Market Forces Vol. X, No.

2
College of Management Sciences December 2015

Case Study:
Stories of Entrepreneurship
By Hina Abidi, Farhan Shafiq, Rimsha Arshad, Maria Pirwani & Ahmed Hassan1

Abstract
Entrepreneurship is impera ve for growing economies in mes of environmental uncer-
tain es. Pakistani mentality is undergoing a change and more and more educated people are
looking at business of their own rather than a “naukrii. This bold ini a ve by a few is likely to
mo vate young budding professionals to follow suit. Entrepreneurship is all about iden fying
a business opportunity and adding color to it to sound compelling. Idea has replaced finances
as an engine to entrepreneurial spirit. Another factor that stands out is the ability of making
calculated risks and being persistent in your struggle. Entrepreneurial character also helps
in making you successful. The need of me is to allow small and medium enterprises SME
to grow dispropor onately to double the GDP growth of the countryii. This is a story of five
entrepreneurs who surmounted the odds and build their enterprise into successful businesses.

Keywords: Idea genera on, Entrepreneurship, Team effort, Timmons model, Entrepreneur-
ial character.

Naina Khalid’s SPASSO and comparable opportuni es to both males

Contributor: Hina Abidi and females. Unfortunately, women entrepre-
Entrepreneurship acts as a catalyst in the neurs in Pakistan face domes c and societal
development of economies especially in de- barriers due to which their ra o is extreme-
pression. Generally, the media in Pakistan ly low; ci es that have a be er ease of doing
gives coverage to the success stories of male business are Faisalabad and Islamabadiii. This
entrepreneurs while ignoring female entre- is the story of young Pakistani female who de-
preneurs. Countries could only progress if spite all the social and domes c barriers be-
women also par cipate in the socio and eco- came a successful entrepreneur
nomic development of a country. The more
women become entrepreneur the more em- A Glimpse into the Background of the Entre-
powerment and emancipa on they will get. preneur
Only those socie es thrive that give equal Ms. Naina Khalid the eldest child was born

1
All authors are students of MBA, PAF-KIET who have compiled these case studies.

Case Study 67
Market Forces Vol. X, No. 2
College of Management Sciences December 2015

in the upper middle class Punjabi-family in Ka- What kind of environment, and target cus-
rachi. She graduated in business administra- tomers?
on in the year 2004 from Karachi University.
Ms. Naina started her career as an assistant All these ques ons had to be deliberat-
marke ng manager at Expon Pvt. Limited. ed thoroughly and systema cally addressed.
Later she moved to AIG Insurance as a depu- Living in Karachi, she was fully aware of
ty director marke ng. During this period the “Bha a mafia” which could bring a new
opportuni es kept on knocking on her door business like hers to dust in no me. A er
which she en-cashed by joining Adamjee In- delibera ons and discussions with family
surance in 2008 as the head of the depart- members, she narrowed down the vicinity
ment. of her new business to the surrounding of
Malir Cant. Factors such as low rent, less
In 2009, she got married and took a short compe on and difficulty for mafia to enter
break from work. On resump on in 2010, she in the cantonment had contributed to final-
was promoted to posi on of the vice presi- ize this area for her new business.
dent of retail and micro insurance.
The next step that took lot of delibera-
Despite her blossoming career she decid- on was the kind of food to be served to the
ed to open a café called “Spasso”. One of the customers. Ini ally she wanted to provide
mo va ng factors to turn to entrepreneur- “desi” Pakistani food. But prior to making
ship was her childhood dream to run her own the final decision she carried out a short sur-
business which she shared with her husband. vey on the habits and ea ng preference of
To her surprise, she found him suppor ve and the consumers of Malir and adjoining areas.
encouraging. This is how “café Spasso in Malir The major finding was that the residence of
Cantonment came into my life” exclaims Ms. the Malir prefers ea ng in cafés which was
Naina the in-thing in those days.

A Jump from Insurance to Food
Soon she learned that there is a huge dif-
ference between “working for others” and
working for yourself”. She was not a pro-
fessional chef but she loved cooking and
sharing different dishes with her family and
friends. Addi onally, she also enjoyed the
experience of dinning out. All these mo vat-
ed her to go in the food business. However,
the more difficult ques ons those s ll both-
ering her were: what kind of food? Where?
That being decided, the next step was se-
lec ng a theme for the café. As she was ful-
ly aware that while ea ng out people gives
strong considera on to the environment as
well. Malir cantonment is a suburban area
that lacks in social life. Thus she decided
that the environment of her Café would pro-
vide fun and social interac on to youngsters
and families. The name of the café “Spasso”
in Italian language means fun which is also
the theme of her restaurant.

