Many people in Karachi are in the dark without electricity after 60 hours. They most possibly dont have water anymore while or contact to the outside. Not even talking about work or study deadlines 1/5 #KarachiRain
I’ve seen three street protests with people throwing stones and blocking roads today. Two on boat basin road and another near lilly bridge 2/5
With hundreds of people still sitting in the dark, K-Electric by no means should be sending these, bad strategy. 3/5
I will commend the fact that roads in Clifton were mostly dry the next day after the torrential rains 4/5 #KarachiRain
Clifton has been dry for more than 1.5 days now but still many areas without electricity. I’m listing Karachi areas that still don’t have power, keep adding!
-Clifton near BarBQ Tonight, Block 5, Block 2, Block 7
-DHA Phase 6, Phase 5 plus extension, Phase 8 5/5 #KarachiRain
Just as a disclaimer, my electricity was restored early today but a lot of people I know are still sitting in the dark like its stone age
Update: Most areas in Karachi that are left will have electricity back in 6-8 hours. Only those will be left that still have water flooding issues
My thoughts with @Sainbasha@fksquared@VeqarIslam and everyone else who has been without electricity for over 80 hours. Some areas are completely dry! Quite unfair @KElectricPk
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Its the third-largest destination for Chinese panels. Some traders have imported up to 250MWs in a month
Panels are so cheap that the frames they’re mounted on cost more now | thread 🧵 on our deep dive project bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
"The numbers are staggering"
About $1.7 billion of solar panels have been imported this year, that would equate to 17 gigawatts of generation and more than a third of Pakistan’s entire total power capacity if deployed bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Almost all farmers in Kasur have moved to solar power for irrigation pumps, ditching diesel generators and pricey grid electricity
Farmer Murtaza has slashed his power bill by 80% and with the savings, he’s able to plant three crops a year instead of two
Pakistan's Brightest Are Deserting the Country in Record Numbers
Economic storm is pushing out accomplished citizens. A million skilled people have left in three years | Thread on this long read bloomberg.com/news/features/…
Why are they leaving?
Prices for items like cars and ACs are now out of reach for most Pakistanis, with the cost of milk in Karachi surpassing what it would be in Paris.
Prices for 51 essential items in Pakistan’s inflation basket have almost doubled on average since 2022
Asad Ejaz Butt’s prestigious government jobs working under two finance ministers weren’t enough to pay the bills
“Passion to do something for the country was subdued by this economic responsibility and by salaries constantly being beaten by growing inflation”
THREAD: Pakistani financial platform Abhi that allows salaried employees to access funds before payday raised funds at a $40 million valuation just four months after its launch. Its gotten a new investor into Pakistan too 1/5
⚪️UAE-based Global Ventures invested for the first time in Pakistan
⚪️“Pakistan has trailed in its adoption to the internet economy and startup formation,” Noor Sweid, general partner at Global Ventures. “The startup boom in Pakistan is attracting global attention.” 2/5
About half the staff at coffee chain Espresso have used the service. Other than the app, about 10% users accessed funds by sending an SMS and 15% via WhatsApp 3/5
THREAD: Pakistan small grocery stores are one of the largest segments in the nation’s $170 billion retail industry. Everything is done manually 1/4
One startup saw an opportunity. They went door-to-door across Karachi to gather data and acquire customers. They found out each mom-and-pop store met 100 suppliers a week or more to get inventory, now they buy through from its app 2/4
Most of these grocery store operators don’t have a bank account but use mobile for WhatsApp, TikTok and Facebook. Banks are interested to collaborate now 3/4
THREAD: Former tax chief Shabbar Zaidi who many hoped would be the best bet to fix Pakistan’s tax system but left in less than a year made some very candid comments in a webinar /1
Pakistani businessmen have stashed $150 billion offshore after making those in profits through local businesses, claims Zaidi. They would make more returns on those in Pakistan but there is the fear factor of the unknown/2
As tax chief Zaidi went to business chamber KCCI, told them and I will ease any tax-related hurdles, just stop selling smuggled goods across Karachi, the president plainly refused the offer saying that’s not possible/3
Pakistan is showing signs of business activity picking up at a faster clip. Evidence of momentum returning can be seen from growing cement-to-fuel sales and demand for home appliances to cars | My latest bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Cement sales rise near all-time high after lockdown ends and construction package /2
Petrol ⛽️ sales in June rose to a record high as people return to work /3 via @AAHSoomro