The agreement was signed by Adnan Pasha Siddiqui, HBL Chief of Staff to the President & CEO – HBL and Faisal Bilal, Founder – GROWTECH Services. The ceremony was attended by GROWTECH co-founders Shahnawaz Mahmood and Abdul Rahan Mahmood, along with Sohail Saraj, Head - North Branch Banking – HBL.
GROWTECH is working on a scientific basis with its own team of agronomists to remotely guide farmers with their analysis and recommendations. Through this collaboration, farmers that are working with HBL will have access to state-of-the-art, technology-driven solutions provided by GROWTECH including remote sensing-based services. These will help to solve agricultural land problems, determination of pesticide infestation in affected areas, crop health and nutrition needs. Furthermore, supplemental recommendations will also be made available on an ongoing basis to the HBL pilot farmers via HBL’s Development Finance agronomists to help further optimize crop yield.
GROWTECH has been providing its services to corporates and individual farmers across the country. It has also developed an application by the name of GROWPAK which is providing various functionalities, including a marketplace or eShops for farmers.
The HBL team also visited the assembly line of DIGIT smartphones, partner of GROWTECH and appreciated the efforts to locally assemble affordable smartphones, Pakistan ka Smartphone, for the masses and farmers who can be the potential users of such phones for digital inclusion.
Commenting on the partnership, Adnan Pasha, Chief of Staff to the President & CEO – HBL said, “HBL’s strategic Development Finance initiative and its contribution to the Agri value chain is the bedrock of Pakistan’s economy and will contribute towards job creation and food security by deploying best practices in agronomy combined with tech and mechanized solutions. As a result of HBL’s strategy, farmer’s productivity has significantly increased. This partnership with GROWTECH is in line with HBL’s vision of financial inclusion and will further the development of the agricultural landscape in Pakistan.”