Junaid Iqbal

founder of Salt Ventures, ex-Careem Pay MD

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

Junaid Iqbal is a founder, Salt Ventures and former managing director and global head, Careem Pay. Iqbal's first job was at one of the largest power producers in America, in an energy trading division. He was working as a trader.

Early life and background

Iqbal was born in Karachi. He says his marks were weak in his early school years and that he only just passed class 6. [1]

Education

Iqbal took his O-levels and A-levels at schools in Karachi. He completed his A-levels in 1998. He studied economics at O-level. Iqbal earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. [1]

Career

Iqbal's first job was at one of the largest power producers in America, in an energy trading division. He was working as a trader. Iqbal said he wanted to go back and get his H1 visa stamped. [1]

Iqbal found a contact at Geo through an uncle. He was told that he spoke too much English and was asked to record again in Urdu. Iqbal says he was at Geo for about two years. He also worked briefly at SECP, and he joined CNBC as it was launching. [1]

Iqbal was internal head of research and a spokesperson. He also held two roles: head of research and one of the lead anchors. [1]

Financial services

Iqbal was made CEO of a financial services company. He says preparations were complete towards the end of 2007, with a launch planned for 8 January. Iqbal's team set up a secondary over-the-counter market for term finance certificates. Iqbal was given charge of a retail brokerage division. After four years, Iqbal says his equity there had matured and he sold it back. [1]

Elixir Securities

Elixir Securities was a brokerage and investment banking firm. Iqbal was brought on board at Elixir by its new board. He says his firm became one of the top three brokers in under four years. [1]

Iqbal says his firm ranked number one in investment banking in one year. He says it was an advisor on a secondary sale of a bank that was a billion dollar transaction. According to Iqbal, his team did groundbreaking work in retail brokerage, building an app and starting to acquire customers through digital media. [1]

Careem

Iqbal was managing director of Careem Pay. He was also managing director of Careem in Saudi Arabia. Iqbal says that in Saudi Arabia the best local talent worked for the government, which made hiring difficult. He says about 90% of Careem and Uber captains were expatriates in 2017. [1]

Views

Iqbal says Pakistan's tax rates are too high, its tax filing is complicated and its economy is undocumented. He says Pakistan's corporate tax rate is above 30%. Iqbal calls sales tax a regressive tax. [1]

Iqbal says the government's job is to spend on education and on healthcare. He says there are 44 ministries and that the federal government is made up of 6 lakh (600,000) people. Iqbal puts the federal budget at about $50 billion. He says Pakistan's total debt has grown at 10 to 11%. [1]

Iqbal says not as much hydropower capacity was built as should have been. He calls energy the hardest one to fix, because plants are now based on imported RFO and imported LNG. Iqbal asks whether $8 billion of food imports is a national security risk. [1]

Iqbal says land is a parking place for money. He calls PIA the ultimate symptom of national failure. Iqbal says work cannot be done without a charter for the economy. He says markets always correct themselves, which he calls a core belief. He describes mineral and oil wealth as a band-aid, not a silver bullet. [1]

Iqbal says the Middle East realised around 2016-17 that it had two resources. He says there is a war for talent today. Iqbal says the Saudis stopped handouts and raised the price of power. [1]

Personal life

Iqbal had a brother who had already been to college in the US. His father applied for Canadian immigration, which was approved. Iqbal says that after the approval nobody went to Canada. [1]

Timeline

1998
Completed his A-levels[1]
2017
Iqbal says about 90% of Careem and Uber captains were expatriates[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-08-18 Pakistan can fix its own fundamentals — the reason it won't Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

What company did Junaid Iqbal found?

Junaid Iqbal is the founder of Salt Ventures.[1]

Where is Junaid Iqbal from?

Junaid Iqbal was born in Karachi. He took his O-levels and A-levels at schools in Karachi.[1]

Where did Junaid Iqbal study?

Junaid Iqbal took his O-levels and A-levels at schools in Karachi and completed his A-levels in 1998. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.[1]

What was Junaid Iqbal's role at Careem?

Junaid Iqbal was managing director of Careem Pay, where he was also Global Head. He was also managing director of Careem in Saudi Arabia.[1]

What was Junaid Iqbal's first job?

