02 April 2010
One Man’s Perseverance Builds a Business in Pakistan
Ibrahim Qureshi is one of many entrepreneurs coming to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship April 26–27 from countries with sizeable Muslim populations. Qureshi is the founder and chief executive of Raffles Pvt. Ltd., the first original-equipment manufacturer of branded computer systems assembled in Pakistan.
See what Hasham Zafar, public sector lead at Microsoft Corporation, has to say about Qureshi:
“Having known Ibrahim Qureshi for some time, I can say without any doubts that he represents a modern entrepreneurial spirit in Pakistan. By modern I mean his understanding of the importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) to the development of the information technology sector in Pakistan. He has been playing a crucial role in protecting those rights in our country.
“Qureshi has never missed an opportunity to raise his voice for IPR, quite oblivious to whether the local information technology industry and academics will like him for that or not.
“This is not something he has done purely for his own interest. He has acted on a conviction that in the long term protecting IPR will ultimately benefit the local software industry. Qureshi had this view from the very beginning of his company Raffles. Some of his competitors and business associates are not fully convinced about the value of this attitude even today.
“Qureshi was instrumental in bringing together Microsoft Corporation and the government of Punjab, the province where his business is headquartered, to sign a strategic partnership agreement. This agreement will not only benefit the provincial government, local software industry and universities, but also can serve as a model for other developing countries and emerging markets.
“Qureshi humbly calls this success just a steppingstone and now has set his sight on the federal government and other industry players, which he wants to involve in the fight against intellectual piracy and counterfeiting.”
Washington — Ibrahim Qureshi did not need to work when he studied at Idaho State University and the University of California, Los Angeles. His father is the owner of one of the largest construction companies in Pakistan. But Qureshi quickly noticed that most students held part-time jobs and not only earned money, but were gaining valuable work experience. So he got a job — first as a “runner” for a dormitory food service managed by Marriott International Inc. and later as an entry-level worker in a technology lab.
Today, Qureshi is the founder and chief executive of Raffles Pvt. Ltd., the first original-equipment manufacturer of branded computer systems assembled in Pakistan. Most major national and multinational corporations are among Raffles’ clients. Qureshi was recognized as Pakistan’s 2008 Businessman of the Year by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani and will be a participant in the April 26–27 Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship.
But the beginnings of Raffles were humble. In 1999, when Qureshi started the company, the Pakistani market was flooded with counterfeit computers and pirated software smuggled into the country. Qureshi wanted not only to establish the first domestic computer brand, but also to bring to the market new opportunities, skills and innovation that go with licensed, legitimate businesses.
This was an ambitious goal. His firm needed local investment and hoped to develop partnerships with Microsoft Corporation, Intel Corporation and similar companies. But investors were reluctant to deal with an unknown startup, and the American technology giants were wary of Pakistan’s business climate. Government agencies, which were in the position to validate Raffles through procurement, did not see much value in having licensed products.
“It took a lot of convincing and educating,” Qureshi said. Despite the effort, he said, in the first three years, he wasn’t quite sure whether his company’s local computer brand ever would succeed. But a breakthrough came when the Pakistani Department of Information Technology in Punjab directed that all government organizations and educational institutions consider the Raffles system because the company was local and provided fast technical support and regular software updates.
From that point, Raffles gained more recognition, which led to the company increasing its market share, obtaining more licensing agreements and eventually expanding overseas.
The test of Qureshi’s business acumen came with iRaffles, the first premium Apple computer store in Pakistan and a joint venture between Apple Computer Inc. and Raffles. When the store was ready to open in 2008, after a year of preparations, Qureshi suddenly faced demand depressed by tight credit and the global recession, with national political turmoil on top of that souring consumers’ moods.
He decided to press ahead with the opening anyway. “With the right planning and push in the right direction, I hoped to persevere,” he said. After a tough first year, iRaffles persuaded some newly launched TV stations to use Apple products, which got the products noticed by viewers and, in turn, drove an increased demand for them.
Qureshi’s credo seems to be push yourself to the limit and never rest, and his aspirations go beyond making profits. Recently, he talked the provincial government of Punjab into forming a partnership with Microsoft designed to curb intellectual property piracy and bring innovation to the province. As a result of those efforts, a Microsoft innovation center will launch soon in the first Software Technology Park in Lahore.
“My hope is that the outside world will read it as a powerful signal that Pakistan is on the road to becoming a good place for investment,” Qureshi said.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
Video: A Conversation with Pakistani Entrepreneur Roshaneh Zafar