Mohsin Ahsan

director at Akron Trade and Transport FZE

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

Mohsin Ahsan is the founder of Mafco / Nooriya / Nisma. Ahsan worked for two years at a data analytics company. He started doing media work, and his mother worried that he had moved into media.

Early life and background

Ahsan was born in Lahore. His father worked in the hospitality industry and held a hospitality diploma from Germany. His father worked for InterContinental Hotels in Lahore before taking a job with the group in Africa. Ahsan says his family were not business people and came from Islamabad, where jobs were the norm. [1]

Ahsan was a child in the 1980s when he moved to Africa, after his father took a job opportunity. The family lived in Lusaka, Zambia. Africa was his first experience living abroad, and he describes it as one of the most beautiful places. He returned to Pakistan after about four and a half years abroad, and the family landed in Karachi. [1]

His grandfather had army uniforms stitched for a GCC country, and Ahsan went with his grandfather to the factories. [1]

Education

Ahsan began his schooling in Lahore, from grade 1 to about grade 3 or 4. He has no formal degree in fashion. [1]

Career

Ahsan worked for two years at a data analytics company. He started doing media work, and his mother worried that he had moved into media. He told his mother he could not work an 8 to 12 hour job and also run his own business. He did advisory work when clients called, and questioned how long he could sustain it. He says he learned in banking that it is all about customer satisfaction. [1]

When he chose his next venture, Ahsan says he did not want to chase money and looked for a challenge that was something different. He says he received the Pride of Pakistan award in 2021. He is the Director of Financial Investments at Akron Trade and Transport FZE. [1]

Mafco and landscaping

Ahsan set up a fund under the name Mafco, and under it a unit covers landscaping and swimming pools. He says the business currently focuses on B2B clients. He says Dubai needs landscaping because nature there has to be built artificially, and that the growth of the hospitality sector means every hotel needs landscaping. He says the landscaping business will add a digital angle and may be the first landscaping company to bring in an app. [1]

Fashion

Ahsan was among those who created a fashion brand in Pakistan. He began travelling to Pakistan somewhat more often than usual, and he made sure to be in Pakistan every two months. He says he personally hired the team and personally led the first two fashion collections. He and his partners have the final input on every collection of the brand. A close friend of his runs the Manto brand, and he worked closely with that friend while the Manto brand was being set up. [1]

He says the brand launched a Pret line and a three-piece unstitched line, and that it is currently positioned for bridal and luxury formal wear. The brand is no longer doing ready-to-wear or Pret. Laam was one of the brand's most active partners, and the brand used the distribution network that Laam offered. All of the brand's designs are in-house, and the brand has in-house stitchers. When orders exceed capacity, the brand gives them to outside CMT partners. He says each design is made in a run of at least 24 or 48 pieces, never one. [1]

The brand has set up a company in the UK to take its luxury line to a wider audience abroad, and it has an outlet in DHA, Lahore. Ahsan plans for three to seven outlets globally. He describes the brand as almost three years old, and it had about 65,000 followers at that point. He says there is a growing demand for modest fashion. [1]

Modest wear brand in Dubai

Ahsan says he is launching a modest wear brand in Dubai that combines abayas with trench coats. He says the Dubai brand will sell purely through e-commerce, and that the stitching for the Dubai brand is done entirely in the UAE. He says there is no ready abaya stock, only ready designs. [1]

Views

Ahsan says a job teaches valuable lessons, and that failure teaches lessons that success cannot. He says you have to lose in order to win, and that change is the only constant thing. He says his expertise is strategy and that a brand is all about trust. He says he could not reach this level of customer service with a Pakistan-based setup. He says he is the only designer on the collection, along with his production designer, and that he trusted his instinct completely and did not bring a designer on board. [1]

Ahsan says Gen Z has taken up entrepreneurship faster than earlier generations and that Gen Z is very intelligent. He says real estate is a very short-lived phenomenon. [1]

Views on Pakistan

Ahsan says he has seen many positive changes in Pakistan. He acknowledges that inflation in Pakistan has been very high over the past two years. He says a local burger joint in parts of Pakistan is doing better than KFC, and that there are now many local brands to choose from, which he calls great. He says Pakistan still has the potential to support businesses of any size. [1]

