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Portuguese tech agency S4 Digital acquires 70% stake in Pakistan’s Bramerz

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Portugal-based enterprise and know-how agency S4 Digital introduced on Friday that it had acquired a 70% stake in Pakistan’s digital advertising and promoting agency Bramerz for an undisclosed quantity.

A day earlier, S4 Digital introduced acquisition of a majority stake in Karachi-based HR Methods, an HR outsourcing firm. Between the 2 firms, S4 Digital could be making a multi-million greenback (however in need of double-digit hundreds of thousands) funding into Pakistan. 

The acquisition marks the top of a climactic journey for Bramerz marked by stiff competitors from conventional advertising and promoting firms, and the start of a brand new one. Based in 2006 by Badar Khushnood, Amer Sarfaraz and Zeeshan Saleem, Bramerz was an early entrant in Pakistan’s digital companies market and has since bootstrapped its operations, reaching revenues working in hundreds of thousands of {dollars}.

On this journey, the digital advertising and promoting agency has misplaced a few of the main shoppers it labored with, reminiscent of PepsiCo and CocaCola. This was as a result of the rise in digital spending at companies lured conventional advertising and promoting companies with higher monetary muscle and trade contacts to chop proper into the market share of newage companies reminiscent of Bramerz. 

Consequently, Bramerz turned its focus in direction of offering companies to small- and medium-sized companies. After the acquisition, Bramerz and its associate at the moment are seeking to speed up their presence in Pakistan and regain that misplaced market share. 

However above all, the brand new house owners and outdated founders, who personal the remaining 30% within the firm and will likely be round as managers, are planning to leverage the presence of S4 Digital to supply Bramerz merchandise in world markets. 

Taking Bramerz world

There are two features of the Bramerz deal: one is the product the place Bramerz comes into play and the opposite is the hardcore software program and technological experience of S4 Digital to make the Bramerz merchandise higher and supply them in European, Center Japanese, African and American markets. 

“Bramerz has two very very sturdy merchandise: one is the Fishry eCommerce platform and the opposite one is Publishrr resolution for media and content material administration options. We are able to take these applied sciences and implement them globally,” says Amir Khan of S4 Digital.  

Khan is a associate at S4 Digital the place he additionally serves because the EVP (govt vp) of world supply. The corporate was based in January 2021 by him and different associates as a subsidiary to S4 World which holds 70% shareholding within the firm. The corporate appears to have grown actually rapidly, making sufficient cash to hold out three acquisitions in a yr’s time. 

Apart from the 2 in Pakistan, S4 Digital has earlier acquired a Portuguese tech agency. The remaining 30% of S4 Digital is owned by Lisbon-based know-how firm, Bravantic Group, which has an intercontinental presence and serves large shoppers within the monetary companies, power, healthcare, schooling and telecommunication industries. 

It’s precisely this presence of S4 Digital and Bravantic Group that will give Bramerz the entry to supply Fishry and Publishrr merchandise in different markets. 

“We’d even be accelerating Fishry in Pakistan. We’re going to make important additions, enhancing the product and investing in advertising. We’d principally be investing for extra market share,” says Khan.  

From Bramerz’s perspective, too, this suits proper into their plans as Khushnood tells us. “The intersection of promoting and know-how is what Bramerz brings to the desk. It’s one thing that may assist S4 and their shoppers as properly. Whereas S4 is a hardcore tech firm from which we are able to profit,” he says. 

“All three co-founders are of non-tech backgrounds and now as know-how will get extra sophisticated and sophisticated, the repurposing and replatforming of our merchandise wants extra refined tech and structure. That’s the place S4 Digital’s expertise involves the desk and that’s one thing different companies may also observe.” 

The acquisition additionally notes a nice divergence from enterprise capital investments, and presents strategic investments as the choice to VC funding, which is presently working dry. Regardless of being round for many years, Bramerz has shunned VC funding even when it was in abundance. Based on Khushnood, VC might be not the perfect funding for each use case. “I believe established traders can profit the bigger trade extra in our case.”



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Navigating the Indolj “Safety Breach”: Separating truth from fiction

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In at present’s digital period, the very thought of a safety breach could cause extreme consternation. So one can think about the priority when on September 20, there have been information studies of an information breach at Indolj, a Pakistani restaurant expertise supplier. Particularly, native media retailers reported {that a} pattern database of consumers who use Indolj had been compromised – and extra worryingly, that this database contained the shoppers’ private and fee info of consumers. What really occurred? Revenue finds out.

