In the face of increasing globalization, cut-throat competition and global instability that has spun its intricate web in our world today, it has become imperative that businesses build bridges, and not burn them. The AllWorld Network – a platform aimed at recognizing the fastest-growing companies of the entire world – in the midst of such disarray, comes as a prayer to the multitudes. Today’s businesses capitalize on the need to find a network linking entrepreneurs to other entrepreneurs, thus giving them the edge to prosper internationally. It is no surprise how AllWorld’s addition into the world, and very recently our part of the world, has made it easier to find more consumers, investors, growth companies and talent.
The AllWorld Network, which is the brainchild of Anne Habiby, Deirdre Coyle and Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, has been building a portfolio of Arabia500, Africa500, Asia500 and Eurasia500, as early as 2008, to map the vastly increasing entrepreneurial populace. Harvard Business School’s Professor Michael Porter, the Chairman and Co-Founder of the AllWorld Network said, “When you look at AllWorld, you look at the future.” What he means to say when he says those words is that The AllWorld Network is creating a new world on its own.
The real asset in today’s world is making information accessible more importantly relevant information. This is what has led to the emergence of search engines such as Google, Ebay, and also Yahoo’s recent restructuring. The buzzword here is ‘Visibility Economics.’ This means putting emerging companies on the radar of the world. It is creating the linkages with each other to help create sources of information about other ‘invisible’ entrepreneurs, yet successful entrepreneurs, thus generating a development multiplier in the prevalent digital economy leading to a vast number of possibilities.
Since Pakistan’s image is precarious anyway, owing to the growing terrorist activities one hears of quite frequently, AllWorld is a fruitful way of presenting the true picture of Pakistan’s potential. The initiative is quite new considering it started out in 2011 yet has covered a huge ground. From engaging partnerships, to bringing out the best in businesses across all verticals, sizes, industries etc. AllWorld initiative is a for-profit company that has two projects under its wing: AllWorldXchange.com and AllWorld Events. The former is an online networking platform with an annual surcharge of $2,400.
New innovative businesses came up under the radar of ‘The AllWorld Network’ ranking this year. A security company (FIST Security Pvt.), lubricant business (AEROLUBE Pvt. Ltd.), web hosting company (Hostings House), a pharmaceutical (Martin Dow Ltd.), training company (Student Shelter in Computers), IT company (Ebryx Private Limited), a dairy products manufacturer (Everfresh Farms (Pvt.) Ltd.), a Venture Developer (Vendevo), fashion brand (Motif) and hospital (Alliance Healthcare Pvt. Ltd in Peshawar) in the top ten AllWorld ranking, in that order.
The benefits of the AllWorld exposure – as say the CEOs of the A-list company are plenty – so IDG in Pakistan learnt when interviewing them all individually.
In the words of Jawed Akhai, the CEO of Martin Dow Ltd, at number 4, “The exposure AllWorld gave was monumental. The networking opportunity at Harvard gives a great boost in terms of networking and providing collaboration – regional and global.” The main challenge in the pharmaceutical industry, is that of heavy regulation, Akhai further shared, the red tape making everyday processes difficult. Akhai recommends the induction of new faces alternatively, to ease that.
In addition to the platform AllWorld gives in terms of visibility and meeting other like-minded people, it also keeps businesses motivated, especially in the unpredictable Pakistani climate where political upheavals take the centre stage and the rest get sidelined. Given that many businesses in Pakistan are in obscurity, The AllWorld Network comes up to give them a voice, and face.
Rizwan Zia of Motif – ranked at 9 – elaborates on the significance of AllWorld in the region when he shares the future goals of his company, “Our target is to become one of the top 5 exporters of Pakistan…organizations like AllWorld keep us motivated. So, once again thanks a lot to the entire team.” “With already the presence of so many textile businesses in Pakistan and the world, it was important to have an edge,” surmises Zia. “AllWorld initiative helps us to give our best!” Says Wasif Ahmed of Hostings House, at the third place, “AllWorld is keeping a track of me and my company every year, whether we are growing or not, and if we are, then by how much. It keeps me and my entire team motivated to work more.”
