WeatherWalay Announces Pakistan’s First ESOP to Empower Employees in Climate Action

In a climate where retaining top talent can be as unpredictable as Pakistan’s monsoon season, WeatherWalay celebrated its third anniversary by announcing an Employee Stock Options Plan (ESOP). While corner offices have long enjoyed slices of the company pie, WeatherWalay’s ESOP breaks new ground. Fifteen employees – or “change champions” in WeatherWalay speak – now hold stakes in the company, with a three-year vesting period that’s way longer than most Pakistani weather forecasts. They are banking on this initiative to transform their staff into a veritable task force of climate change combatants, armed with both meteorological expertise and a vested interest in the company’s success. “We always wondered how we can create shared vision and ownership among our employees so we created a mantra that puts country before company before teams before individuals and our employees showed the dedication and ownership to deserve this historical initiative”, stated Junaid Yamin, CEO Weather Walay talking exclusively to ProPakistani. He stated that it’s essential in order to build a climate tech ecosystem in Pakistan that we bring and retain the top talent and ESOP is a great tool for the private sector to do just that. When asked if there were challenges hiring climate tech resources in Pakistan where such talent is rarely fostered in institutions, Junaid agreed that, unlike Australia where he spent 15 years of his life, climate education has still not made its way into our classrooms in Pakistan properly and even the technology professionals struggle at weather tech given it uniqueness. WeatherWalay has made it mandatory for any new hires to take several courses in climate and weather education to bridge any knowledge gaps. They also share with their employees the impact they are creating like helping farmers with accurate and timely hyper-local weather advisories which can save them billions in mitigated losses. As employees get to know the problem they are solving and the people they are helping,  the shared vision and ownership only grow further. In my personal experience covering the broader startup ecosystem, WeatherWalay is a standout example of building a vibrant work culture what’s even more impressive is how they’ve extended this positive energy to their growing online community, creating a sense of shared purpose around weather awareness and climate action. Much of this can be attributed to one of their early interns, Mishal Awais, who built the foundation for a shared vision within the team, and also played a pivotal role in launching the Employee Stock Options, further empowering employees to take ownership of WeatherWalay’s success. “It was my vision that we will be based on self-accountability and self-initiative and when we hire, unlike focusing on the job description, we seek passion because that is more important to me. So we hired a lot of people from the weather community as well even when their education was not relevant,” added Junaid. He specifically highlighted one of their managers, Mashood Iqbal, who originally had a master’s in International Relations but an unwavering passion for weather forecasting. Mashood was so dedicated that he was deploying weather stations around Islamabad in a personal capacity when Junaid approached him. Today, he leads the deployment of weather stations for Pakistan’s largest private weather company, bringing his personal drive to a national scale. By giving staff a stake in the company’s success, they’re not just talking about change – they’re making it happen. As Pakistan faces growing climate risks, WeatherWalay’s approach could be just what the country needs: a business that cares about both its people and the planet. This strong work culture and commitment are reflected in WeatherWalay’s achievements as well. It now provides hyper-local weather information to over 20 million subscribers in six languages with a network that now expands over 300 Automated Weather Stations and covers 80 percent of districts of the country. WeahterWalay has more than a dozen domestic and international partners now that are benefiting from the data including global names in the tech industry. It is also receiving strong interest from public sector entities like PMD, NDMA, NDMRF, and the Punjab Government with partnerships after witnessing their tangible progress on the ground which is something positive in light of the huge need for public-private sector cooperation to deal with the climate change. Recently, they improved forecast accuracy by 40% with Multi Numerical Model which gathers data from multiple global weather models, cross-verifies it with ground observations from their weather stations, and optimizes the best models for specific conditions. They also developed a portal for the National Disaster Management Authority, and delivered a project for GSMA – UK Government, resulting in strong interest for semi-developed countries in their work. They are also in talks for the first large-scale pilot of Crop Parametric Insurance with esteemed organizations like Asian Development Bank, TPL Insurance, NDRMF, Karandaz, Jubilee Insurance, Pepsico Foundation, Salaam Takaful and others; something which was not possible before WeatherWalay but now they can make it happen. The ceremony for Weather Walay’s third-year anniversary and ESOP launch also hosted 100 key industry players, underscoring the growing recognition of the private sector’s role in combating climate change. Notable attendees included Javed Saifullah, Chairman of Saif Group; Major General (Retd) Fida Hussain Malik from the Climate Change Think Tank; Sitara Ayaz, Secretary General of the International Parliamentarians Congress, Khizer Alam, CEO of BaKhabar Kissan; and veteran Climate Scientist Dr. Hanif, former Director General of Pakistan’s Meteorological Department. Representatives from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank were also present, signifying the international financial community’s interest in climate-resilient business models while officials from the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) also attended, which signals the growing public and private sector cooperation in light of growing uncertainty around climate change. While I’m writing this, the State Bank of Pakistan’s State of Economy Report 2023-24 has just come out with a special section on, wait for it, climate change. And boy, does it paint a stark picture for Pakistan. Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change, and a report warns that by 2050, it could cost Pakistan a whopping 18 to 20% of its GDP. Pakistan’s temperature is expected to rise faster than the world average, potentially increasing by 1.4 to 3.7°C by the 2060s and up to 6°C by the 2090s. Pakistan is home to over 7,000 glaciers, which are melting alarmingly. By 2100, glaciers in the Himalayas Karakoram Hindukush ranges could lose 30-50% of their volume. Pakistan has about 3,000 glacial lakes, with 33 at risk of outburst floods. The report also states that glacial melt could initially increase water supply in the Indus River System, but flows may decrease by 30-40% in the next fifty years as glacial reservoirs deplete. Water shortages could lead to a 4.6% decline in GDP per year, with delayed climate action potentially causing a 7-8% decrease in the agriculture sector by 2030. As the climate crisis intensifies, the need for collaboration has never been more urgent. WeatherWalay’s efforts are a powerful reminder that no single entity can tackle the enormity of this challenge alone. It demands that more players across sectors—public, private, and non-profit—join hands to raise awareness and take action. Only by pooling resources, expertise, and vision can we hope to build a climate-resilient future for Pakistan and beyond.