Ahsan says his business is one of those trying to build in Pakistan and take it out of Pakistan, and that he is in talks to set up something new in Pakistan, for Pakistan. He says he keeps going back to Pakistan in some form. He says the outlook for Pakistan by 2050 is great, and that the change he expects in Pakistan will show over a 100-year cycle. [1]

Personal life

Ahsan did not go back to Pakistan often between 2014 and 2017. He recently travelled across northern Pakistan, including Nathiagali. [1]

Timeline

1980s
Moved to Africa as a child, after his father took a job opportunity.[1]
2014 to 2017
Did not go back to Pakistan often.[1]
2021
Says he received the Pride of Pakistan award.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2024-01-19 Why a banker of twenty years built a landscaping company and a fashion label Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Mohsin Ahsan?

Mohsin Ahsan is the Director of Financial Investments at Akron Trade and Transport FZE. He was born in Lahore. He set up a fund under the name Mafco and was among those who created a fashion brand in Pakistan.[1]

What does Mohsin Ahsan do?

Mohsin Ahsan is the Director of Financial Investments at Akron Trade and Transport FZE. He set up a fund under the name Mafco, and under it a unit covers landscaping and swimming pools. He says he is also launching a modest wear brand in Dubai.[1]

What is Mafco?

Mafco is a fund that Mohsin Ahsan set up. Under it, a unit covers landscaping and swimming pools.[1]

What fashion brands is Mohsin Ahsan involved with?

Mohsin Ahsan was among those who created a fashion brand in Pakistan. He says the brand is currently positioned for bridal and luxury formal wear. He also says he is launching a modest wear brand in Dubai that combines abayas with trench coats.[1]

What does Mohsin Ahsan say about Pakistan?

Mohsin Ahsan says he has seen many positive changes in Pakistan and that the country still has the potential to support businesses of any size. He says the outlook for Pakistan by 2050 is great. He also acknowledges that inflation has been very high over the past two years.[1]

Did Mohsin Ahsan study fashion?

Mohsin Ahsan has no formal degree in fashion. He says his expertise is strategy.[1]

