Highlights
Vision Tech, a homegrown technology firm based in the UAE, has announced plans to launch a cutting-edge digital platform named Shaariq.com. The end-to-end platform will offer a host of real estate services and create a transparent ecosystem for all stakeholders, in line with the growth vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Vision Tech, a UAE-based tech company, has announced its ambitious plan to invest big in the Pakistan real estate sector. The company will be launching an online platform, named Shaariq.com, to bridge the digital divide in real estate. Vision Tech’s full-stack model will digitalize the process of buying, selling, renting, and managing a property, as well as offer new, unique services, including property registration and online rental agreements.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has consistently emphasised the importance of the real estate and technology sectors as drivers of economic growth, development, and modernization in Pakistan. Vision Tech’s decision to invest in Pakistan draws upon the Prime Minister’s focus emphasis on both these sectors and bodes well for buyers, sellers, brokers, and municipalities alike.
Artificial price inflation and scams, including the sales of a single property to multiple buyers, have hampered the rationalization of the real estate market in Pakistan. Shaariq.com will list verified and vetted properties, and provide an avenue for buyers to deal with brokerage agents who have been trained and issued a unique registration number by Shaariq.com — a move that will increase trust between all transacting parties. The company is also in talks to tie up with municipalities, to reduce reliance on excessive paperwork and enhance transparency.
“Shaariq.com will bring much-needed digitalization to an extremely fractured industry. Real estate stakeholders have largely operated in a non-transparent, low-trust ecosystem that left much to be desired. Vision Tech hopes to leverage its expertise in an organized market like the UAE to unlock the Pakistan real estate sector’s massive untapped potential. Pakistan’s rapid population growth, high internet penetration, tech-savvy young generation, and government-helmed initiatives have inspired Vision Tech’s big bet”, said Rajab Virani, CEO, Vision Tech.
Also, the recently passed Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) Bill complements the entry of an innovator of Vision Tech’s calibre. Shaariq.com is expected to launch within the Special Technology Zones (STZ) framework, which has a strong real estate focus. Virani attended the STZA investors event in Dubai, where Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi endorsed greater blockchain adoption and urged the developer community to get involved.
“President Alvi’s advocacy is consistent with Vision Tech’s near-future plans to utilize its expertise in blockchain to supercharge Pakistan’s digitalization. Currently, through Shaariq.com, we are gearing up to train 50,000 real estate agents in line with global standards and register them. This is Vision Tech’s attempt at addressing the global skills shortage, which could leave 85 million jobs unfilled worldwide by 2030”, he added.
Vision Tech’s investment also reflects the post-pandemic increase in corporate R&D spending. Global R&D spending is expected to surpass $2.3 trillion this year, and STZA is poised to draw a sizable portion of it. Pakistan’s ascent up the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index - where it registered a rise of 28 places, according to the latest report - will definitely add to its prospects.
STZA’s incentives like subsidized land and utilities, high-speed internet, one-window facilitation, and fiscal reforms are expected to woo leading foreign companies like Vision Tech, which boast an exemplary track record in domains as diverse as real estate, Big Data, banking, hospitality, media, education, and healthcare. The launch of Shaariq.com is an early sign of Pakistan’s growth strategies bearing fruit. It will energize a promising sector and accelerate the larger digital transformation drive, taking Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ‘Naya Pakistan’ vision a step closer to reality.
