By Syed M. Aslam
Feb-04 - Feb-10, 2002
Professor Syed Ali Ahmed Zaidi graduated from
Dawood College of Engineering and Technology in 1989. He joined LG,
the South Korean electronics giant, as its first chief engineer in
Pakistan. During his association with LG he stayed in South Korea and
was instrumental in setting up plants he managed to find time to do
post graduation in Computer-Aided System Designing from a Korean
university. He did PhD from Sweden Royal Institute of Science and
Technology in 1999. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Winson (Pvt.)
Limited, the fastest growing research-based IT trans-national
conglomerate with presence in a number of countries in Europe, Middle
East and Africa. Winson specialty is in-depth expertise in developing
solutions spanning over diverse technologies and has a development
house each in London and Karachi. Professor Zaidi is an emerging
scientist who designed the first Pakistani television in 1992, digital
satellite receiver in 1994, automatic waste-solid, liquid and
polythene- disposal system in 1997. He designed Global Positioning
System (GPS) in 1998, CLI unit in 1999. Winson is the only Pakistani
company conducting clinical trials on drugs manufactured by some of
the best known pharmaceutical companies in the world. Professor Zaidi
specializes in embedded software and circuit designing, PC interfacing
and software development. Recently Winson signed the single biggest $
20 million joint venture agreement with a Netherland-based company
which has head office in the UK.
PAGE: Please tell us about the $ 20
million agreement Winson has signed recently.
Prof. Zaidi: It is the first ever project of
its kind of introducing internet satellite television in this region.
I myself have designed and developed this new technology to provide a
far better quality of picture as video transmission is free of
encryption codes unlike the other channels whose encryption code
travel with the signal so a disturbance is always there. Our UK-based
sister company will provide satellite time plus the financing to run
the project. The Television will beam 200 digital channels in 19
countries in the region including Pakistan and will be accessible
through the internet via satellite decoder, e-mail and SMS with
worldwide support.
PAGE: What does the contract mean for
Pakistan in term of financial benefits?
Prof. Zaidi: The entire technical work and
system designing for project including manufacturing of satellite
receivers will be done right here in Karachi. The initial phase of
work include Satellite encryption control software development,
installation and testing over land-based transmission. We expect to
generate over $ 50 million dollars — $ 25 million from the sale of
satellite receivers, $ 24 million from monthly subscription fee, $ 1
million from one time internet set-up fee, and $ 100,000 from
advertisement annually — over two years. The implementation of the
system will result in regular income in foreign exchange with
immediate effect. In addition, the project will help create employment
to nearly 400 professionals for the assembly and production of
satellite receivers and other related cards.
PAGE: You also plan to introduce a
range of soft and hardware products entirely developed and
manufactured here in Pakistan in the local as well as foreign retail
markets. What are these products?
Prof. Zaidi: We will be launching
electronics cash register with the digital weighing scale for the
shopkeepers here in Pakistan at an affordable price of Rs 8,000
compared to average Rs 56,000 for which the imported ones are
available. We will be also marketing this product, which will also be
able to read the bar coding, in the international market at much lower
prices than those marketed by foreign companies. We will also be
marketing totally PC-based Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system
with complete Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) for system control
through telephone at an incredibly low price of just Rs 6,000 compared
to minimum Rs 36,000 for the imported ones. Another product aimed at
banks is a product which uses SMS signals to allow account holders to
check the balance in their accounts. This banking supportive system
will be available for just Rs 20,000 for the benefit of any branch of
a bank to let have its account holders check their balance at their
convenience without coming to the branch. We will also be introducing
Digital Attendance System for corporate clients already used by the
Fishermen's Cooperative Society to keep track of the fishermen. We
have already entered a contract with the Maritime Security Agency to
equip fishing boats with Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to help it
track the vessels 24-hours a day to ensure that they remain with the
national territorial waters, do not pass off catch to foreign trawlers
and to help identify fish schools and then locations via pattern of
fish landings. This is the first ever system in region for the
fishermen and costs just Rs 12,000 compared to $700-800 in the other
countries.
PAGE: Do you have any message?
Prof. Zaidi: Yes. Don't look what others are
doing, particularly India. Create your own products. Create your own
markets. For instance, go into technology for toys and market them at
the occasion of Haj, where China is selling. Be innovative — Haj is
the biggest event, cater to it as people always like to buy a toy for
the children.
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