Excellence Awards ceremony: PSCTF honours achievers, spotlights Africa trade potential

KARACHI: The Pakistan SADC Chamber Trade Federation (PSCTF Sindh-Balochistan Chapter) has honoured leading achievers from trade, industry, education, healthcare, technology and social welfare, here at a ceremony. Prominent business leaders, using the occasion, called for a more aggressive strategy to tap the vast potential of African markets. The PSCTF Excellence Awards, hosted by Sindh-Balochistan Chapter’s President Muhammad Shoaib Qadri, brought together leading figures from Pakistan’s business and professional community, government representatives, academics and distinguished personalities associated with the South African Development Community (SADC) region. Prominent participants were KCCI’s Businessmen Group Chairman and former president of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) M Zubair Motiwala; former FPCCI president and FPCCI United Business Group President Zubair F Tufail; Senior Vice President FPCCI Saquib Fayaz Magoon, KCCI President Rehan Hanif, ABAD Chairman Hassan Bakhshi, Gwadar-based businessman M Ashraf Iqbal Baloch, businessman and social worker Ahmed Chinoy, NED University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr M Tufail, Sir Syed University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Afzal Haq, Gohar Group Chairman and former senior vice president of FPCCI Hanif Gohar, Iranian Consulate Commercial Attaché Morad Nemati, Honorary Consul General of Mozambique S Khalid Tawab and former KCCI president and leading industrialist Majyd Aziz. PSCTF Pakistan President Syed Moizuddin said recognising excellence was not merely to honour individual achievements but about creating new opportunities for business partnerships and economic cooperation. He said such platforms could strengthen relationships within the business community and encourage partnerships capable of supporting sustainable economic growth. President PSCTF Sindh-Balochistan Chapter, Muhammad Shoaib Qadri, said recognition of outstanding contributions would help strengthen Pakistan’s business, social, educational and professional sectors. He stressed the need to forge stronger institutional and commercial links between Pakistan and SADC countries through increased trade, investment and business-to-business cooperation. M Zubair Motiwala, who also worked as CEO of TDAP, called for a more aggressive and focused national strategy to expand Pakistan’s trade footprint in Africa, particularly in South Africa. The government and private sector would have to work together to secure a meaningful share of the continent’s markets. He also called for an urgent review of tariffs and taxes, arguing that high costs were undermining the competitiveness of Pakistani businesses in regional and international markets. “The only solution to our economic growth is the low cost of production, diversification of the product chain and searching for new markets in the world, ” he said. Recalling former federal commerce minister Razzak Dawood’s “Look Towards Africa” initiative, Motiwala said Pakistan possessed considerable potential to expand its trade and investment presence across the continent. Drawing on his experience as former CEO of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), he urged policymakers and the private sector to move beyond conventional approaches and develop innovative trade strategies aimed at increasing exports and opening new markets. S Khalid Tawab, former senior vice president of FPCCI and Honorary Consul General of Mozambique, also called for a review of Pakistan’s trade and foreign policies, stressing that Africa represented a major and largely underutilized market for Pakistani businesses. Saquib Fayaz Magoon welcomed the PSCTF initiative, saying recognition of excellence encouraged businesses and professionals to pursue innovation, competitiveness and sustainable growth. He called for greater coordination between trade bodies and the private sector to create a stronger environment for investment, entrepreneurship and business expansion. Ahmed Chinoy urged the State Bank of Pakistan to consider a significant reduction in its policy rate and called for economic policies that could provide the private sector with a level playing field. ABAD Chairman Hassan Bakhshi called for a broad-based national dialogue on the proposal for creating new administrative units in the country. The sensitive issue should be debated through collective wisdom rather than political confrontation. He urged both supporters and opponents of the proposal to clearly articulate their arguments as the decisions on administrative restructuring could have far-reaching and long-term consequences, whether in favour or rejection. The ceremony provided a platform not only to recognise excellence but to underline the business community’s growing demand for export diversification, lower production costs, wider international market access and stronger economic engagement with Africa—areas seen as critical to expanding Pakistan’s trade and investment base. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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