By Rafiq Vayani
KARACHI: ACCA Pakistan hosted the Pakistan Leadership Conversation (PLC) 2018 in Karachi on March 22, 2018. Pakistan Leadership Conversation is a critical forum for thought leaders to discuss important policy issues and in turn develop an actionable agenda to drive economic growth.
This year the conversations in Karachi were held around the theme, ‘Collective vision for an Emerging Pakistan’ and these conversations are aimed to shape the future of the society and economy in Pakistan.
Two panel discussions were conducted in Karachi. The conference topics included; i) Embracing digital age & ethics: harnessing financial inclusion ii) Innovation and ERM: nurturing Pakistan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The chief guest for the conference was Riaz Riazuddin – Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan and he spoke on Ethics, Technology, Disruption, and Connectivity – An Emerging Pakistan.
Our panelists/conversation leaders were representatives from leading organisations in Pakistan with keen interest in the development agenda of the country. The keynote speaker addressing the topic ‘Embracing digital age & ethics: harnessing financial inclusion’ was Nasim Beg – Chief Executive Officer, Arif Habib Limited. This keynote speech was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Khurram Shahid – Portfolio Manager, Acumen Fund and the panelists included Zeeshan Shahid, Partner Deloitte Yousuf Adil Chartered Accountants, Dr. Inayat Hussain – Executive Director, State Bank of Pakistan, Muzzammil Aslam – CEO, EFG Hermes Pakistan Limited, Shehzad Chamdia – Director, Pakistan Stock Exchange and Shaikh Salman, Partner Ernst & Young Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder.
This was followed by a compelling discussion on Innovation and risk management: How to support the start-up culture?. The keynote speaker Khawaja Tanveer Saleem – Chief Information Officer, Engro Corporation Limited highlighted that the government as well as private entities are taking a keen interest towards boosting the entrepreneurial environment in the country. He attributed this to the increase in the number of smartphone users and internet penetration across the country. This was followed by a panel discussion and the panelists included Syed Amir Ali – SEVP & Group Head, Corporate & Investment Banking, Meezan Bank Limited, Khawaja Tanveer Saleem – Chief Information Officer, Engro Corporation Limited, Syed Muhammad Shabbar Zaidi – Territory Senior Partner & Chairman, A. F. Ferguson & Co. Chartered Accountants, Naved Hashmi – Director Finance Excellence, Unilever Pakistan Limited, Shazad Dada – CEO, Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited and Ibrahim Kasumbi – Advisor & former Senior Vice President, Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Sajjeed Aslam, Head of ACCA Pakistan said at the conference, “ACCA is known to be a strong champion of public value – acting in the public interest, promoting ethical businesses and growing economies. Sessions like these reflect ACCA’s commitment to knowledge sharing and capacity building. Pakistan ACCA Members have committed to drive 7% GDP growth. This would bring increase ranking of Pakistan in top 50 for ease of doing business and global competitiveness index in next 5 years by collaborating with government and private sector.”
