KTrade’s entry into the Saudi market is facilitating Saudi investors in exploring opportunities in Pakistan.
Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University (PMU) plans to include KTrade, a well-known Pakistani online education app, into its classes as a major step towards improving financial literacy among Saudi youth. With over a million downloads worldwide with operations in Pakistan and the UK, KTrade is a state-of-the-art stock and commodity brokerage software that was introduced in Pakistan in 2021 and has since gained significant traction.
In an exclusive interview, Ali Fareed Khwaja, Chairman of KTrade Pakistan, revealed that his company had inked an agreement with PMU in November. The private, non-profit university located in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, will incorporate the KTrade app into its curriculum, offering students valuable insights into stock investment and savings.
Khwaja emphasized that KTrade serves as an educational platform, particularly aimed at empowering Saudi youth with knowledge about investment and savings. He explained, “For this, we are partnering with universities. We have already signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Prince Muhammad University, which is going to use KTrade in their classrooms for teaching about stock investment and savings.”
This strategic collaboration follows KTrade’s earlier MoU with ANB Capital, a subsidiary of the Arab National Bank (ANB), signed in September. The objective is to educate Saudi youth on financial concepts and foster a culture of informed financial decision-making.
While KTrade’s operations in Saudi Arabia are being managed from Pakistan in terms of technology, marketing, and research, Khwaja expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity to educate Saudi youth through Pakistani expertise. He stated, “[A] lot of our team is based in Pakistan, so it’s Pakistani talent which is being used for these services.”
The platform has already been sharing its equity research on Saudi Arabia and potential investment avenues in Pakistan with global investors. Khwaja highlighted the excitement about introducing KTrade to Saudi Arabia, emphasizing that the Kingdom’s stock market currently trades at more than $1.5 billion daily.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reform plan, aimed at diversifying the economy and reducing reliance on oil exports, aligns with KTrade’s mission to promote savings and investment. Khwaja emphasized, “They have Vision 2030 for promoting savings, for teaching their youth how to save and how to invest.”
Regarding the platform’s impact on job creation for Pakistanis, Khwaja noted that KTrade’s clients, including individual investors, asset managers, insurance companies, and banks, have ended up hiring Pakistani talent due to their introduction to KTrade services.
Furthermore, KTrade’s entry into the Saudi market is facilitating Saudi investors in exploring opportunities in Pakistan. Khwaja concluded, “We are involved in telling the Saudi investors more about both Pakistan as well as investment assets in Pakistan.”
This collaborative initiative marks a progressive step in leveraging technology for financial education and fostering cross-border partnerships to strengthen economic ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.