Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal

Chairman of Nova Group

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal is the Chairman of Nova Group. He was born in Wah in 1978, joined NADRA in 2002 and left it in 2006. In 2018 he gave away the entire empire built between 2006 and 2018, and Nova Group's first project was Nova Islamabad.

Early life and background

Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal was born in Wah in 1978. His father started a housing project in the 1970s, and the family moved to Pindi. [1]

Education

Afzaal attended a school, then a second school, and then a college. His parents moved him from his first school because of education-related problems there. [1]

He completed a BCS degree at an Islamabad campus and earned Microsoft and then Cisco networking certifications. He wanted to study at a university campus in California. After applying for admission to a university in California, he turned down a project. He was admitted to Bahria University for a master's programme and studied for a master's degree in the 2001-2 session. [1]

Career

Afzaal decided to stop studying and go into business. His first business was a computer college. The college taught courses such as Visual Basic. [1]

NADRA

Afzaal joined NADRA in 2002 before completing his master's degree. He was first hired there as a technical manager. At NADRA, a decision was made to start with 10 centres because manual form processing was causing many problems. [1]

He says he worked on the civil registration system that runs at union councils. He digitised civil records from 1973 to 2003, and the digitisation made 125 offices that kept records redundant. He says a pilot project covered 150 union councils of Lahore and 15 union councils of Sialkot. [1]

He says his team processed Kenya's ID card and built a driving licence system for Bangladesh. He says NADRA became profitable and took no further government funds. He says a Home Department copied the system and installed it in the UK. [1]

The e-Sahulat project was the last one he worked on at NADRA. He says it became the foundation of telco cash payment services such as U-Paisa and Easypaisa. He also says the data of Pakistan's 8 WAPDA distribution companies was digitised. He left NADRA in 2006. [1]

Real estate

A problem arose in the family's project in Wah, which was a joint family project. His family did not start any real estate project between 2002 and 2006. He says a project was started in 2006 and possession was handed over in 2009, and that he personally handled everything himself. [1]

He says some family differences arose in 2018 and refers to a succession. In 2018 he gave away the entire empire built between 2006 and 2018. He says he handed it all over. [1]

Nova Group

Afzaal decided not to continue with housing projects and decided to move into building construction. The Nova Group's first project was Nova Islamabad, followed by a vertical construction project in Lahore. His cousin is his partner in Nova. [1]

He says his group bought the most expensive plot the government has ever auctioned, and that it started a project in Peshawar after the Lahore project. He says his group will be an international major group of companies in 27 years. He also says they have many international collaborations underway. [1]

Vertical construction

Afzaal moved into vertical construction in 2020. He describes a building that is going to be 750 feet high, with around 63 to 64 floors. He says the building is right on the Central Business District, next to Kalma Chowk, and will have a commercial mall, a five-star hotel, apartments and offices. [1]

He says they are going with Italians for the design, supervision and construction. He says they are lowering a building's construction cost by reducing its weight. He says they have paused construction because circumstances are up and down, and that two international financial institutions approached them to provide financing for the building. [1]

Nova schools

The Nova schools started in 2016. Afzaal wanted to build an institute and system that others could copy, and he says their intention is not business. He says they have two campuses that are already running. At Nova City Islamabad, next to the airport, a building was complete and admissions had been made, with classes starting the following month. He says they had secured a place in Lahore and planned to start there the next year. [1]

He says they started character education and created their own curriculum in the light of Islamic principles and examples. He says a specialised curriculum was designed for them in the US, and that the school is the only one in Pakistan teaching robotics and entrepreneurship from preschool. The schools run two streams: matric and IB. He says IB has under 5% of schools and students but about 50% of top university admissions. [1]

He says the team handling the school's management, decisions, curriculum and planning are not educationists. He says they took fresh graduates and started a six-month training programme for them, and that there is a waiting list for their training programme. He says the talent and resources needed to implement it are limited, and that if they pursue rapid growth, they could lose their standard. He says they give children exercises such as writing a thank-you note to their father, thanking him for 10 things. [1]

Views

Afzaal cites an LDA decision allowing a third storey on 5-marla houses. He says real estate taxes should be brought to global standards, that people prefer to have a house with a roof and land of their own, and that people in low-cost housing should be supported. He says very few projects in Pakistan have their own main boulevard of 14 kilometres. [1]

He says he is not an economist and speaks as a layman. He describes himself as coming from the private sector, with a stake in outcomes. He predicts Pakistan will be the best-performing economy after 25 years and says Pakistan has immense potential. He says they might play their small role towards building up the image of Pakistan. [1]

He believes a legacy starts after a person's lifetime. He thinks people will remember him for doing something for the community and something for the country. He cites a 2018 World Economic Forum study on future jobs, and says children's interaction with their parents and grandparents has been squeezed. [1]

Timeline

1978
Born in Wah.[1]
2002
Joined NADRA.[1]
2006
Left NADRA.[1]
2009
Possession of a project started in 2006 was handed over.[1]
2016
The Nova schools started.[1]
2018
Gave away the entire empire built between 2006 and 2018.[1]
2020
Moved into vertical construction.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-03-27 The man who gave away an empire and started over Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal?

Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal is the Chairman of Nova Group. He was born in Wah in 1978 and worked at NADRA before moving to building and construction projects.[1]

What does Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal do?

Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal is the Chairman of Nova Group. The group's first project was Nova Islamabad, followed by a vertical construction project in Lahore. He moved into vertical construction in 2020.[1]

Where did Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal study?

Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal completed a BCS degree at an Islamabad campus. He was admitted to Bahria University for a master's programme and studied for a master's degree in the 2001-2 session.[1]

Where is Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal from?

Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal was born in Wah in 1978. His father started a housing project in the 1970s, and the family moved to Pindi.[1]

What did Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal do at NADRA?

Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal joined NADRA in 2002 and was first hired there as a technical manager. He says he worked on the civil registration system that runs at union councils. The e-Sahulat project was the last one he worked on at NADRA, and he left in 2006.[1]

What happened in 2018 for Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal?

Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal gave away the entire empire built between 2006 and 2018. He says some family differences arose in 2018 and refers to a succession.[1]

References

  1. The man who gave away an empire and started over . Thought Behind Things , 2023-03-27.
Show the source passages (86 statements)
  1. Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal is the Chairman of Nova Group. Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal is the Chairman of Nova Group.
  2. Chaudhry Junaid Afzaal was born in Wah. Ji, I was born in Wah.
  3. His father started a housing project in the 1970s, and the family moved to Pindi. jahan pe Pindi ki pehli housing project jo hai mere father ne 1970s mein woh wahan pe shuru kiya, so we shifted to Pindi.
  4. He was born in 1978. Ji, my father did it in 1976. I was born in 78.
  5. He attended a school, then a second school, and then a college. Ji, main initially I was in Saint Mary's mein padha hua hoon aur phir uske baad Sir Syed School and then Sir Syed College.
  6. His parents moved him from his first school because of education-related problems there. kuch unka Saint Mary's mein kuch unki education se related kuch problems the, so my parents decided to move me.
  7. He decided to stop studying and go into business. Padhai nahi karni, I'll do business.
  8. His first business was a computer college. That was my first business, ek humne computer college khola tha.
  9. The computer college taught courses such as Visual Basic. Visual Basic, Basic, is tarah ke course mein jo hai woh bachon ko usmein karwa.
  10. He completed a BCS degree at an Islamabad campus. Petroman Islamabad campus se maine jo hai woh BCS kiya.
  11. He earned Microsoft and then Cisco networking certifications. mujhe networking mein phir maine Microsoft ki certification ke baad Cisco certifications keen
  12. He wanted to study at a university campus in California. mera dream tha California State University, Berkeley campus mein
  13. After applying for admission to a university in California, he turned down a project. maine wahan pe admission apply kiya hua tha, so I turned down that project.
  14. He was admitted to Bahria University for a master's programme. So I got admission in Bahria University, right, Masters.
  15. He studied for a master's degree in the 2001-2 session. I did my masters in 2001-2 session.
  16. He joined NADRA in 2002 before completing his master's degree. Then I joined NADRA in 2002 while I was, mera masters us time pe complete nahi hua tha.
  17. He was first hired at NADRA as a technical manager. NADRA mein initially to I was hired as a manager technical.
  18. At NADRA, a decision was made to start with 10 centres because manual form processing was causing many problems. Initially we decided to go for 10 Swift centers, kyunke there were a lot of problems being faced in the manual forms processing.
  19. He says his team processed Kenya's ID card and built a driving licence system for Bangladesh. Kenya ka ID card jo hai woh process kiya, Bangladesh ka driving license ka system kiya
  20. He says he worked on the civil registration system that runs at union councils. I did the aapka jo civil registration system hai, Union Councils pe jo chal raha hai
  21. He says a pilot project covered 150 union councils of Lahore and 15 union councils of Sialkot. To unki support se humne jo hai 150 Union Councils of Lahore and 15 Union Councils of Sialkot, we did a pilot project.
  22. He digitised civil records from 1973 to 2003. I converted that record, 1973 mein ID card must hua tha constitution ke tehat, to us time se leke 2003 tak ka jitna record tha
