Serena hosts high-profile discussion on Pakistan’s digital economy

A high-profile panel discussion on Pakistan’s digital economy attended by most prominent players in the local digital industry was hosted by Serena hotels as part of its public diplomacy initiative called RAABTA.

The event titled “Reimagine our Digital Future – Preparing to thrive or survive?” was moderated by Raabta curator and prominent journalist Sidra Iqbal. Raabta is a nonpartisan public initiative by Serena hotels to initiate dialogue aimed at creating awareness amongst diverse groups and networks on critical aspects of socially significant fields such as the economy, health and education.

A lively and thought-provoking discussion was held about the challenges facing the local digital economy especially in areas such as speech and social media, digital technology and the future of AI and governance, regulation, cyber conflict, and financial sector cyber risk.

“The focus of today’s discussion is to discuss the potential benefits and costs arising from global digital technology changes and, importantly, anticipate public policy solutions to emerging problems that will shape the future of society and the economy for generations to come,” said Sidra Iqbal.

The keynote speaker at the event was Chief of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “Digital Pakistan” initiative Tania Aidrus. The panel included prominent figures of the local digital landscape including
– Country GM Careem, Zeeshan Hasib Baig,
– MD Daraz.com Ehsan Saya,
– CEO Foodpanda Nauman Sikandar Mirza,
– Chief Business Officer Jazz Ali Naseer,
– MD KPITB Dr. Shahbaz Khan and
– Chief Business Support Officer U Microfinance Bank Sharmeen Niaz.

CEO Serena Mr. Aziz Boolani said, “At Serena we promote and support sports, adventure tourism, culture and dialog through our diplomacy initiatives. Raabta is our public diplomacy initiative that uses the convening power of Serena to bring together experts, policy makers and the interested citizenry to inform and engage individuals and organizations in advancing debate and creating knowledge. The idea is to foster inclusive dialogue with the aspiration of building a sustainable future.  Our three focus areas of dialogue are Health, Economy and Lifestyle and we aim to build on support from academic, corporate and development communities through regular public events on timely subjects.”