LUMS and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) have entered into a strategic collaboration aimed at driving Pakistan’s transition towards sustainable electric mobility. Both institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop commercial financing schemes that will support LUMS’ upcoming initiative, the ‘Pakistan – Battery Swapping Network’. This project is designed to promote the widespread adoption of electric three-wheelers across the country by providing flexible and accessible financing solutions for potential adopters. Through this partnership, LUMS and HBL are seeking to address one of the key challenges in Pakistan’s electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem: the financial barriers faced by individuals and small businesses seeking to shift from conventional vehicles to cleaner alternatives.
The signing ceremony took place at LUMS and was attended by senior representatives from both organizations, including Omer Mallick, Product Head SME at HBL, and Dr. Tariq Mahmood Jadoon, Provost at LUMS. Also present were members of the LUMS Energy Institute (LEI) and HBL’s SME division, reflecting the strong institutional commitment to fostering green finance and innovation. The initiative directly contributes to Pakistan’s broader environmental goals by aligning with its climate change mitigation strategies under the Paris Climate Agreement and the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Beyond reducing emissions, the project underscores the role of academia and financial institutions in supporting the government’s clean energy transition through targeted collaboration and research-driven investment models.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Naveed Arshad, Director of the LUMS Energy Institute, emphasized that the project will play an instrumental role in attracting private sector investment into Pakistan’s EV charging and battery-swapping infrastructure. He stated that the initiative aims to demonstrate the strong techno-economic viability of electric three-wheelers when compared to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. According to Dr. Arshad, this approach could serve as a catalyst for transforming Pakistan’s road transport system by encouraging wider EV adoption, thereby fostering cleaner and more efficient urban mobility. Dr. Tariq Mahmood Jadoon further elaborated that LUMS has taken the lead in EV research and innovation through its eMobility Research and Development Centre, which is the first-of-its-kind facility in Pakistan for testing and characterizing EV batteries, motors, and related components. The centre’s technical capacity will play a vital role in ensuring that the Battery Swapping Network is supported by reliable and data-backed insights.
Representing the financial perspective, Omer Mallick, Product Head SME at HBL, expressed the bank’s strong commitment to supporting sustainability-driven projects. He highlighted that through the Mitigation Action Facility’s first-loss guarantee mechanism, HBL will be able to offer subsidized and convenient financing packages to private sector participants and SMEs engaged in building EV infrastructure. This collaboration aims to make electric mobility more affordable, while strengthening Pakistan’s capacity to achieve its clean energy and climate resilience objectives. By bridging the gap between innovative research at LUMS and practical financing opportunities provided by HBL, the initiative marks an important step toward the long-term development of Pakistan’s electric mobility ecosystem. Through this partnership, both organizations are reinforcing their shared vision of enabling a greener, economically inclusive, and technologically progressive future for the country.
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