The incident at Indolj

Indolj is a commission-free on-line ordering system and meals ordering app that helps eating places cater to their clients’ meals orders. It additionally supplies all-in-one expertise options for eating places, together with web sites with on-line ordering, POS, digital menu boards and digital advertising and marketing.

On September 20, Revenue acquired a pattern database that was allegedly promoting knowledge of roughly 2.2 million Indolj clients. This similar database was acquired by different media retailers, equivalent to GEO Information, which reported on the subject on September 20, and ProPakistani, which reported on it two days later. The database included the names of consumers, their e-mail addresses, their telephone numbers, together with different info. 

Revenue carried out an evaluation to confirm the authenticity of the knowledge leaked. This was completed by contacting a pool of round 30 clients whose particulars have been talked about. We have been in a position to affirm the names and numbers of those clients; nevertheless, roughly solely 15 e-mail addresses matched those within the database. 

Whereas it had been initially claimed that clients’ bank card info had additionally been breached, there was no proof of this within the database. Moreover, the bodily addresses of consumers have been additionally not current within the pattern knowledge, which implies that there is no such thing as a affirmation of that individual knowledge being leaked. 

Revenue spoke to each Indolj’s CEO Saad Jandga, and Wah Manufacturers CEO Athar Chawla, who has intently labored with Indolj and used their companies for his manufacturers. Each people confirmed that particulars just like the names and telephone numbers of any buyer registered are frequent and often obtainable. Each additionally stated that anybody with a cellular quantity receives quite a few promotional and advertising and marketing calls every day, so this isn’t one thing that folks ought to panic about. 

Breaching into the methods and leaking delicate buyer knowledge is uncommon, nevertheless, “such unethical practices are sometimes carried out by rivals, when a platform is rising,” Chawla stated.

He added the report’s use of fabricated knowledge equivalent to some e-mail addresses and telephone numbers doesn’t present any proof of Indolj’s delicate knowledge being compromised.

Jangda reiterated the platform doesn’t require clients to supply delicate knowledge. He additionally stated the workforce acquired the database across the similar time as everybody else did and took speedy motion. They carried out an evaluation to confirm the info themselves, in addition to with their purchasers, which confirmed that solely a small fraction (roughly 5%) matched the info on the safe back-end database.

“This inconsistency raises severe doubts in regards to the authenticity of the reported knowledge breach,” Saad advised this newspaper.

What about clients’ bank card info?

Indolj is a service supplier that doesn’t require any buyer to avoid wasting their bank card info. Nevertheless, the eating places that use the platform’s companies and supply a web based fee choice to their clients use a fee gateway. These are supplied both by Foree, Financial institution Alfalah or HBL. Jangda stated Indolj doesn’t retailer any knowledge as funds are made by way of the gateway portal alone. This was confirmed by safety skilled Rafay Baloch, who stated Indolj will not be Fee Card Business Information Safety Normal (PCI DSS) compliant. Solely PCI compliant corporations can retailer knowledge. 

“Indolj customers enter their bank card info each time except the portal asks them to avoid wasting the knowledge. Even in that case, the knowledge will not be with Indolj,” Saad said.

“The report features a bank card column, however Indolj by no means shops fee info, making any declare of bank card knowledge leakage unattainable,” Chawla stated, additional stating that an OTP is requested from customers each time a web based fee is made on their eating places.

On this case, bank card numbers weren’t included within the database. Even when they’d been included, a person must additionally know a buyer’s pin, together with the bank card data to make a transaction. The possibility of fraud will increase when each the bank card quantity and pin can be found.

What does it imply to be PCI Compliant? 

It implies that your methods are safe, lowering the probabilities of knowledge breaches. Retailers and fee service suppliers (PSPs) dealing with card knowledge should preserve PCI compliance. It encompasses technical and operational requirements that companies should adhere to to guard cardholders’ bank card knowledge throughout processing. Being PCI compliant, a service provider must bear rigorous safety measures and audits to make sure knowledge safety.

How severe is that this safety breach? 

