(22 October, 2018)
President Pakistan Businessmen and wad Forum (PBIF), President AKIA, Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said that e-commerce is being promoted in Pakistan, given to increased use of internet, smart phone and broadband. The state bank’s report disclosed that the e-commerce stood at Rs. 21 billion in 2017 which has increased by 94 percent to Rs. 40 billion in 2018, economically very encouraging and appreciative. It is pertinent to state that the amount did not include the e-commerce transactions carried through cash on delivery mode.
The veteran business leader while talking to the business community said that currently the retail business has been benefited through e-commerce but keeping the inclined trend of online business in mind, it is expected that the business-to-business online activities will be promoted accordingly. The e-commerce is further expected to grow by 25 percent in the coming years of 2019 and 2020 respectively.
The former minister said that unlike to traditional business, the e-commerce provides a unique platform that widely benefits customers at their doorstep with several attractions including saving of time, fuel & travelling cost. On the other hand, the business can easily communicate to customers online in addition to save the utilities and various expenses unavoidable in traditional setup, saves the cost of doing business.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that huge potential of e-commerce lies in Pakistan indicated by the 150 million mobile phone subscribers in the country with 56 million broadband users, 18 million smart phone users and 21 percent internet users. Logistics’ support to e-commerce is being provided by worthy names including Pakistan Post, TCS, Leopard courier, etc that provide delivery services to the online buyers. Legislative support is also there to protect e-commerce users and secure platforms are available to ensure safety of the sensitive and financial data of online buyers. However, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are far ahead from Pakistan in E-Commerce standing at $ 35 billion, $ 3.5 billion and $ 1 billion respectively.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that various goods and services can be bought / availed online in Pakistan including vehicles, property, food products, electronics appliances, job search and cab service, etc. The small investors especially women entrepreneurs can grab the opportunity of making handsome profits through e-commerce’ platform. Skilled women can sale the handmade products and make handsome earnings. To benefit the entrepreneurs associated with e-commerce the state bank should take measures to introduce PayPal services in Pakistan.
