Friday 26 May 2023: IBA Karachi hosted the 2nd of its series in collaboration with Tapal at the JS Auditorium on its City Campus. The Tum, Mein Aik Aur Cup Chai initiative is a youth connection activity aimed at discussing topics that are on the minds of our youth by people they respect and follow. The session brought together the biggest names of the business world with panelists including IBA’s Executive Director Dr. S Akbar Zaidi, Mr. Samar Hayat (CEO, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd), Mr. Kashan Hasan (CEO, Shan Foods & IBA Alum), Mr. Muhammad Fareed Alam (CEO, AKD Securities), Mr. Raza Pirbhai (CEO, KFC Pakistan) and Ms. Misbah Naqvi (Founder & GP, i2i Ventures & IBA Alum). The event began with a welcome address by Ms. Hamidah Wali, Chief Marketing Officer at Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. & IBA Alum, who welcomed the audience and shared the purpose of the gathering. Moderated by Malahat Awan, Director of Alumni Affairs, Resource Mobilization & Corporate Affairs, the event focused on the present and future direction of Pakistan and aimed to identify a glimmer of hope in a media that only focused on despair. The CEOs brought together a variety of thoughts identifying untapped opportunities in the market in the manufacturing, services, agriculture, and startup sectors. During the discussion, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi spoke about the role AI will play in changing the teaching landscape and stressed upon how we need to teach students to access information across all platforms and be trained enough to learn fact from fiction and be able to find information quickly and accurately. Misbah approached the present times through the entrepreneurial angle and stressed on the role that communities play and how she along with other venture funds exerted pressure on the government to restore the internet during the previous shutdown. She spoke about how startups need to find revenue in the dark spots neglected by traditional businesses and leverage it for successful positioning. Kashan Hasan spoke about his role as the CEO of one of Pakistan’s beloved brands and how Shan has found success internationally in different food segments. He urged local businesses to look outward and move towards an export-based business model and focus on quality rather than simply cheap goods. He also spoke about the importance of building local supply chains to cater to the millions of Pakistanis who consume. Amongst the most optimistic and energetic panelists, Raza Pirbhai spoke about the record growth faced by the companies on the stage and how KFC Pakistan switched to internal vendors using Covid as the blueprint for building local partnerships. He also spoke about reducing waste as over $4.5 billion is wasted when people throw away food. He also made an empathetic plea to businesses not to pass on difficult times to consumers and how KFC had narrowed its margins but saw the return through greater sales. Due to a sudden request, Mr. Aqeel Karim Dedhi sb could not join the event but Mr. Fareed was in attendance to give his wisdom from the financial markets’ perspective. His message was of businesses need to create better products and not rely simply on subsidies to get by. He was not wholly optimistic about the manufacturing sectors but did believe that the financial and IT sectors could benefit Pakistan. As the host, Samar Hayat, from Tapal Tea Pvt Ltd, spoke about having a product that cuts across all socio-economic lines. He made a plea for Pakistanis to travel to the country and leave urban bubbles to view the opportunities that lie in the rural expanse of the country. He spoke about how the majority of Pakistanis live in rural settings and the millions of people need clothes, food, and other necessities that can be furnished by markets and could open wealth creation in those markets as well. The panel opened to a lively question and answer session and guests were treated to tea and snacks following the event. IBA hopes to continue doing events with such star-studded panelists and wishes for the support and participation of its alumni, students, and stakeholders. 
