Luqman Ali Afzal acquired the spirit of entrepreneurship while he was still a student at Lahore University Management Sciences (LUMS). He managed Khokha, which was a very small business venture, with only two employees, 17 years ago a
t LUMS. Today, he single-handedly established the Monal Group which employs over 2,400 people at four restaurants, two banquet halls and two amusement parks. The operations of the group are
spread in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore, with a yearly turnover of more than half a billion rupees and contributes more than Rs 200 million annually in taxes, duties, fees and rentals to the government exchequer.
The Monal Restaurant, Islamabad created immense employment opportunities for local people in the area. Today, the restaurant has become an iconic tourist attraction and has transformed the socio-economic dynamics of the surrounding villages, enriching lives of over 600 families. Over the years, the company diversified by developing a family entertainment area in Islamabad and an outdoor caterin
g wing, which also includes two banquet venues. In 2015, the company added another three restaurants simultaneously, one each in Lahore, Rawalpindi and the Centaurus Mall, Islamabad. The most recent addition to The Monal Group, Asian Wok was inaugurated in April 2018 in Islamabad which offers Chinese and Thai cuisines.
Ali Afzal is an active member of the LUMS Islamabad Alumni Chapter. He eagerly mentors LUMS students and alumni looking for advice on entering food business. He is also currently teaching a
t LUMS continuing education initiative, Lifetime Learning a
t LUMS and works with Rizq, which is a LUMS alumni-led social enterprise which combats food wastage and hunger in
Pakistan. Monal Foundation manages a school and a hos
pital in Afzal’s ancestral village. The hos
pital is completely free and daily serves more than 500 patients and specialises in issues related to pregnancy, children, diabetes, hepatitis and eyes.
Published in Daily Times, December 19th2018.
