Hotel Serena witnessed another landmark event today with the launch of Paywast, the first social networking media in Afghanistan. In this event which brought together key stakeholders from a cross section of Afghan Government, peoples’ representatives from both chambers of Parliament, the Wolosy Jirga and Moshrano Jirga, high level officials from telecommunication companies, CEOs of commercial banks, Afghanistan International Chamber of Commerce, presidents of universities, representatives of the USAID and US Embassy and correspondents from various news organizations. The event attracted broad support from all walks of life in Afghanistan especially the youth who are more tech savvy than any other segments of the population. Participants hailed the launch of the first SMS based social networking media in the country. Mr. Baryalai Hassam, the Deputy Minister of Communication and Information Technology and Mohamad Qurban Haqjo, the CEO of Afghanistan International Chamber of Commerce were among the keynote speakers.
“The launch of Paywast marks another milestone achieved in the Information and Communication Technology, ICT field in Afghanistan. I am confident that Paywast will revolutionize the way business is conducted in the country.” Said Baryalai Hassam, Deputy Minister of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
Mr. Haqjo also put his full support behind Paywast and hailed Paywast efforts in realization of such an important service to the people of Afghanistan. He also indicated that such type of an advanced service is unique to Afghanistan and many of our neighboring countries still lack it. This distinguishes our telecommunication network among our neighboring countries’ industry peers.
Speaker after speaker called for the Government of Afghanistan and its one-stop shop, AISA to further improve investment climate by reducing red tape and easing doing business in Afghanistan for both Afghan and foreign investors.
At the end, Jes Kaliebe Petersen, an IT expert and representative of Paywast presented Pawast services, and thanked the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for their vision in spearheading ICT strategy to spread prosperity and economic development in Afghanistan.
There was also a comedy theater organized by a group of young talents to rehearse Paywast services.
At the end, a team of Paywast representatives answered questions about Paywast products and services.
