Tech-related discussions among professionals and decision-makers always lead to robust outcomes. To realize this result, on the 7th of January, in the VIP conference room, a roundtable session was organized by Mr. Bilal Mumtaz (Chapter Director – Lahore of the Pakistan E-commerce Consortium) on the topic of Current Economic Situation and E-commerce Challenges. Various problems were highlighted under one roof during a roundtable attended by 30 well-known personalities. LCCI’s president, Kashif Anwar, was the Chief Guest. He started the conversation by getting questions from the members.
Sheikh Aziz ur Rehman (Founder & CEO of Hive Metrics) and Umair Arshad (COO of Hive Metrics) talked about the challenges businesses are facing these days to scale up in the digital world. He strongly emphasized on government support to strength the E-Commerce Industry in Pakistan. In his visionary opinion, “Private Public partnership and strong engagement is necessary to have productive business outcome”. He also elaborated on the contribution of HIVE METRCS and its support in upscaling businesses with state-of-the-art digital services. To them, E-Commerce can be a big pillar to support Pakistan’s economy and establish avenues for global export.
Mr. Naveed Ahmad (Master Trainer PITB) raised the issue of making a special policy for freelancers, which included their sales channel, earnings, and payment gateways. Also, he discussed Pakistan’s current economic situation and the contribution of all sectors to the country’s prosperity. Kashif Anwar suggested that all eCommerce stakeholders register as taxpayers to support stabilizing our economy. Addressing the roundtable, he said, “Due to the fact that many businesses haven’t yet registered their businesses in the FBR, registering them in the tax net will allow us to work with policymakers and come up with a positive outcome that will both help you in your grooming and play a crucial role during this difficult time.”
Muhammad Ali Qureshi (Regional Manager Trax and Co-Chair Roundtable) stated. “We need to change our attitude and actions toward the economy of our country by implementing some valuable additions, such as the urgent implementation of IT skills in Pakistan, in order to help us grow rapidly. Additionally, it helps our existing and upcoming generations to develop a vision about new ways to earn money and how to assist in stabilizing the economy. We obviously have the potential to create an enabling working environment where our youth can harness their true potential.” He also emphasized the significance of fostering AI and technology together.
Ayesha Zaman (CEO of Skills Todo) pointed out that the government and opposition are not paying enough attention to the IT sector because they are fighting over other issues which affect our economy. She added, “The main concern of this roundtable session is to develop some new plans for how we can participate positively in our economic success through our work and disciplines. Being patriotic citizens of this country, it’s our responsibility to make hard decisions to overcome difficult situations”.
TRAX General Manager Waqas Ahmed Dar suggested that every graduate be offered a job to reduce unemployment. “Universities produce more than 50,000 graduates each year who fail to find employment related to their niches. That’s why the ratio of unemployment is increasing day by day.
It is our responsibility, as business personalities, to open new doors of opportunities for them. There is a huge potential for our IT sector to serve them with a variety of IT-related jobs that can reduce unemployment and open new doors for our country and ourselves.”
At the end of the conversation, Mr. Kashif Anwar (President of LCCI) requested that everyone write him an official application indicating all the problems and solutions, with an assurance to discuss them with the higher bodies. Bilal Mumtaz ended the roundtable sessions by thanking everyone and serving food and beverages.
The main sponsors and partners of this roundtable session were:
- FreshStart – Media Partner
- MH Consultancy – Outreach Partner
- Food Partner – HiveMetrics
- Drinks Partner – Powerfull Energy Drink
- Merchandise Partner – SkillsToDo