68 Case Study
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StarƟng Up riosity leads toward awareness and trial, she

The business idea sounded good to her. kept the building covered during the renova-
She es mated that ini ally about Rs.20 mil- on period. She also displayed banners in the
lion will be required. Mustering such a huge area and distributed flyers to each house hold
capital (resources) sounded impossible to her. of the area. Seven days prior to opening she
Dejected, she wanted to give-up. But then her arranged free food samples, mainly to induce
father in law came to rescue by providing her trial and a rac ng impulsive customers. She
50% capital as loan, and the rest 50% capital made the opening a grand- gala by arranging
she arranged through a bank loan. She leased a jumping castle for the kids and a mini musi-
the premises on a 3-year rental contract. Now cal concert in which local up-coming musical
the next issue was to decorate the interior in band looking for opportunity performed free
accordance to the theme the café itself. Hiring of cost. Addi onally, ice cream on the opening
professional interior decorators was beyond day was complimentary (free of cost).
her reach. Then she realized that her mother
had a built-in talent for interior decora on. It As Easy As ABC?
was her hobby and passion to spend me and So was everything as easy as it seems? No.
resources to keep the interior and exterior She did face challenges and s ll does. The
décor of the house on which she had always biggest challenge for her was to change the
been complimented. Her mother volun- mindset of the people living in Malir Cant. Tra-
teered and guided her in all the decora on as- di onally; people in this area preferred less
pects. New customized furniture and kitchen commercializa on and hula gula due to which
appliances were beyond her budget. Thus she previous ventures of this kind failed miserably
bought refurbished (second hand) appliances and thus the vicinity was cursed to be “jin-
and furniture. xed”. With con nuous marke ng efforts es-
pecially direct marke ng she was successful in
Business is all about team-work. A commit- changing the mindset of the people and now
ted team is not only a backbone of the busi- they have accepted it as cool place for fun and
ness but an essen al recipe for success. She enjoyment.
spent considerable me and resources and
hired nine employees for her café including A er smooth sailing of one year food
an assistant manager, cashier, chefs and wait- chains KFC, Subway and BBQ tonight entered
ers. In her absence, her husband Mr. Khalid into the market. In order to remain compe -
Muneer managed the café. ve she kept on diversifying her menu to tar-
get variety seekers, also knowing that most of
Since Ms. Naina had a professional ex- the people who eat out are generally variety
posure in marke ng therefore she was fully seekers. She also kept changing the theme in
aware on its importance on the success of a accordance to the demand of the occasion.
business. She wanted to create awareness for Addi onally, in these occasions such as Eids,
her new business. Knowing very well that cu- mother’s day, and one day matches of Paki-
Case Study 69
Market Forces Vol. X, No. 2
College of Management Sciences December 2015