  23. The digitisation made 125 offices that kept records redundant. jiski wajah se jo 125 offices jo maintain ho rahe the us record ko sambhalne ke liye, woh redundant ho gaye.
  24. He says NADRA became profitable and took no further government funds. and then afterwards NADRA started making profits. Phir woh government se uske baad unhone koi funds nahi liye.
  25. He says a Home Department copied the system and installed it in the UK. Then their Home Department came to us. They copied our system and then they installed it in UK
  26. The e-Sahulat project was the last one he worked on at NADRA. Humne ek project kiya tha which was my last project with NADRA, e-sahulat ka project tha.
  27. He says the e-Sahulat project became the foundation of telco cash payment services such as U-Paisa and Easypaisa. Aur main yeh samajhta hoon ke yeh jitne aapke telcos ke cash payment solutions hain, yeh U-Paisa aur EasyPaisa jitne bhi hain, iski foundation basically woh e-sahulat ka project bana
  28. He says the data of Pakistan's 8 WAPDA distribution companies was digitised. tamam Pakistan ki yeh jo distribution companies hain WAPDA ki 8, unko unka data digitize kiya, kuch unko platform unke improve karwaye, SSGC, SNGPL and then all telcos.
  29. He left NADRA in 2006. 2006 mein jo hai maine choda tha ji.
  30. He says he got a very good opportunity. I got a very good opportunity.
  31. A problem arose in the family's project in Wah, which was a joint family project. to ek problem hui thi hamare project mein Wah mein. Woh hamara joint family project tha
  32. His family did not start any real estate project between 2002 and 2006. we the family never did any real estate project between 2002 and 2006.
  33. He says a project was started in 2006 and possession was handed over in 2009. we started in 2006 humne shuru kiya 2009 mein humne possession handover kar diya
  34. He says he personally handled everything himself. Maine khud khade ho ke saara kuch kiya.
  35. He says very few projects in Pakistan have their own main boulevard of 14 kilometres. very few uh projects in Pakistan that jiska apna main boulevard 14 kilometer ka hai.
  36. In 2018 he gave away the entire empire built between 2006 and 2018. I gifted that entire empire which was built in the 12 years from 2006 to 18.
  37. He says he handed it all over. No no no I handed it all over.
  38. He says some family differences arose in 2018 and refers to a succession. back in 2018 kuch hamare family differences hue kuch uh Woh ek succession hoti hai logical.
  39. The Nova schools started in 2016. The Nova schools were already there. They started in 2016.
  40. He decided not to continue with housing projects. I although decided not to continue with the uh housing projects.
  41. He decided to move into building construction. I decided ke I'll go with for the uh building building constructions.
  42. His cousin is his partner in Nova. mere uh cousin hain who's partner with me in uh Nova
  43. He wanted to build an institute and system that others could copy. main yeh chahta tha ke hum ek aisa uh institute banayein, ek aisa system le ke aayein jisko aur log bhi copy karein
  44. He says they started character education. So we started character education.
  45. He says the school is the only one in Pakistan teaching robotics and entrepreneurship from preschool. Uh then it is the only school in Pakistan which is teaching robotics and entrepreneurship from preschool.
  46. He says they created their own curriculum in the light of Islamic principles and examples. So we created our own curriculum in the light of the Islamic principles and examples.
  47. He says a specialised curriculum was designed for them in the US. Uska humne US se special ek specialized curriculum jo hai woh humne design karaya
  48. He says the team handling the school's management, decisions, curriculum and planning are not educationists. our entire team uh jo school ki management, decisions, curriculum, planning, everything, they are not educationists.
  49. The schools run two streams: matric and IB. Hamare paas do streams hain, matric ki stream hai, matric and then first year, second year, aur uske ilawa IB ki stream hai.
  50. He says IB has under 5% of schools and students but about 50% of top university admissions. IB is time pe has less than 5% shares in in terms of number of schools and and students. But duniya ki top universities mein jo unka admission ka share hai, that is 50%.
  51. He says their intention is not business. hamari intention is not the business.
  52. He says that if they pursue rapid growth, they could lose their standard. Agar hum rapid growth ki taraf jayein aur toh usmein aisa na ho ke hum woh standard lose kar dein.
  53. He says the talent and resources needed to implement it are limited. woh talent aur woh resources jisne yeh implement karwana hai, woh limited hai.
  54. He says they took fresh graduates and started a six-month training programme for them. Fresh graduates leke humne unka 6 months ka training program shuru kiya
  55. He says there is a waiting list for their training programme. We have a waiting list for our training program as well.
