Born in 1992, Asif Ali Gohar is a graduate of the University of Hamburg. When he was 12, he migrated from Pakistan to Germany with his family. He continued to receive his formal education there and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
At the age of 15, Asif realized the need to save animals. At the time, it was just a simple idea in his brain. He was unaware of veganism as such. But as he grew older, he was introduced to the concept of veganism.
Asif Ali Gohar Introduces Vegan Leather in Pakistan
Veganism in its essence means not to consume products that are made at the expense of animals. This includes all kinds of meat, dairy, and animal-derived products such as leather. Moreover, veganism also criticizes the use of animals for medicinal means and the use of animals for entertainment purposes.
Asif Ali Gohar showed great interest in the concept as he deeply explored it during a high school project. It was his curiosity that led him to further investigate and conduct experiments using animal-free materials.
During his time at university, he was focused to find a substitute for animal leather. He began tests with rice and after many experiments, he was able to produce a leather slime made out of rice. This slime could further be refined into leather pieces/sheets that display similar characteristics to leather made from animal skin.
Veganism has gained popularity all over the world, and while Pakistan continues being a meat society, veganism in the country is on the rise, too. Increased awareness has resulted in restaurants and bakeries offering vegan menus.
Moreover, access to cruelty-free products has increased as well. People are more aware now and tend to buy products that are free from any form of animal exploitation. Thus with this rising trend, Asif Ali Gohar is determined to introduce vegan leather in Pakistan and aims to add his product to Pakistan’s leather output being exported to international markets.
There are several reasons for wanting to start his business in Pakistan. To begin with, Pakistan is the 10th largest producer of rice in the world and accounts for 8% of global rice production.
Hence obtaining raw material is not a problem in both large and small amounts. Secondly, Pakistan’s rice is of excellent quality and well suited for a venture like this. In addition to this, Pakistan also has a diverse leather industry that has exports of almost $874 million each year.
The leather industry revenue accounts for 4% of the total GDP of the country. Consequently, the country is well equipped in both of the sectors needed by the business. Last but not the least, Asif Ali Gohar has a great sense of patriotism and wants to invest in his own country.
Currently, his venture is in the planning phase, and Asif and his small team are looking for organizations that can take care of the mass production process. An innovative product like this might well turn into a major success in the business world.
