ISLAMABAD: Pak-US Business Council on Sunday welcomed the decision of US e-commerce giant ‘Amazon’ to add Pakistan to its seller list and said it would open doors for Pakistani exporters to access international markets.
Founder chairman Pak US Business Council and President South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik said it was a major breakthrough for the country’s growing e-commerce industry as well as companies and professionals working in the digital space.
He said the new development would hopefully put Pakistan on the global e-commerce map, opening up a new era of business boom by connecting it across the world.
Talking to Jamil Ahmad Jamil Deputy Managing Director Punjab Small Industries Corporation who called on him here, Iftikhar Malik said it would now provide a new impetus and venue to Pak individual sellers to ship their products in small parcels to consumers outside Pakistan.
Iftikhar Ali Malik said it would afford them an excellent opportunity to work on and develop their own brands for better prices. He said it is heartening to note that they would not have to worry about their payments as Amazon would directly transfer the money into their local accounts.
It is a good omen that now small Pakistan sellers especially women and SME entrepreneurs who have goods and products needed by the consumers outside Pakistan but can not afford to have a big export set-up.
For instance, he said they have a large Pakistani diaspora scattered across the countries, especially in the Gulf to cater their needs.
He said it would enable a new breed of young entrepreneurs and SMEs including women to fully exploit foreign markets.
He said this fate turning decision would drastically change the game and result in a new sphere of economic growth as more sellers to visit this platform than ever before, he added.
Iftikhar Ali Malik urged young entrepreneurs derive maximum benefits once Amazon opens its seller registration for Pakistan. He stressed the need for focusing to fully ensure the international quality of products before export.
He said Amazon like other international companies and brands, is a highly consumer-centric market place where consumer’s reviews are taken very seriously. Therefore, Pakistan entrepreneurs will have to be very careful if they desire to benefit from this opportunity.
Jamil Ahmad Jamil emphasised that trend of e-commerce had accelerated in recent years with the development and easy accessibility of internet. He said due to covid 19 pandemic, the importance of e-commerce had increased manifolds making it an extremely vital sector of economy.
He said Pakistan e-commerce market itself has grown dramatically over the last one year and is estimated to have expended by 35 percent in his quarter of the current fiscal to Rs 96 billion from Rs 71 billion a year ago. He said we are planning to involve our SMEs to join this gateway with the best ever quality products of international standards.
He said Pakistan was the only South Asian state, which was not on the list of the 120 countries on the Amazon platform in spite of being the second largest economy in the region.