  56. He says they have two campuses that are already running. we have two campuses which are already running.
  57. He says that at Nova City Islamabad, next to the airport, a building was complete and admissions had been made, with classes starting the following month. Yeh ji Nova City Islamabad mein hamare airport ke saath. Toh uski building complete ho gayi hai, admissions ho gaye hain, next month se classes start ho jayengi.
  58. He says they had secured a place in Lahore and planned to start there the next year. We have already got place in Lahore. So next year, inshallah we will be starting in Lahore as well.
  59. The Nova Group's first project was Nova Islamabad, followed by a vertical construction project in Lahore. Jo humne Nova Group jo start kiya, usmein first project was Nova Islamabad and then we went for a vertical construction in Lahore.
  60. He moved into vertical construction in 2020. because I decided to go into the vertical construction. So this thing happened in 2020.
  61. He says his group bought the most expensive plot the government has ever auctioned. But we bought the most expensive ever auction plot by the government at at any time.
  62. He says his group started a project in Peshawar after the Lahore project. So woh Lahore ka project hai and then we started the Peshawar project.
  63. He says a building is going to be 750 feet high. It's going to be 750 feet high.
  64. He says a building will have around 63 to 64 floors. It will come up around 63, 64 floors.
  65. He says a building is right on the Central Business District, next to Kalma Chowk. This is right on the Central Business District, Kalma Chowk ke saath jo hai.
  66. He says a building will have a commercial mall, a five-star hotel, apartments and offices. It's got a commercial mall, a five-star hotel and apartments as well and office.
  67. He says they are going with Italians for the design, supervision and construction. we are going for Italians for the designing and supervision and construction
  68. He says they are lowering a building's construction cost by reducing its weight. Building ka weight kam karke iski construction cost hum neeche leke aa rahe hain.
  69. He says they have paused construction because circumstances are up and down. Abhi humne isko construction abhi humne roki hui hai kyunke abhi koi Abhi toh sir circumstances are just up and down.
  70. He says two international financial institutions approached them to provide financing for the building. two financial institutions, international financial institutions have approached us to give us financing for the for the building.
  71. He cites an LDA decision allowing a third storey on 5-marla houses. LDA ne approve kiya ke third story jo hai woh 5 marla ke ghar ki allow kar dein.
  72. He says real estate taxes should be brought to global standards. that the real estate taxes need to be rectified as with global standards.
  73. He says people prefer to have a house with a roof and land of their own. Toh log prefer yahi karte hain ke unke paas ek ghar ho, chhat ho, zameen ho, usko prefer karte hain.
  74. He says people in low-cost housing should be supported. hume low cost housing walon ko support karna chahiye.
  75. He says he is not an economist and speaks as a layman. I'm not an expert on the economy and as a layman.
  76. He describes himself as coming from the private sector, with a stake in outcomes. Me being from the private sector mere stakes involved honge
  77. He predicts Pakistan will be the best-performing economy after 25 years. I think after 25 years Pakistan will be best performing economy.
  78. He says Pakistan has immense potential. and Pakistan has immense potential.
  79. He says they might play their small role towards building up the image of Pakistan. we might play our small role towards building up the image of Pakistan.
  80. He believes a legacy starts after a person's lifetime. legacy jo hai it starts after your lifetime.
  81. He thinks people will remember him for doing something for the community and something for the country. I think people will remember me that doing something for the community and something for for the country.
  82. He says his group will be an international major group of companies in 27 years. We will be an international major group of companies in 27 years.
  83. He says they have many international collaborations underway. hamari jo abhi is time pe bahut sari aisi collaborations, international collaborations aur bahut sari cheezein aisi chal rahi hain.
  84. He cites a 2018 World Economic Forum study on future jobs. mera World Economic Forum ki ek study thi 2018 mein ke jo bache abhi school mein dakhil ho rahe hain, by the time they graduate they will be working on jobs which have not been created yet.
  85. He says children's interaction with their parents and grandparents has been squeezed. jo interaction tha bachon ka parents ke saath, grandparents ke saath woh squeeze ho gaya hai.
  86. He says they give children exercises such as writing a thank-you note to their father, thanking him for 10 things. Hum unko exercise dete hain ke aap uh father ko thank you note likhein aur unko 10 cheezon ke upar thank you karein.