In terms of being able to accrue benefits from AllWorld, Zeeshan Karimi of Aerolube (Pvt.) Ltd at number 2, maintains how accessing companies has become a source of a much bigger security threat altogether. Thus, the AllWorld initiative comes as a much-needed breather for companies, in that they can keep in touch with other entrepreneurs such as themselves, through AllWorld’s online portal, and learn and grow from these connexions. This is true especially of the aviation industry where dangers to security are crucial.
Abbas Shahid Baqir of ‘Student Shelter in Computers’ – ranked at the 5Th place – nails it fluently on the head as he relates the main issue regarding Pakistan, “Right now there are so many issues related to terrorist attacks in Pakistan, parents prefer their child to learn by distance education because of the circumstances here.” Like other ‘A-listed entrepreneurs of the AllWorld listing, Baqir too agrees that governmental support is needed to further the industry. Ahrar Naqvi of Ebryx Pvt. Ltd – ranked at 6Th – shares his desire to expand to U.A.E. He shares, “2014 is the year where we will be able to reach the business in region where AllWorld is already active like Africa and Asia. We are looking for marketing our products in these areas. We also have a substantial of cyber security services.”
Tariq Khan of Alliance Healthcare (Private) Limited – ranked at number 10 on the AllWorld Listing declared terrorism, red tap-ism as the biggest obstacles to progress. His company running fully on the latest technology in the clinics, operating rooms and even outside it, in the administration, while eased the framework in which the hospital finds itself, becoming problematic only because of the above stated problems, Like others, Tariq stated the good networking opportunity offered by the AllWorld platform as remarkable in bringing people together. “It is with people that there are ideas anyway,” says Khan.
Fahad Khan – whose company, Vendevo, won the iGrill at the ‘Consumer Electronics Show 2011,’ also ranked at 7th on the AllWorld listing, elaborated upon the culture of ‘copy-cating’ outward trends for ideas in the ICT. Fahad, also faculty at Rutgers, teaches the subject of international entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship, in his interview with IDG in Pakistan, commented on the significance of the culture of turning out original novel ideas, as the strength of his business for the last eight years – the company having been found in 2008. “I think we need to work on innovation and setting new trends for ourselves instead of copying everything. That’s the thing lacking in local entrepreneurial culture,” said the perceptive Khan.
This year’s top-ranked company on the AllWorld listing was FIST Security (Pvt.) Ltd. Its CEO, Gulraiz Khan, on giving advice to fellow entrepreneurs starting up maintained that both a combination of intense hard work and excellent team helps. Furthermore he maintained that greater support from the government could help them all – a thread that was seen common to all of them on this year’s AllWorld listing.
Conclusively, the AllWorld initiative should take on a domestic front, as well, says Umair Haleem from Everfresh Farms, whose growth rate hit 343 % and is listed on number 7 on the AllWorld ranking. “AllWorld is an idea from abroad” says Haleem, “so local initiatives such as this can help a lot in terms of local companies who have not even heard about AllWorld.” This input from the CEO of the 7th ranked company really hit home.
The strategic partners for The AllWorld Network include:
Bank Alfalah
The event partners:
Cyan and Enterprise Forum Pakistan
Strategic Partners:
Rozee.pk, Moftak Solutions, Islam Box, CIO Pakistan and Gizelle
Nominating Partners: TiE Lahore and Islamabad, P@SHA, e2E,Pak Foods, Ladies Fund, CEO Summit, Manager Today, A2Z Creatorz, AbacusConsulting, Shafi Texcel, 22Four,
Tune into our indigenous online media portal where you can hear more from the winners themselves by logging onto:-
Part 1: http://webstudiotv.tv/2014/02/18/featuring-pakistan100-2013-winners-on-webstudio-tv-part-1/
Part 2: http://webstudiotv.tv/2014/02/18/featuring-pakistan100-2013-winners-on-webstudio-tv-part-2/