Junaid Iqbal's first job was at one of the largest power producers in America. It was in an energy trading division.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan can fix its own fundamentals — the reason it won't . Thought Behind Things , 2023-08-18.
Show the source passages (57 statements)
  1. Iqbal is the former Managing Director and Global Head of Careem Pay. Junaid Iqbal is the former Managing Director and Global Head of Careem Pay.
  2. Iqbal is the founder of Salt Ventures. He is also the founder of Salt Ventures and is one of the Sharks on Shark Tank Pakistan
  3. Iqbal is one of the Sharks on Shark Tank Pakistan. is one of the Sharks on Shark Tank Pakistan, the local edition of the popular TV show
  4. Iqbal was born in Karachi. Main Karachi mein paida hua and wahin par I went to school
  5. Iqbal took his O-levels and A-levels at schools in Karachi. wahin par I went to school, St. Michael's se maine O-levels kiya, Lyceum se A-levels kiya.
  6. Iqbal completed his A-levels in 1998. A-levels 98, class of 98.
  7. Iqbal studied economics at O-level. O-levels mein bhi maine economics padhi thi
  8. Iqbal earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. I went to University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Toh wahan se maine undergrad kiya tha in economics.
  9. Iqbal says his marks were weak in early school years and he only just passed class 6. Toh class 6 mein toh mere bahut hi bure marks aaye the, so I just passed.
  10. Iqbal had a brother who had already been to college in the US. kyunki my brother had already been to college in the US
  11. Iqbal's father applied for Canadian immigration, which was approved. To mere walid sahab ne bhi apply kar diya to Canadian immigration aa bhi gayi.
  12. Iqbal says that after the approval nobody went to Canada. Actually phir koi Canada gaya hi nahi.
  13. Iqbal's first job was at one of the largest power producers in America. Pehle mujhe jo pehli job mili woh American Electric ek company hai, one of the largest power producers of America.
  14. Iqbal's first job was in an energy trading division. Toh jo energy trading division tha, usmein mujhe pehli job mili thi.
  15. Iqbal was working as a trader. by then I was a trader.
  16. Iqbal said he wanted to go back and get his H1 visa stamped. I said to them ke mujhe I want to go back and get my H1 stamped.
  17. Iqbal found a contact at Geo through an uncle. woh kisi se contact nikla ek uncle ke through wahan par Geo mein hote the, Fuzail Zubair sahab, zabardast aadmi
  18. Iqbal was told that he spoke too much English and was asked to record again in Urdu. aap English bahut bol rahe the beech mein, wapas aake Urdu mein record karein.
  19. Iqbal says he was at Geo for about two years. And how long were you there with, with Geo? About two years.
  20. Iqbal worked briefly at SECP. Beech mein a very short stint with the government. I went and worked, uh, SECP ke saath.
  21. Iqbal was internal head of research and a spokesperson. Woh tha ki, uh, internal head of research and, and a spokesperson.
  22. Iqbal joined CNBC as it was launching. phir CNBC launch ho raha tha. Right. So then I joined them.
  23. Iqbal held two roles: head of research and one of the lead anchors. I had two roles, I was head of research and main ek, uh, one of the, you know, lead anchors bhi tha.
  24. Iqbal was made CEO of a financial services company. BMA Financial Services. I was I was I was made CEO of that.
  25. Iqbal says preparations were complete towards the end of 2007, with a launch planned for 8 January. towards the end of 2007 poori tayari ho gayi aur 8th Jan ko humne badi launch plan ki hui thi
  26. Iqbal's team set up a secondary over-the-counter market for term finance certificates. humne ek jo TFCs hote the, term finance certificates, uski ek secondary over the counter market ka ek setup banaya
  27. Iqbal was given charge of a retail brokerage division. BMA walon ne mujhe woh apna jo unka retail brokerage ka division tha, woh bhi head karne ke liye diya
  28. After four years, Iqbal says his equity there had matured and he sold it back. 4 saal baad meri jo wahan equity wagera thi, woh mature ho gayi thi, toh I sold sold that back to them
  29. Elixir Securities was a brokerage and investment banking firm. Elixir Securities, which was in brokerage and investment banking firm.