stan she gave special deals to the customers. feren a on in hor culture sector by intro-
These efforts played a cri cal role in the de- ducing hot bin & mist houses for propaga on
velopment and maintenance of brand loyalty. of Decius plant. Subsequently, he ventured
into manufacturing and set-up a plant of liq-
The most surprising aspect of her venture uefied gas cylinder, where he stayed for one
was change of percep on and a tude. Like year. He even tried his luck in poultry busi-
most people her percep on was that a fe- ness and created differen a on by making
males in this male dominated market cannot incubators for quail breeding. However, his
survive. But once ventured into the business des ny forced him to migrate to the United
she learned that being a female gave her add- Kingdom (UK).
ed advantage in the market. So her advice to
female entrepreneur is “do not hesitate and SA HeaƟng & Plumbing Background
think people will not take you seriously in the Mr. Shafiq a er migra on to UK acquired
market. In fact, the country has a lot of respect a diploma in Hea ng and Plumbing program.
for women. All you need is courage and confi- While pursuing his diploma, he realized that
dence to talk with the man and they will listen the plumbing business in England unlike Pa-
to you”. The Café ran successfully for 3 years kistan has huge poten al and is considered
but then was shut down for reasons other a respectable profession.
than business.
The shortage of cer fied engineers in
Shafiq Alam’s SA Plumbing and UK prompted him to venture into this busi-
HeaƟng UK ness. As luck would have it, he established
Contributor: Farhan Shafiq a company with the name of SA HEATING &
Mr. Shafiq Alam due to persistent strug- PLUMBING where SA stands for Shafiq Alam.
gle in his life and vision to be an entrepre- Ini ally he hired four tradesmen and regis-
neur achieved greatness in life. He joined tered his company in 2010 in Manchester,
PAF a er matricula on but con nued en- UK.
hancing his educa on while s ll in uniform;
he completed his BA from Karachi University In the beginning, he concentrated on
in 1976 and LLB in 1986. He migrated to UK small domes c household sector compris-
for greener pastures and today is the owner ing of Pakistani and Indian migrated families
of SA hea ng and plumbing in Manchester, se led in Manchester. He provided them
UK. discount, and they reciprocated by referring
customers to his company. By providing cus-
History of Entrepreneurial AcƟviƟes tomized services efficiently and competent-
Mr. Shafiq commenced his professional ly he generated a loyal customer base.
career as a director in Techno World Pvt. Ltd
a unit in hor cultural sector, Islamabad. Be- Financial Resources:
ing entrepreneurial by nature he created dif- He started his business with a net per-
70 Case Study
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College of Management Sciences
sonal saving of Rs.40, 000/= plus loans from
Banks. He even collaborated with his com-
pe tors who also helped his company to
grow. He treated his staff as partners, and
upgraded their competencies by sending
them on training. During the period 2010-
2014, the company’s monthly revenue was
as high as pounds 10000 with a profit mar-
gin of up to 50%.
SA Hea ng and Plumbing is now well
poised to compete with leading compe -
tors like JP Plumbing and gas, Castle proper-
ty services and Piccadilly plumbing. He has
also diversified company’s por olio by ven-
turing into domes c hea ng system design,
domes c oil Installa on, building drainage
and residen al sprinkler installa on services
QualiƟes of Entrepreneur
Shafiq Alam has excelled as an entrepre-
neur since he remained focused on his vi-
sion and goal. In order to achieve his goal
he kept on venturing on different jobs and
business. He was not deterred by his earlier
failures and kept venturing into newer ave-
nues. His level of confidence remained unaf-
fected by his earlier disappointments. Being
a migrant, he could play safe by op ng into
regular employment but he s ll took calcu-
lated risks by se ng his own business. One
of the traits prominent in his character is be-
ing self-starter and not afraid to take risks. In
fact, his internal mo va on remained strong
and gave impetus to his energy. His leader-
ship revolves around by using a par cipa ve
approach in running his business.
His percep on of failure was an opportu-
nity for success. One can learn from his his-
Case Study
Vol. X, No. 2
December 2015
tory that everyone in their life gets opportu-
ni es. What is required is to recognize them
and give the best shot without being afraid
of failure.
Arshad Zia’s Zain CommunicaƟon
Contributor: Rimsha Arshad
IntroducƟon
Muhammad Arshad Zia was born in 1964
in District of Toba Tek Singh (Punjab). He be-
longed to a poor Punjabi family. Since his
childhood, he had a passion to be successful
entrepreneur. He always was short of resourc-
es due to his modest background but he nev-
er felt depressed. He believed – “If you strive
you’ll thrive!” As early as age six, he used to
sell sta onery to pay his school fees. Thus
throughout his educa on career he did dif-
ferent odds jobs to meet all the educa onal
expenses. In 1979, he moved to Karachi and
was selected in Technical Appren ceship pro-
gram of PAF. A erwards, he acquired Technical
Associate Engineering Diploma from School of
Electronics at PAF Korangi Creek Base. He also
remained associated as an Instructor in the
same school for a while. In 1985, he complet-
ed his B-Tec. in Telecommunica on from NED
University. He won many awards for his aca-
demic prowess. He remained associated with
PAF during all this period and re red in 1992.
Business Ventures
Zain Communica on Services is a B2B Busi-
ness rendering best quality services since 23
years for Installa on of PABX Systems, CCTV
Cameras, Computer Networking, Apartment
Security Intercom Systems and Laying of Tele-
phone Underground Cable (Copper and Fi-
ber).
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Market Forces Vol. X, No. 2
College of Management Sciences December 2015

