KARACHI: Dubai-based mobile app Lock&Stock, which works to curb “digital addiction” among students, is all set to launch its operations in Pakistan on September 15, 2020, the country head of the company said on Tuesday.
The app, founded in 2017 in the United Arab Emirates, rewards students for not using their phones while studying, working out and spending time with friends and family, among other activities. Students can then use their rewards to redeem exclusive discounts from the app’s partner brands, apply for jobs and internships, and secure scholarships.
So far, 50,000 students have spent the equivalent of a combined 586 years and 12 weeks offline due to the app. In 2019 alone, Lock&Stock students secured over half a million dollars in scholarships and fee waivers at various universities around the world.
“In universities and colleges, students mostly remain on devices during the lectures, that is why the app is developed to incentivize the students ... by giving them rewards so they could stay away from these devices and concentrate on education,” Omar Mirza, country head of Lock&Stock, told Arab News. “The app is ready to be launched on September 15, 2020, available as a free download on Android and iOS.”
In a statement released on Monday, Craig Fernandes, the 23-year-old CEO of Lock&Stock, said “digital addiction” among students was on the rise, especially among 16-18-year-olds who spent hundreds of hours glued to their smartphones.
“Our brand purpose is to improve the lives of students and we aim to fight digital addiction among students from around the world,” Fernandes added.
The Lock&Stock app works by locking up other apps in your phone while you use it.
“Every time you are locked up you can’t use any other app on the mobile phone,” Mirza explained. “The app then rewards students for the amount of time they lock their phones.”
Minutes away from the phone can earn rewards from food, leisure and retail brands, as well as job opportunities and scholarships at top universities around the world.
“In the UAE, we have 400 vendors including retail outlets, cinemas and over 100 restaurants where this key could be used,” Mirza said.
A major objective of the app, the Pakistan country head explained, was to link students with 100 global universities located in the United States, Europe, Turkey, and the UAE and make the admission process simpler.
“Earlier it was a very complicated process if you want to apply for ten universities, that required offline visits or online visits to these universities’ websites, which was a time-consuming process,” Mirza said. “But now all 100 universities have been uploaded in the app as a single source.”
The developers also intend to provide a one-window platform through the app for students seeking admission in Pakistani universities: “Through this app we are digitizing this process and they will be able to apply from a single platform to any of the [Pakistani] universities,” Mirza said.
Students who apply for admission through Lock&Stock get up to 10 percent discounts on their tuition fees and also earn weekly prizes by competing with one another.
Dubai startup fighting ‘digital addiction’ to launch in Pakistan on Sept 15
https://arab.news/vu5by
Dubai startup fighting ‘digital addiction’ to launch in Pakistan on Sept 15
- Lock&Stock app rewards students for not using their phones while studying, working out and spending time with friends and family
- So far, 50,000 students have spent the equivalent of a combined 586 years and 12 weeks offline due to the app
Pakistani companies likely to raise over $89 million in new stock listings this year
- Farrukh H. Sabzwari says approvals for two listings already granted while 10 more Initial Public Offerings are expected over next 12 months
- Economists expect KSE-100 index to reach 208,000 points by Dec., reflecting pent-up demand, strategic expansions and broader investor appetite
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) expects at least a dozen new listings this year, the PSX chief executive officer said on Monday, with the new entrants likely to raise as much as Rs25 billion ($89.3 million) in funding through the equity market.
Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index has rallied to new highs and recorded returns of around 50 percent in Calendar Year (CY) 2025. The market closed at 182,384 points on Monday.
Around 135,000 new investors have also joined the PSX over the last 18 months, according to Pakistani state media.
“Continuing with the momentum, in CY2026, approvals for two Main Board listings have been granted,” PSX CEO Farrukh H. Sabzwari, who has previously served as a local partner of BoA Merrill Lynch and country head of CLSA Emerging Markets in Pakistan, told Arab News.
“PSX is expecting 10 more IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) over next 12 months across various sectors.”
Pakistan’s growing stocks mirror the country’s stabilizing economy which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government expects would expand 3.9 percent this fiscal year through June with the help of the International Monetary Fund’s reforms-oriented $7 billion loan program.
The new IPOs would cover food, pharmaceutical, real estate investment trust (REIT), engineering, technology, oil and gas marketing, insurance, auto parts, manufacturing and energy sectors of the economy, according to Sabzwari.
Last year, the PSX listed Zarea Limited, Barkat Frisian Agro Limited, Image REIT, Pak Qatar Family Takaful, Blue-Ex Limited, Nets International Communication Limited and the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited. These listings helped companies raise Rs4.3 billion ($15.4 million) of funding.
In addition, the PSX debt market witnessed seven issuances, valuing Rs10.5 billion ($37.5 million). Pakistan’s finance ministry raises funds through PSX by selling borrowing instruments like Islamic sukuk.
The PSX recorded the highest eight IPOs in a single year in 2021, according to Shankar Talreja, head of research at Topline Securities Ltd. It would be a record if the market lists 12 new entrants this year.
Sana Tawfiq, an economist at Karachi-based brokerage research firm AHL, described the market performance last year as “exceptional.”
“With projected fundraising of up to Rs25 billion ($89.3 million), the upcoming pipeline reflects pent-up demand, strategic expansions, and a broader investor appetite,” she said.
Tawfiq expects the KSE-100 index to reach 208,000 points by Dec. this year.
“As we look toward 2026, Pakistan’s equity market is entering a phase defined by stability, depth, and sustainable growth,” the economist said.
“The market is now transitioning toward a more measured trajectory.”
Key drivers in 2026 would likely include sustained domestic liquidity in equities, strengthening foreign reserves and a contained current account deficit, successful completion of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization alongside accelerating progress on privatization and restructuring of power distribution companies (DISCOs), continued efforts to resolve circular debt in both power and gas sectors, and supportive global commodity prices, according to Tawfiq.
In a recent note to its clients, Topline Securities said the current IPO momentum was driven by macroeconomic stability under the IMF program, improving investor confidence and a declining interest rate environment.
Pakistan’s central bank last month cut its interest rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent in a surprising move aimed at boosting economic growth in the inflation-hit country.
“Despite ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties, investor sentiment continues to improve,” it said.
