April, Beauty & You event got tremendous appreciation from women. It was Pakistan’s first ever beauty event covering women’s interest areas. 

Through Beauty & You expo platform, Cool and Cool gave an opportunity to several brands such as Shower Scents, Jennifer’s, Make-Up City and Hemani to display their products at the event. The jewelry stalls caught special attention of ladies. 

There were three makeup masterclasses by well-known artist including Masarrat Misbah, Nadia Hussain and Angie Marshall. These makeup classes were free of cost and covered the new tips and tricks of latest make-up trends. The bridal makeup were the highlights of the event. A large number of women attended these classes on all three days.

The event also set-up a huge food-court with delicious pizza, burger, chaat, rolls, juices, cold drinks stalls. The food brands included Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts, Chatkhaar and Naurus serving up tasty sandwiches and slushies. There was also a play area for children.

In case, you have missed this opportunity of attending the Beauty and You expo, I would say DO Not WORRY!

Yes, don’t be sad, because the winter edition is on the way; happening on the 7th, 8th and 9th of December 2018.

So, until then Chao :) 

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The Bloggers' Meet-Up Of The Town

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It was a warm evening of anticipation. Yes that is the word. Brands have a natural pull and people want to show up at their events to learn about them. What is the charm of showing up at a meet up?

I had the same question in mind when i was debating with myself on forming a meet-up. It would always come down to, ' it's a meeting, don't overthink it.' But a small event was making me nervous. I still think it was more than just nerves. It was a question on how our dynamics as part of a group and the city work. As social animals we are inclined to socialize but as Karachiites we have a different social order to things or rather we have developed a different social order. We speculate and we judge. A lot sometimes, leading to the eventual break down of intentions and promises.

Let's take an example. From my personal life. I love attending the Plant Show that happens every year on Sea-view. It helps me see the diversity and I was looking forward this year to buying a lot of succulents. But... It was largely disappointing. The variety had gone down and so had the pull of the exhibit. 

Photo: Agri Tourism Development Corporation of Pakistan

Would i go next year? Maybe but not with so much jubilation especially since there was such an exorbitant price ticket on the entrance which used to be virtually free with a large footfall.

Array Of Flowers At The Plant Show

I wondered if my meet-up would have the same fate? Fizzling and dying out eventually. 'Overthinking' again. Let's face it. Technology changes and so does the way we do business but outreach and the way businesses have created an outreach hasn't changed. That is alarming.

Marketing is still being ruled by age old concepts of large bill boards and advertising space on TV channels. Huge marketing budgets are set for viewership. Content marketing and distribution is in its nascency. We still believe in standing out from the crowd by being the bold and the beautiful. We still have problem mixing and having a conversation to get our message across. The bold and the beautiful stance requires 1 lac rupees (a conservative figure). The same amount spent on a content marketing mix would reach more people and more conversions would ensue. But then that’s just my point of view.

Bloggers enjoying the event

The days went by and finally came the day of the meet-up. Meeting with bloggers was comforting in one way. They wanted such a space to survive. They wanted to meet and know more. They want to grow their businesses. Whether for sake of having a conversation or just to get out of their hectic work routines, such a space gave them a breather. The reasons were different but it seemed to grow on them. Apart from some logistics issues no one had issues with a space. K-Town found supporters and it was live.

If you are wondering, will there be another meet-up? 

Yes, definitely. Actually, it’s just around the corner. Do join us and let’s get the conversation going. 

Want to know what happened? Read here all the details.

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Event Coverage - Blue Band Margarine And Special Olympics Pakistan Organized Both Buddy & Me Race

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Blue Band Margarine with collaboration of Special Olympics Pakistan organized a one of its kind event Both Buddy & Me race to bring inclusion towards differently-abled children to create awareness about inclusive society.

Blue Band Pakistan, the leading spreads brand for over 25 years, launched its campaign ‘Achai Barhnay Do’ this year with the aim to create an inclusive environment for children. As an advocate of children’s growth and development, Blue Band aims to reinforce the importance of social inclusion for parents, guardians to teach children the idea removing barriers for differently-abled kids through Achai Barhnay Do initiative.