Industry Analysis Intercoms to firms. His customer base was

It was not easy to enter a compe ve Tele- ge ng diverse and expanding.
communica on Industry that included firms
like Na onal Intercoms, Mansha Brothers, Turning Point - Navy Call:
Grace Communica ons, Humsa Communi- In 1997, Pakistan Navy called him to repair
ca ons and Hassan Enterprises who had al- some costly telecom equipment and circuits,
ready established credibility in market and which were considered beyond repair. All the
were financially strong. However, Arshad firms in the Telecom Industry were of the opin-
found that these firms lacked good team ef- ion that these circuits and equipment are be-
fort, possessed obsolete gadgetry and most yond repair. Arshad accepted the assignment
importantly lacks in technical competence. He and amazed the Pakistan Navy by repairing
played on this thread and ventured into set- them in fi een days. This was the “Turning
ng his own telecommunica on business. Point” in his business as he established his
strong credibility. Pakistan Navy recognizing
Business Idea this capability also helped him in his business.
In 1992 a er his re rement, he wanted
to join Telecommunica on Industry. Howev- ConsolidaƟon of Business
er, during this period he realized that clients His firm soon became well recognized and
in this sector need modern Telecommunica- creditable for their sophis cated work, well-
on devices to compete globally. He also re- equipped workshop and knowledge in his
alized that the companies in this sector were field. In 2000, he moved from small level work
charging exorbitant prices. He thought that in to high profile work of Laying of Telephone
if a company provides the same services at a Underground Cable (Copper & Fiber). He also
lower cost it would be successful. He trans- employed high profiled engineers in special-
formed his thought into reality by venturing ized field of telecommunica on. Banks also
into a business with his son’s name - Zain recognized him as a credible businessperson
Communica on Services. and offered loans. In few years, he established
a booming business and started to adver se
IniƟal Investment & FormaƟon of his por olio to reach his target market. His
Business next big contract was with Raji Airlines and
He invested his gratuity of Rs. fi y five lacs other well-known firms including PAF, Paki-
to purchase essen al equipment and raw ma- stan Navy, Pakistan Army, Cadbury Pakistan
terials. His office and workshop remained one and Karachi Port Trust (KPT). Since 2007, he
roof on rental basis. He hired two technicians is offering internships to Telecommunica on
and trained them. In 1993, he extended his Students from NED University. Today, he is
business to erec ng dish antenna and repair- well established and recognized for his work
ing VCR and TV. In 1995, he expanded his ser- and le his compe tors far behind.
vices by providing telephones, cordless and

72 Case Study
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Challenges Faced by Entrepreneur i ve terms and turned it into gold. All

Limited Investment profits generated during the early stages
He only had Rs.55 million as his gratuity, were ploughed into the company
which he invested into this business and
kept his overheads to minimum. This signi- 3. Team. He began with two technicians,
fies that success of businesses is not depen- trained them well, and turned them into an
dent on finance but on spo ng opportuni- effec ve team. Later work force induc on
es, and turning them into innova ve ideas. criterion remained high technical knowl-
Compe on was intense in this sector but edge, conscien ousness and integrity. It
personal selling and management by objec- was never smooth sailing for him. Finding
ves (MBO) improved his customer loyalty. employees with high integrity was difficult,
Within two decade from 1992 to 2013, the and whenever he found any employee not
capital growth of the company increased by discharging du es with integrity, he firmly
200% and profits are to the tune of 150%. handled the situa on.

His business model also generated em- 4. Imbalance in Model. The beauty of Tim-
ployment and in 2013, Zain Communica on mons Model revolves around the chang-
has a workforce, which includes 7 high pro- ing focus from one factor to another. In
file engineers and 22 technicians the ini al stages, “opportunity” remained
the focal point and he iden fied the type
Timmons Model of service, market iden fica on and cus-
The Timmons Model helps in understand- tomer iden fica on and refined the busi-
ing an entrepreneur’s efficiency in managing ness idea. Later he developed the team
and balancing the under men oned factorsiv: and lastly the resources. He periodically re-
1. Opportunity. Being expert in his field, he viewed his priori es and kept changing his
analyzed the Industry in depth and found focal a en on amongst the three factors;
hidden opportuni es that his compe tors always trying to balance the three factors.
lacked knowledge and technical exper se  
in Telecom field. He iden fied the gap in Entrepreneurial QualiƟes
the market in 1992 and exploited it. Crea vity, persuasive communica on and
benevolent leadership quali es stand out in
2. Resources. Ini ally, he had limited re- the case of Arshad Zia. He was an excellent
sources including finances and material. communicator which helped him in nego -
His ini al investment in office and staff a ons and interac on with clients. He dis-
remained sparse, but he wielded them played crea vity and competency by doing a
into an effec ve team. Since he had job in Navy which others could not do it, due
technical exper se, he judiciously invest- to which he earned recogni on as well.
ed into high quality equipment at good
terms. He mustered finances at compet- Passionate: A er his re rement, he had
Case Study 73
Market Forces Vol. X, No. 2
College of Management Sciences December 2015

employment offers in leading companies like mary school to support his educa onal ex-
PIA, PTCL, Siemens, Indus Motors and Paki- penses.
stan Steel Mills. His self-belief, competen-
cy, confidence and convic on to work inde- Risk Manager: Arshad took and managed
pendently mo vated him to go for his own risk throughout his business. He risked in en-
business. Working for himself was his passion tering a compe ve market with limited In-
and dream and convic on, which he eventu- vestments. He also took risk and successfully
ally achieved. The importance of this trait is repaired the Navy’s equipment, which others
validated by coverage made on David Leppan declined. In fact, he managed risks without
who due to his passion was able to setup five showing despera on or recklessness. His ad-
businessesv. vice to budding entrepreneur is-
“Money is everywhere, you can earn through
Innovator: Based on Industry Analysis, he employment as well
found that his compe tors were charging cost- as building your own business, facing and figh ng
ly services and their equipment was neither these challenges would sa sfy you more
rather than ge ng employed as you will prac ce
sophis cated. He thus was able to penetrate
what you have learnt.
in the market by providing be er services
So, believe in yourself, Struggle and Prac ce.”
with sophis cated equipment at compe ve-
ly low price.
Ms. Khadija Hanif Chagani Fashion
Competent/Challenging: The turning Outlet
point was his successful comple on of Navy’s Contributor: Maria Abdul Rehman Pirwani
equipment repairing assignments which oth- An Entrepreneur is someone who creates
ers could not oblige; is a proof for his compe- a business with a new idea. This carries a high
tence. He earned credibility by consistently risk since one is not sure whether it would
solving customer’s needs. give acceptable return on investment. Entre-
preneurs need to have a good understanding
Solve Value Driven Needs: Arshad know- of their markets. They should also understand
ing that the small businesses could not afford the needs of the customers and modify their
expensive telecommunica on devices and products accordingly. This is an example of
modern equipment due modest budgets. He one such person who succeeded to achieve
ini ally targeted these small firms and provid- this: Khadija Chagani.
ed be er quality services than compe tors at
a compe ve price. This compe ve advan- Ms. Khadija Hanif Chagani is presently in
tage paid dividends in long run. mid twen es. Her early educa on is from St.
Peters High School. She did her gradua on
Dedicated/Hard Worker: Since his child- and post-gradua on from Ins tute of busi-
hood, he had been a dedicated and devoted ness Management (IoBM). She interned at
person who did different odd jobs since pri- many marke ng firms but with me, she re-
74 Case Study
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alized that her passion actually is to introduce the fashion industry and did not have to run
something new in the fashion industry. about to generate finances for her enterprise
since her family encouraged her immensely
Her transforma on to fashion industry was and supported her all the way.
not abrupt. She did everything systema cally.
Her vision, “Provide the best quality to clien- She started her business as a lone ranger
tele at a reasonable price. Fashion should be through social media as it is cost effec ve. She
for everyone :)” was what she really decided to used non-professional models and also man-
do. Addi onally her mission statement “Grow aged everything herself including hair make-
my brand bigger with me while keeping val- up, and photography. Based on fashion indus-
ue and quality intact.” really reflects how she try trend she uploaded her first brand online
will achieve her vision. With these credos as in 2010.
the guiding principles, her long-term objec-
ves are finding a mul brand store fit for her Knowing the importance of innova ve suc-
label, having a grand photo shoot with a team cess in every business she kept on changing
of one of the best models in Pakistan’s fash- her product-line. She brought innova on in
ion industry and taking it from thereon. The her product through change in colors, designs
short-term objec ves were to create hype of the embroidery according to the fashion
about her work and about the quality and trends and changes in pa erns as per demand
cuts, she offers. of the market. She also ensured that a touch of
Pakistani culture always remain prominent to
SWOT provide a nostalgic appeal. She also empow-
Khadija knew that all women desire to ered the customers to mix and patch designs
dress-up well. She ini ally developed a val- from the designer’s catalogs. She used the so-
ue proposi on for Pakistanis living abroad. cial media intelligently for the marke ng for
The market abroad is a diverse with a high her brand by using the Face book, instagram
purchasing power that is interested in latest and Whatsapp. Her average hits crossed over
designs and quick deliveries. Though the mar- 10000 during the first year that encouraged
ket is highly compe ve, yet there are s ll her and reinforced her convic ons that she
segments where supply is not adequate. The would succeed. She usually blogs her new
market is highly compe ve. Compe tors re- trends when fashion journalists review the
siding in Karachi as well as other ci es notable clothing line. Although she commenced with
Farah, Lakhani collec ons, Samiha Allure de- mass marke ng strategy through the social
signers and Shaheen couture are well estab- media but since 2014, she has focused on
lished in the market and will not allow others to niche marke ng. Her segment comprised
to enter this market. She thus decided to pen- of young housewives and teenagers who are
etrate in the market of expatriates by crea ng mostly residing in Americas and Middle East-
awareness of her brand through social media. ern countries. Her dresses are mostly a mix
Her strength lie in being well informed about of casuals and party-wear. Her fashion outlet
Case Study 75
Market Forces Vol. X, No. 2
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has succeeded and since 2010, her profits are popular amongst expatriates.
touching Rs .2 million in 2013.
Since her business revolves around the
Since she exports ready-made garments cardinal principals of quality, prompt delivery
abroad, she concentrated on an indigenous and flexibility, therefore she concentrated on
supply chain system. Her customers order building a flawless supply chain system. Her
online and she manages to keep them in the nego a on skills with courier services and
loop un l the garment is ready. She collects clients helped her to build her goodwill and
25% of the price on order stage (there is no later agents of word of mouth promo on. As a
prior advance collec on policy for new cus- person, Khadija is passionate, polite and hard-
tomers). She nego ated favorable deals with working.
the courier services that pick up the consign-
ments from her residence. The client issues Although she did not face the ini al finan-
the full payment through online transfers cial crunches, which each entrepreneur faces.
and cheques before the consignments are She did not overspread her equity. Her ini al
dispatched from Pakistan. On delivery, she effort was to curtail expenses, therefore, she
obtains a confirma on through email. Most exploited her crea vity and talent to direct
of her customers have turned into word of her own shoots, but she contracted the best
mouth conduits to further her business. photographers to appeal to the clientele. Her
self-confidence is another quality that needs
She is using a skimming pricing strategy men on; she had no experience of running a
since her dresses are perceived as good quality bou que but was bold to pursue her dream.
and customized according to the needs of the
clients. At the manufacturing end, she deals The ini al concept of the shoots were
with the skilled labor firmly ensuring that the “Keeping It Regal”. It was an indoor shoot, the
ar sans use their skills to the sa sfac on of clothes were fusion with exquisite cuts, mixes
clients. She is naturally blessed with good aes- of so , bright tones were used from the pal-
the cs about fashion since from early age she e e, and the embellishment was rather royal.
was cu ng and s tching her own clothes.
Her Message
QualiƟes of Khadija Chagani Her crea vity, skills and hard work made
The individual characteris cs of an entre- her successful today and she is now a well-
preneur give impetus to business. Khadija is known brand in the society. An entrepreneur
well educated who understands the intricacies must have these quali es for penetra ng a
of business and marke ng since her educa on growing market. Luck accompanied with intel-
in business groomed her for a profession that ligence holds promise for budding entrepre-
turned out to be an important ingredient for neurs like Ms. Khadija Chagani. Her message
success. She knew how to communicate with hopefully will inspire, “I am confident and
her clients and u lized a medium that is quite love what I do. Be updated. Be informed and
76 Case Study
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College of Management Sciences
be humble and polite. With a lot of hard work
and li le pa ence I achieve my goal when
the me is right .” Her social media link:
h ps://www.facebook.com/Khadija.Chagani
has more to say.
Asif Farooki’s Waste Busters
Contributor: Ahmed Hassan
Entrepreneurship can be carried out in
hundreds of domains. But if one combines
it with societal needs consumer supports in-
creases so does the chances of success.
EducaƟonal/Professional Background of the
Entrepreneur
Mr. Asif Farooki did his O’ and A’ Levels
from Atchison College, Lahore. In late 70s,
he completed his Bachelors in Civil Engineer-
ing from Northern Illinois University, USA.
Therea er he did his MBA in Environmental
Engineering with specializa on in Waste Man-
agement from the same University, in 1985.
A er the comple on of his studies, he worked
as a consultant in the field of Waste and Envi-
ronmental Management with the World Bank,
Asian Development Bank, Japan Interna on-
al Coopera on Agency (JICA) and the United
Na ons Development Program (UNDP). He is
a member of the Pakistan Environmental Pro-
tec on Council, Solid Waste Associa on of Pa-
kistan, Interna onal Solid Waste Associa on,
and Ins tute of Waste Management U.K. He
is also serving as an advisor to the Ministry
of Environment. He has an outgoing and per-
sistent nature, which serves as a catalyst for
any business venture.
The Start up
While doing his Masters in USA he ob-
Case Study
Vol. X, No. 2
December 2015
served that the waste management industry
was at a boom during mid. 80’s. Out of the
top 10 Fortune 500 companies, four were of
waste management. He realized that this field
was virtually unknown in Pakistan and there
would be a great demand for this kind of
work. He thought of contribu ng towards the
society more as an entrepreneur than work-
ing for someone. Since he has the exper se of
waste management so he decided to start a
full-scale waste management company hence
Waste Buster was founded in 1996 in Lahore
with the vision of ‘A Cleaner Tomorrow’.
The environmental analysis revolved
around uniqueness of concept in Pakistan. The
government and society’s need for hygienic
cleanliness. Business is not capital intensive
and cheap/unskilled labor is plen ful. The
risks were to educate public and government
bodies to allow private en es to venture in
this sector. The trash could be converted into
cash by recycling
Waste Busters
Waste Busters is a professional waste man-
agement and recycling company. It collects all
kinds of waste including households, munic-
ipal, commercial and industrial waste, trans-
ports it to the recycling facili es, and recycles
the waste into useful products such as fer liz-
er, composite, fuel and plas c products, which
is an essen al ingredient in waste gasifiers.
Waste Busters provide services of Door to
Door waste collec on, Debris Removal, In-
dustrial Waste Collec on, Hotel/Restaurants
waste management, shredding facility for un-
wanted documents & incinera on, Janitorial
77
Market Forces Vol. X, No. 2
College of Management Sciences December 2015