References

  1. Why a banker of twenty years built a landscaping company and a fashion label . Thought Behind Things , 2024-01-19.
Show the source passages (81 statements)
  1. Mohsin Ahsan was born in Lahore. Yaar main Lahore mein paida hua tha aur early life Lahore mein hi guzri, shuru ke kuch saal.
  2. He started school at a school in Lahore, from grade 1 to about grade 3 or 4. Shuru mein St. Anthony's School tha Lahore mein, toh udhar se start kiya tha grade 1 se leke grade 3 ya 4 tak.
  3. His father worked in the hospitality industry. Father job karte the hospitality industry mein.
  4. The family lived in Lusaka, Zambia. Ek mulk hai Zambia. The city is called Lusaka.
  5. His father took a job opportunity, and the family moved to Africa. unhone woh opportunity le li aur phir main unke saath family sab hum log Africa chale gaye.
  6. His father worked for InterContinental Hotels in Lahore before taking a job with the group in Africa. Haan, he got a job at Intercontinental Hotels in Africa. Woh usse pehle bhi Intercontinental Hotel Lahore mein kaam karte the.
  7. His father held a hospitality diploma from Germany. unka diploma tha from Germany hospitality mein
  8. He describes Africa as one of the most beautiful places. Africa yaar aaj bhi main yeh bolunga ke it's one of the most beautiful places.
  9. Africa was his first experience living abroad. Toh mere liye toh first experience tha. First time.
  10. He was a child in the 1980s when he moved to Africa. Nahi main toh you know chota like 3rd, 4th grade mein tha toh 80s.
  11. He returned to Pakistan and the family landed in Karachi after about four and a half years abroad. 4, 4.5 saal baad. That is when I came back and wahan se wapsi hui another great city of Pakistan, lively city. We landed in Karachi.
  12. Mohsin Ahsan is the Director of Financial Investments at Akron Trade and Transport FZE. Mohsin Ahsan is the Director of Financial Investments at Akron Trade and Transport FZE.
  13. He says his family were not business people and came from Islamabad, where jobs were the norm. Business hum business wale the hi nahi, Islamabad ke log hain, job pesha puri zindagi naukri karni.
  14. His mother worried that he had moved into media. somewhere na my mother was always worried ke yaar yeh pata nahi media mein chala gaya hai.
  15. He started doing media work. I remember when I was doing, I started doing media.
  16. He told his mother he could not work an 8 to 12 hour job and also run his own business. Maine kaha maa main super human toh hoon nahi ke main you know bas 8-12 ghante naukri bhi karoon, phir main apna yeh bhi saara dhanda chaloon.
  17. He worked for two years at a data analytics company. maine naukri ki maine 2 saal, TerraData mein ek data analytics ki company
  18. He says he received the Pride of Pakistan award in 2021. Main 2021 mein maine Pakistan TV, Amir sahab ne Pride of Pakistan ka award de diya
  19. He says a job teaches valuable lessons. Aapko jo learning milti hai, aap jo cheezein seekhte ho, woh badi zabardast hoti hain.
  20. He says failure teaches lessons that success cannot. jo cheez aapko failure sikhati hai na, woh aapko kabhi bhi success nahi sikha sakti
  21. He says you have to lose in order to win. You know, you have to lose in order to win.
  22. He says Gen Z has taken up entrepreneurship faster than earlier generations. they have picked it faster than any other, you know, generation and they are doing it.
  23. He says Gen Z is very intelligent. Gen Z is very intelligent.
  24. He says change is the only constant thing. Woh hai change. Jis din aap yeh samajh jayain ke change is the only constant thing na
  25. He says real estate is a very short-lived phenomenon. Toh real estate is a very short-lived phenomena.
  26. He did advisory work when clients called, and questioned how long he could sustain it. Advisory toh aaj bhi aisa nahi advisory nahi hoti, koi client call kar leta hai, you help them out, lekin usko kab tak sustain kar sakta tha?
  27. He says he did not want to chase money when he chose his next venture. I did not want to chase money.
  28. He says he looked for a challenge that was something different. Ab challenge kya hai? Koi cheez different.
  29. He says Dubai needs landscaping because nature there has to be built artificially. Jahan pe you really have to artificially build the nature.
  30. He says the growth of the hospitality sector means every hotel needs landscaping. Dusri cheez hospitality sector has grown aur har hotel ko landscaping uh ki zaroorat padti hai.
  31. He says the business currently focuses on B2B clients. abhi hum B2B pe hi focus kar rahe hain.
  32. He says the landscaping business will add a digital angle and may be the first landscaping company to bring in an app. we will add a digital angle to it and I think we will probably be the first ones to bring in an app on a landscaping company
  33. He set up a fund under the name Mafco, and under it a unit covers landscaping and swimming pools. the fund ek maine create kar diya tha Mafco ke naam se aur uske umbrella ke neeche ek cheez aayi which looks at landscaping, swimming pool, not only maintenance also construction.
  34. He was among those who created a fashion brand in Pakistan. ek cheez humne create ki jo ke Nuriya brand hai in Pakistan.
  35. He and his partners have the final input on every collection of the brand. Nuriya ki koi bhi collection ke andar I and my partners will have a final input.
  36. He says the brand launched a Pret line and a three-piece unstitched line. Humne Pret bhi launch kiya, humne 3-piece unstitched bhi launch kiya
  37. He says the brand is currently positioned for bridal and luxury formal wear. Is waqt Noria is positioned for bridal and luxury formal
