Bjarke Mikkelsen, CEO of the e-commerce retail platform Daraz, speaks with Reuters during an interview in Islamabad, Pakistan November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Pakistan's largest e-commerce retail platform Daraz aims to host up to 300,000 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in two years, its CEO said, as the firm seeks to bolster its position in its home market in the face of potential competition from global giant Amazon.
E-commerce growth in the country of 220 million is yet to take off fully, like in neighbouring India where the market features retail heavyweights such as Amazon (AMZN.O) and Walmart (WMT.N) and large local platforms run by India's Reliance (RELI.NS) and Tata groups.
Daraz, founded in 2012 in Pakistan and acquired by Chinese giant Alibaba (9988.HK) in 2018, has 100,000 SMEs in Pakistan on its platform.
"We want to get to 300,000 active and educated SMEs selling on our platform within the next two years, and that will basically create a million jobs," CEO Bjarke Mikkelsen told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
Pakistan's rapidly growing middle class, over 60% youth population and broadband subscriptions of over 100 million,
makes it a lucrative destination for e-commerce platforms.
Amazon announced earlier this year that it will allow Pakistani entrepreneurs to sell products on its marketplace.
Before the interview, Mikkelsen met Prime Minister Imran Khan and his finance and investment teams to discuss coordination...
Read Full Story: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/pakistan-e-commerce-platform-daraz-aims-beef-up-amazon-eyes-market-2021-11-25/
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