services, Hospital waste management, fumi- Waste Busters, Caritas Pakistan and many
ga on services, bio-remedia on process for other small-scale waste management com-
be er waste disposal and Recycling. Today panies.
Waste Busters major clients include Nestle,
KFC, Unilever, WWF, Mitchells, CUPOLA, Shell, Team
Tetra Pak, Packages Ltd. and DHA etc. Ini ally it was a one-man show and Mr.
Asif managed the whole business but with
Risk- an essenƟal part of the Business the span of me, he employed a worthy
Risks have always been a part of busi- team of over 300 employees including man-
ness. Being a risk taker in business is not the agers, labors, cleaners, drivers etc. He as an
same as being reckless. Mr. Asif took some entrepreneur properly structured the team,
risks which were needed for this business and selected the right type of person to head
but he was confident that he will cope with his departments. Waste Busters has now ad-
them. Waste management was something equate resources in shape of pick-up trucks/
new in Pakistan in the mid 90’s. Therefore, dumpers, cleaning implements and machin-
it was risky to start a venture, which does ery for recycling.
not exist in Pakistan. He faced strong oppo-
si on from the local government who did Managing Finances
not like that a private en ty encroaching Banks are generally reluctant to give loans
into their territory. Addi onally, the public to new business as they don’t have credit
was not at all coopera ve; they thought that history. Ini ally like other entrepreneurs, Mr.
it may be a fraud or it is the responsibility Asif also explored the op on of obtaining
of government to collect and recycle waste. funding form banks but was not successful.
They were not ready to dole out any money He thus invested all his savings for this busi-
for the services. The banks did not fund the ness. His Friends and family also supported
capital cost for this business. However, Mr. him in his endeavor. A er some accomplish-
Asif did not give-up and remained persistent ments, he was able to get corporate spon-
in educa ng people about the hygienic con- sors. The startup cost for a small opera on
cept of business. can be as low as Rs. five million. However,
he went for full-scale opera ons with a recy-
CompeƟtors cling plant of US$ 12 Million.
Compe on is as inevitable in business
as death and taxes are in human existence. He provides franchising opportunity to
Even if your business is innova ve someone people in order to get funding. The basic
will imitate and beat you at your own game. condi on for franchising was an investment
Although Waste Buster has a formidable of Rs. 500,000. The company provides train-
market image but has intense compe on ings, promo on campaigns, na onwide me-
with Lahore Waste Management Compa- dia campaign, awareness campaigns, bro-
ny (LWMC), Zephyr Waste Solu ons, Petro chures and leaflets to the franchisee. Profit