  38. The brand has set up a company in the UK to take its luxury line to a wider audience abroad. We have set up a company in UK aur us product line ko hum outside Pakistan leke jayenge
  39. The brand has an outlet in DHA, Lahore. We have an outlet in DHA, Lahore.
  40. He plans for three to seven outlets globally. we just plan to keep it simple from three to seven outlets globally
  41. He says each design is made in a run of at least 24 or 48 pieces, never one. No, it can never be one piece. It will always have a minimum 24, 48 jitni ek run mein zaroorat hoti hai.
  42. He says there is a growing demand for modest fashion. and there's a growing demand um for this.
  43. He began travelling to Pakistan somewhat more often than usual. Ek un dino I started traveling to Pakistan a little more than I usually did.
  44. His grandfather had army uniforms stitched for a GCC country. my grandfather used to get the army uniform stitched for one of the GCC countries here.
  45. He went with his grandfather to the factories. Toh main unke saath jata tha un factories mein.
  46. He has no formal degree in fashion. I have not got a very any formal degree in fashion
  47. A close friend of his runs the Manto brand. A very good friend of mine, uh he runs this brand called Manto.
  48. He worked closely with that friend while the Manto brand was being set up. I was actually very closely working with him when he was setting it up.
  49. The brand has in-house stitchers. Uh hamare in-house stitchers bhi hain, right?
  50. When orders exceed capacity, the brand gives them to outside CMT partners. Agar over supply ho jaye orders ki toh bahar CMTs ke saath arrangement hai, toh woh unko execute karte hain.
  51. He says he personally hired the team. woh sab team ko humne khud hire kiya.
  52. He made sure to be in Pakistan every two months. I made sure ke har 2 mahine baad I used to be there.
  53. The brand is almost three years old. Now it's almost 3 years old.
  54. The brand had about 65,000 followers at the time of recording. today Alhamdulillah we have 65,000 followers.
  55. He says he is launching a modest wear brand in Dubai that combines abayas with trench coats. launching a modest wear brand in Dubai in UAE uh which will have a combination of the abayas that you mentioned along with the fusion combination of trench coats
  56. He says the Dubai brand will sell purely through e-commerce. the brand is called Nesma and it is going to be and this will be purely e-commerce
  57. He says the stitching for the Dubai brand is done entirely in the UAE. but the entire stitching and the entire things is done completely in UAE.
  58. He says he is the only designer on the collection, along with his production designer. Ismein the only designer is I, me, myself along with my production designer.
  59. He personally led the first two fashion collections. pehli do collections I have spearheaded personally
  60. He says his expertise is strategy. My my expertise would be strategy
  61. He says he trusted his instinct completely and did not bring a designer on board. where I trusted my instinct completely and I did not get in a designer on board
  62. Laam was one of the brand's most active partners. Laam was one of our partners, one of our most active partners
  63. The brand is no longer doing ready-to-wear or Pret. although we are no longer doing RTW or Pret
  64. The brand used the distribution network that Laam offered. what we did capitalize on is the distribution network that Laam offered.
  65. All of the brand's designs are in-house. All our designs are in-house. None of it is from outside.
  66. He says a brand is all about trust. Brand is all about trust.
  67. He says he learned in banking that it is all about customer satisfaction. Banking mein ek cheez samajh aa gayi thi, it's all about customer satisfaction.
  68. He says he could not reach this level of customer service with a Pakistan-based setup. Pakistan mein yeh setup rakh ke main kabhi bhi yeh customer service nahi achieve kar sakta.
  69. He says there is no ready abaya stock, only ready designs. there is no ready abaya. Only the designs are ready
  70. He did not go back to Pakistan often between 2014 and 2017. Between 2014 and 2017 was a time I didn't get the chance to go back a lot
  71. He recently travelled across northern Pakistan, including Nathiagali. last month I was all in the northern side, Nathiagali and every other place in Pakistan
  72. He says he has seen many positive changes in Pakistan. I have seen a lot of positive things.
  73. He acknowledges that inflation in Pakistan has been very high over the past two years. Uh mehngai hai, beshak aur pichle do saalon se toh bahut zyada hai.
  74. He says a local burger joint in parts of Pakistan is doing better than KFC. aap dang reh jate ho ke yaar local burger joint is doing better than KFC
  75. He says there are now many local brands to choose from, which he calls great. Ab toh there are unlimited options of local brands, which is great, right?
  76. He says Pakistan still has the potential to support businesses of any size. Pakistan mein aaj bhi itna potential hai ke woh koi bhi chhote, bade, usse bade business ko support kar sakta hai.
  77. He says his business is one of those trying to build in Pakistan and take it out of Pakistan. we are trying to do it. We we are bringing it, made it in Pakistan and bringing it out of Pakistan.
  78. He is in talks to set up something new in Pakistan, for Pakistan. we are already in talks with setting up something else in Pakistan
  79. He says he keeps going back to Pakistan in some form. that's why I keep going back into Pakistan for some shape of form.
  80. He says the outlook for Pakistan by 2050 is great. Hope of 2050 is great for Pakistan
  81. He says the change he expects in Pakistan will show over a 100-year cycle. jo change hai na woh 100 years ke cycle mein dikhega.