Our evaluation exhibits that breach will not be so severe as no delicate knowledge has been leaked. It’s because retailers who should not PCI compliant don’t retailer delicate info. 

What’s being completed? 

Indolj has stated that it has strong safety measures and is constantly updating its safety protocols to keep away from such threats sooner or later. Moreover, the service supplier is pursuing authorized motion by way of FIA Cyber Crime to carry these chargeable for this incident accountable. They’ve additionally engaged licensed safety consultants to research this additional.



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Pakistan’s on-line jobs advertiser Rozee launches freelancing platform Azadee

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Pakistan’s on-line jobs platform Rozee.com right now introduced the launch of an indigenous feelancing platform for Pakistani professionals, known as Azadee. 

Rozee constructed this platform on the again of what they are saying are a ten million expert professionals and freelancers on the Rozee platform, with 100,000 employers in Pakistan. The launch comes throughout a troublesome time for the financial system as inflation peaks, companies are both closing or laying folks off, whereas increments are in brief provide. 

“Native freelancing is sort of non existent although Pakistan is the fifth largest nation when it comes to worldwide freelancers,” says Rahman. “Since most of the freelancers are already there with us on Rozee and different professionals are additionally very expert, we’re permitting our employers to submit tasks as an illustration for an android app or for making a brand.”

In response to Rozee, its jobs knowledge exhibits a 30% decline in hiring over the past 16 months. As circumstances for companies get powerful, Azadee will allow these companies to fee tasks to expert professionals as a substitute of hiring staff full time, offering earnings stream to such skilled and serving to firms discover staff.

Monis says that brief time period employment is already taking place and it makes extra sense within the present financial circumstances, subsequently, it doesn’t cannibalize the prevailing hiring function of Rozee. “In reality, the businesses could be blissful as a result of they already rent both full time or on a contracutal employment foundation. As a substitute of hiring a full time worker for getting an android app made, they will now freelance it to a talented employee.”

“The fintech platform reshapes Pakistan’s freelance panorama by providing nearly infinite alternatives for freelancers and companies alike. As a substitute of conventional full-time hires that incur substantial prices, this platform permits employers to complement their workforce and proceed to develop on lean budgets,” Shahid Kazi, CEO of Rozee mentioned.

Apart from being a platform connecting professionals with firms for freelancing tasks, Rozee will guarantee funds are made when tasks conclude, and executing formal agreements between events.

The Azadee launch comes on the facet of the launch of Rozee’s monetary wellness platform Rizq, which Rahman dubs as a superapp for freelancers and professionals. Via the Rizq app, professionals and freelancers can save, make investments and handle cash.

A number of the options of the Rizq app would enable professionals and freelancers to spend money on mutual funds, be part of ROSCAs (extra generally often known as committees) and entry loans via Rozee’s companion monetary establishments. The Rizq app would additionally enable them to seek out facet hustles via the Azadee platform.  

“We consider Azadee generally is a shot within the arm to spice up a slowing financial system constrained by cashflows,” mentioned Monis Rahman. “We consider vital financial exercise could be generated by re-introducing our proficient professionals and employers to one another via freelancing relationships. Many of those newly minted freelancers will turn into entrepreneurs and entice worldwide tasks and far wanted overseas alternate.”



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Bykea managed to dodge a bullet, however will everybody else be as fortunate?

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Early on Tuesday final week, one of many main lights of Pakistan’s startup ecosystem grew to become the centre of an embarrassing however seemingly innocent hacking incident. At 12:01 PM within the afternoon a number of Bykea customers obtained a pop-up notification from the applying. 

Hackers had breached a 3rd occasion software and despatched two obscene and abusive messages to customers as a nationwide app notification. The incident ignited a firestorm of jokes and mockery on social media, with rival firms becoming a member of in on the enjoyable. Bykea rapidly bounced again from the assault by the top of the day, and affirmed that no private information was leaked.

However this was not a joke. It was a not so nice journey down reminiscence lane for each customers and tech firms alike. Nevertheless, the incident did present that Bykea had realized from the errors of these earlier than them, by solely having an ancillary a part of their enterprise affected. Had they saved delicate person information on their app’s area and had that been compromised, the incident would’ve been much more critical. However what about different firms? Have they realized their classes too? And can they be as fortunate when hackers strike once more? 

Let’s begin with what occurred at Bykea final Tuesday.

 

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