Society puts a lot of focus on child’s health and well being which is imperative, however, often the most important lessons of empathy and acceptance that are essential for character building are missed. 

Blue Band Pakistan not only started the conversation about inclusion, but made an effort by joining hands with Special Olympics Pakistan for organising the ‘Both Buddy & Me’ race at Beach Luxury Hotel. The race was conducted at Pakistan’s largest inflatable race course where kids were paired up in a buddy system with differently abled kids to finish the obstacle course together as a team. This helped bring the kids closer, whilst reducing barriers for differently abled kids through an opportunity to showcase their skills in sports and games. 

The race hosted a crowd of over a thousand people which included many celebrities with their families namely Syra Shahroz, Nida Yasir, Shahroz Sabzwari, Zhalay Sarhadi, Shaista Lodhi, Sunita Marshall, Amma Sheikh, YBQ, Muznah Ibrahim, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohib Mirza, Amna Malik, Faysal Qureshi, Salman Sheikh and Hira, and Hassan Ahmed. The race was hosted by Faizan Haque with special performances by Khaled Anam and Asim Azhar.

Director Foods & Refreshment Unilever, Farheen Salman said, “This event not only brought the topic of inclusion to the forefront, but also provided the start of an actionable and meaningful movement about character development. Children are the future and we need to make every effort to nurture an environment where people of all abilities feel safe, included and accepted and are given a chance to participate to create a more tolerant and well-rounded Pakistan.”

Founder Special Olympics Pakistan Ronak Lakhani expressed her appreciation for Blue Band’s initiative, ‘This event has been a step towards spreading awareness. It helped us celebrate inclusion and spread the goodness. Achai Barhnay Do.’

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EFU Life's Meri Shaan Mera Pakistan Launched To Celebrate Spirit Of Patriotism

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The Aga Khan Park Walls Adorned With Meri Shaan Mera Pakistan Wall-Art

EFU Life, the top life insurance provider in Pakistan, has launched a matchless CSR initiative ‘”Meri Shaan Mera Pakistan” to reclaim the public spaces through decent wall art. 

The inauguration ceremony took place at Aga Khan Park with the unveiling of the wall by commissioner Ejaz Ahmed Khan who also commended the collaborative effort, stated, 

‘Such beautification projects are essential for enhancing the aesthetic aspect of the city.  Aga Khan Park is the third project that we have collaborated on with EFU Life. Other corporate entities must come forward and take a disciplined approach to CSR initiatives. I urge all stakeholders to join hands with the administration to bring back colors to the city of light.’

Commissioner Karachi Ejaz Ahmed Khan Talking To Media

EFU Life has partnered with ‘Abdoz Arts’. The company inaugurated ‘Meri Shaan Mera Pakistan’ in 2016 on Pakistan’s Independence Day, and after the successful completion of two wall at Ayesha Manzil and NCC Sports Complex in Karachi, , the Company has now extended this campaign to a third location, the Aga Khan Park, Garden East.

Read Karachi's Wall Art Shows Spirit Of Meri Shaan Mera Pakistan to have idea about the efforts put into this wall art campaign.

The colourful painting work displayed at park walls rejoices the spirit of patriotism, and depicts the rich cultural heritage of Pakistan. Celebrating the cultural diversity of its people and yet unified under the nation’s flag is the main underlying theme. It marvelously removed some of the wall chalking and political negativity spread on city walls.

Commissioner Karachi Ejaz Ahmed Khan and Taher G. Sachak, MD & CEO, EFU Life

Speaking at the launch Mr.Taher G. Sachak, MD & CEO, EFU Life said ‘I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Ejaz Ahmed Khan, Commissioner Karachi and his team for their support, and commitment in partnering with us to make this project a success.’

He emphasized that we as Pakistanis need to take ownership and responsibility for our country. There is a lot that we need to be proud of, and it’s important to bring forward the positive mind-set about our rich cultural heritage especially in the youth today. What makes this campaign truly unique is not only the underlying message of patriotism, but the involvement of the youth, with active participation from the students of different universities to execute the project. 

He also added, that the company is further exploring avenues of executing such projects in other parts of the country. 

Check out some of the glimpses of Aga Khan Park's wall art:

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