  30. Iqbal was brought on board at Elixir by its new board. unko unhone Elixir ka chairman banaya tha ke yaar ek young bande ko chairman banate hain, let him make a board and let him hire a CEO. So then that young board like they brought me on board
  31. Iqbal says his firm became one of the top three brokers in under four years. Toh less than 4 years mein hum top 3 broker ban gaye.
  32. Iqbal says his firm ranked number one in investment banking in one year. investment banking mein we ranked number 1 that year
  33. Iqbal says his firm was an advisor on a secondary sale of a bank that was a billion dollar transaction. 3 mein hum we were we were advisors, including jo Habib Bank ki secondary sale hui thi, which was a billion dollar transaction.
  34. Iqbal says his team did groundbreaking work in retail brokerage, building an app and starting to acquire customers through digital media. humne retail brokerage mein bada groundbreaking kaam kiya, app banayi, digital media pe acquisition shuru ki customers ki
  35. Iqbal was managing director of Careem Pay. I was MD for Careem Pay.
  36. Iqbal was managing director of Careem in Saudi Arabia. Jab main Kareem Saudi ka managing director tha
  37. Iqbal says that in Saudi Arabia the best local talent worked for the government, which made hiring difficult. hum achha talent hire hi nahi kar paate the kyunki jo best Saudi talent tha, woh government ke liye kaam kar raha tha
  38. Iqbal says about 90% of Careem and Uber captains were expatriates in 2017. Kareem aur Uber mein 2017 mein 90% jo kaptan the, woh expats the.
  39. Iqbal says Pakistan's tax rates are too high, its tax filing is complicated and its economy is undocumented. Tax rate zyada hai, tax filing complicated hai aur economy undocumented hai, yeh nahi chalegi.
  40. Iqbal says Pakistan's corporate tax rate is above 30%. Uh Pakistan ka jo corporate tax rate hai woh 30% se upar hai.
  41. Iqbal calls sales tax a regressive tax. Sales tax to regressive tax hai
  42. Iqbal says not as much hydropower capacity was built as should have been. Humne hydel capacity jitni lagani chahiye thi, nahi lagayi.
  43. Iqbal says energy is the hardest one to fix, because plants are now based on imported RFO and imported LNG. Energy is the hardest one kyunke ab RFO based, imported LNG based plant lag gaye hain
  44. Iqbal asks whether $8 billion of food imports is a national security risk. 8 billion food import ho rahi hai to isn't that a national security risk?
  45. Iqbal says the government's job is to spend on education and on healthcare. Government ka kaam hai education pe kharch kare, government ka kaam hai healthcare pe kharch kare
  46. Iqbal says there are 44 ministries. 44 ministries hain Muzamil.
  47. Iqbal says the federal government is made up of 6 lakh (600,000) people. 6 lakh logon ki federal government banayi hui hai yaar
  48. Iqbal says the federal budget is about $50 billion. federal government ka budget hai, woh hai takreeban 50 billion dollar
  49. Iqbal says Pakistan's total debt has grown at 10 to 11%. Lekin Pakistan ki jo debt hai, total country ki debt, woh 10 11% se grow hui hai.
  50. Iqbal says land is a parking place for money. isliye land is a parking place for money.
  51. Iqbal calls PIA the ultimate symptom of national failure. Maine PIA ko as a reference liya, um, because PIA is the ultimate symptom of national failure.
  52. Iqbal says work cannot be done without a charter for the economy. Charter for economy ke baghair aap kaam kar hi nahi sakte
  53. Iqbal says markets always correct themselves, which he calls a core belief. Markets always correct themselves. Yeh, yeh mera toh core belief hai.
  54. Iqbal says mineral and oil wealth would be a band-aid, not a silver bullet. Having said this, yeh sirf ek band-aid hai. Aap minerals nikaalein, aap tel nikaalein, yeh koi silver bullet solution nahi ho sakta.
  55. Iqbal says the Middle East realised around 2016-17 that it had two resources. Middle East ne uh, around 2016-17, inko yeh realization ho gayi ki inke paas do resources hain
  56. Iqbal says there is a war for talent today. Aaj unhone aaj war ho rahi hai talent ki.
  57. Iqbal says the Saudis stopped handouts and raised the price of power. To Saudis basically got a handout at home. Unhone hand outs band kiye. Unhone power ki qeemat ko barhaya.