In this episode, Uzair talks to Asim Kidwai about Pakistan’s tourism sector and LOKAL, a startup that is helping scaling an affordable tourism ecosystem in the country. We talk about his journey as an entrepreneur, how the startup is growing its presence across Pakistan, and the company’s expansion plans for the GCC.

Asim Kidwai is co-founder and CEO at LOKAL. He graduated from the University of Michigan and was part of the initial team at Kia Motors that was setting up their first automotive assembly plant in Pakistan.

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction1:30 About LOKAL7:05 Modernizing hotels across Pakistan11:30 State of the tourism industry14:05 Market growth strategy19:00 Hiring the right talent22:45 Growing across Pakistan30:05 Scaling in an economic crisis33:55 Reading recommendations

Reading recommendations

- The Last days of Night by Graham Moore- World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever