Read below the blog article published by Jean Evans (Networking Architect) on her website www.networkingjean.ie on the 7th of November 2022
Allow me to introduce one of Ireland’s newest networks, the Pakistan Ireland Business Council.
It was co-founded by Irfan Hameed from Intax.ie and the former Ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Shuja Alam. Irfan holds the position of President of this Council.
How It All Started
It was established under the auspices of the Pakistan Embassy, under the former Ambassador to Ireland to foster commercial relations between Irish and Pakistani business owners.
Meetings are set on a monthly basis and chaired by the veteran networker and all round stellar individual, Ronan Twohig.
Format
The format is still evolving as is always the case with any new network. Tea and coffee on arrival allow for informal chatting and catchup.
Upon being invited to take a seat, Ronan then goes around the room to allow attendees to do a ’60 second elevator pitch’ on their business.
Ronan has a bell to help people stay within the 60 seconds in order to keep the meeting flowing nicely.
From there, a guest presenter is invited to do an overview on an area of expertise that s/he brings to the table. I had the pleasure of doing 10 Tips in 10 Minutes for Effective Networking.
Future meetings will also invite members to do a showcase on their business to fellow members.
There was a lovely welcoming vibe to the meeting. Something new and exciting. For many of the business owners, networking has not been a customary part of their day to day life in Ireland.
There is a hunger to extend and expand the business relations with the Irish community. The opportunity to do business together, to work on export opportunities and to learn from one another is immense.
Investment
Currently there is no charge to be involved in the network as it’s in growth stage. A fee will be implemented in the future, so it’s a good time to get involved and start building up some strategic relationships.
There are three categories that will be instigated, Gold, Silver, Bronze. As with all websites & networks, the value in each package will be down to how well the page and information is maintained.
If you sign up to a plan, make sure whoever does your marketing includes this profile page in the list of pages to keep updated! And if that’s you, just put in a quarterly reminder to update the testimonials and details!
You can get a free profile for your business which is always good and it offers a backlink to your website. You can find out more here.
The plan details are as follows for each category:
1. Gold Plan
There are many benefits and it’s easy to join on their website today!
- Tier 1 in Search Results
- List in 10 Categories
- Receive Direct Inquiries
- Display Website Link
- Display Phone Number
- Display Customer Reviews
2. Silver Plan
- Tier 2 in Search Results
- List in 5 Categories
- Receive Direct Inquiries
- Display Website Link
- Display Phone Number
- Display Customer Reviews
3. Bronze Plan
- Click to Join Now
- Tier 3 in Search Results
- List in 1 Category
- Receive Direct Inquiries
- Display Website Link
- Display Phone Number
- Display Customer Reviews
Schedule
The first meeting of the Pakistan Ireland Business Council was held in the Pakistani Embassy. Subsequent meetings have been held at member venues, e.g. Born for Burgers on Dame Street (amazing burger I have to say) and the November 2022 meeting will be held in Wayback Burgers in Rathmines at 2.30 on Nov 25th. You can find out more here.
How to Connect
There are a few ways to connect with the Executive Leadership team of the Pakistan Ireland Business Council.
Via their website here or contact them by email.
A. Embassy of Pakistan, Ailesbury Villa, 1-B Ailesbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
You can follow Pakistani Ireland activities on Instagram