78 Case Study
Market Forces Vol. X, No. 2
College of Management Sciences December 2015

percentage will vary for every franchisee Conclusion

however, ROI expected is 30% on an average. In mes of recession and high unemploy-
Profit is dependent on the size and loca on ment, enterprising individuals move into new-
of the company. Currently Waste Busters is er pastures to fulfill their professional dreams.
making an excess profit of Rs. 500 million perThis ac vity in tradi onal term is referred as
annum. entrepreneurial business. The above stories
are just some recorded versions of such indi-
Campaigns viduals. It is said that normally one in ten indi-
Waste Busters creates awareness cam- viduals succeed. However, the true impact of
paigns through adver sements, leaflets etc. such enterprises on na onal economic scene
which is ethically and professionally produc- is reflected in the growth rate of GDP and con-
ve for the organiza on. Because of these trol of unemployment. This is the tradi onal
awareness campaigns people are now willing indicator of prosperity. Lately, a new thought
to pay for cleaning services. Waste Busters has emerged which proponents that the de-
campaign during the viral of dengue, Eid ul gree of innova on and crea vity a na on can
Adha and on many different occasions has propel can have a more las ng impact on
added to its reputa on. economyvi. Schwab further defines that in-
nova on truly means reduc on of inequality
Awards and Achievements of different strata of society, control of living
Waste Busters has been rewarded at sev- costs and general well-being of populace.
eral forums for its innova on and sustain-
able solu ons towards an integrated waste However, Joseph Schumpeter noted that
management program. Na onal Forum has innova on and entrepreneurial ac vity is
rewarded Waste Busters for Environment propelling the economy through “crea ve de-
and Health (NFEH), United Na ons Develop- struc on” but is unable to bring prosperity to
ment Program (UNDP), Lahore Chamber of general society. Silicon Valley though the bed
Commerce, Dubai Municipality, Brand of the of innova on is seen as an example in point
Year, Interna onal Solid Waste Associa on which has also brought soaring costs in hous-
and The Charter Ins tu on of Wastes Man- ing and living. Therefore, any entrepreneurial
agement. His website at www.wastebusters. ac vity must be accompanied with enhance-
com.pk says it all. ment of societal prosperity.

References
i
Saqib, M. O., 2012, “ Young Entrepreneurs at Work”, DAWN, EBR Nov27- Dec 02
ii
Amanullah, S. 2014, “ Lessons in History for a Be er Future”, The Express Tribune Pakistan, Jul 14
iii
Abbas, H. 2013, “ Doing Business in Pakistan: Learn from sub-na onal peers”, Tribune, 08 Oct
iv
Spinelli, S. and Adams, R., 2008, New Venture Crea on: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century, 9th edi on.
v
Jessop, S. 2014, “ A serial Entrepreneur’s Key Trait: Passion”, Interna onal New York Times, Oct 13
vi
Schwab, K. 2013, “ On the Innova on of Na ons”, Interna onal New York Times, Dec 16

Case Study 79