In the Hindu Kush mountains craftswomen painstakingly stitch flowing scarves, skilled artisans who were unable to sell their products beyond the remote region until mobile internet came to Pakistan and dropped the market into the palms of millions of previously marginalised people. The women of northern Chitral are among the unlikely profiteers of an e-commerce boom since 3G and 4G Internet arrived in the deeply conservative Muslim country in 2014, suddenly able to market and sell traditional products without leaving their villages or in some cases even their homes. Kai products are sold on pollyandotherstories.com, which launched late in 2015 to connect traditional artisans like those in Chitral with consumers hungry for "authentic" products.
In the first quarter of 2015 smartphone shipments to the country soared by 123 percent, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority's annual report, one of the fastest growth rates in the developing world. Broadband subscribers have topped 26 million people, the Ministry for Information Technology said in February, with broadband penetration going from three percent to more than 15 percent. The ministry cited World Bank studies showing that a 10 percent increase in high-speed internet connections can boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 1.38 percent, adding the arrival of broadband in Pakistan is set to have a "very positive impact on economic growth".
Women are seeing the benefits, but e-commerce presents potentially an even greater opportunity for young people in a country where roughly two thirds of the population -- of around 200 million -- are estimated to be under the age of 30. A recent economic survey by the finance ministry singled out the challenges facing youth in Pakistan, including "limited job search expertise, a mismatch between education, aspirations and employers' requirements and a lack of mobility, among other factors".
But global giants of e-commerce such as Amazon still do not have an established presence in Pakistan, hampered by a lack of regulations and infrastructure such as a payments system. Unrest in the militancy-plagued country is also a factor. In the meantime, ambitious Pakistanis are crowding the booming market with their own, localised, and in many cases successful products.
