Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood announced on Thursday that Amazon is going to add Pakistan in its sellers list within a few days, opening new opportunities for the country’s youth and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Pakistan is the only South Asian nation which is not included in the list of 102 countries on Amazon’s platform, despite being one of the biggest manufacturing economies in the region. Last year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ranked Pakistan 116th in the 152-nations B2C E-commerce Index.
“We have finally made it; Amazon will be adding Pakistan to its Sellers’ List within a few days,” Dawood tweeted. “We have been engaged with Amazon since last year and now it’s happening, he added. “It is a great opportunity for our youth, SMEs and women entrepreneurs… It is an excellent opportunity for our youth, SMEs and women entrepreneurs,” Dawood said.
The adviser to the prime minister on commerce said that Amazon’s listing was an important milestone of the government’s e-commerce policy, which has been achieved through teamwork by many people across the globe.
According to Noman Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Si Global, Amazon has an inventory of about 12 million items across all its categories and services. “The Amazon’s share in the US e-commerce market is 45%, which can be explored in an open competitive environment,” he said.
“It is a massive incentive for Pakistani manufacturers,” Ahmed said. Nouman Younas, digital media marketer, added that the Amazon update is not only a good new for the business community but the freelancers are also delighted.
With the arrival of Amazon in Pakistan, job opportunities in Pakistan will increase and small and big business owners will be able to benefit from it, which is a welcome development, said Muhammad Adeel, E-commerce and Digital Media Manager. “E-commerce sector will also boom,” he added.
Amazon’s global net revenue increases by approximately $45 billion on a year-on-year basis. “Amazon is a corporate giant and Pakistan being recognised by it will result in exponential economic growth,” Ahmed said.
Pakistan’s e-commerce market size posted a growth of over 35% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year to Rs96 billion, compared with Rs71 billion over the corresponding period of the previous year. Hence Pakistan is also speedily becoming a hub to enable the growth of this sector.
Meanwhile, the National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) is in the process of developing a payment solution for international payments in collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
“We are entering into a competitive world which means more people are expected to join the bandwagon and that will further increase competition at a global scale,” Ahmed said. “Entering into this world alone is not the key, people should go for online training to understand the dynamics of an online marketplace and devote themselves to revolutionising the e-commerce world of Pakistan.”
