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APRIL 2021
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 1
Table of contents
Table of contents………………………………………………………………...1
Introduction……………………………………………………………………...2
Methodolody…………………………………………………………………….2
Sample Specifics………………………………………………………………...3
Firm Behaviour………………………………………………………………….3
Post-COVID trends ...…………………………………………………………………6
E-commerce and fintech……………………………………………………………….6
Agritech………………………………………………………………………………..7
Case Study – Ricult……………………………………………………………………9
Consumer Behaviour…………………………………………………………..11
Survey summary……………………………………………………………………...11
Transportation Issues…………………………………………………………………11
The positive…………………………………………………………………………..12
Macroeconomic trends……………………………………………………………….13
Employment……………………………………………………………………14
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..15
The Team………………………………………………………………………16
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 2
Introduction
With the advent of new technologies around the globe, economies are now being transformed
along various verticals. In this process, the public and private sectors are both actively driving
digitalisation efforts. Digitalisation, in turn, has a trickle-down effect on industries, consumers,
government services. It is transforming how businesses and organisations carry out their
operations and how consumers adjust and adapt within the constantly evolving digital
infrastructure. In Pakistan, the number of internet users and the rate of internet penetration is
rapidly increasing. With the rapid transformations that are now taking place, it is essential to
understand how digitalisation has impacted firm and consumer behaviour over the years.
This report aims to offer insights into how industries have transformed themselves according
to the changing digital landscape and how consumers are evolving with it as well. It also
explores Pakistan lags and consumer pain points where there is still potential for improvement.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to
significant disruptions in the digitalisation
domain. One section has been dedicated to the
examination of post-COVID trends in
digitalisation.
Methodology
The insights drawn in this report were derived through a conjunction of data available through
interviews with industry leaders to understand the relationship between digitalisation and firms
in Pakistan and a survey designed to analyse consumer behaviour. The survey was conducted
online via google forms and was circulated through social media platforms like Facebook and
WhatsApp. Both the interview and the survey were handled by the LCG team under the
leadership of its R&I Department. LCG corroborated all insights drawn through publicly
available data.
The survey instruments were designed based on
thorough literature analysis on survey design and the
digitalisation context. A pilot survey was run within
LCG to identify and remove any discrepancies within the
survey. The survey contained questions regarding
demographics, income, digital devices, access to the
internet, online transactions, industries with most online
transactions and issues with online transactions. All
responses were voluntary and remain anonymous. The
survey form can be accessed here.
Phase 1
•Problem breakdown
•Preliminary research
Phase 2
•Qualitative research
•Survey design
Phase 3
•Data collection
•Data cleaning
Phase 4
•Data analysis
•Report generation
Digitization DigitalizationDigital
transformation
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 3
Sample Specifics
Firm Behaviour
The digital transformation discusses a business model motivated by "the changes associated
with the application of digital technology in all aspects of human society." It is executed as a
result of digitisation, i.e. the "ability to turn existing products or services into digital variants,
and thus offer advantages over tangible product." This digital transformation is a result of the
shift of the economy from a physical/brick-and-mortar to a digitally controlled economy where
digital technology plays a significant role in shaping the industry.
Technology has a powerful and growing impact on the economy as a whole. It increases
productivity and creates diversity. Moreover, it allows business models to transition to more
flexible production processes and effective ways of working and collaborating. Furthermore,
it allows greater mobility, and expedites decision-making and delivery, and supports higher
standardisation and customisation.1
Overall, in terms of digitalisation and information technology, Pakistan still lags far behind.
• In the Digital Evolution Index 2017, Pakistan was ranked 56th.
• According to the Huawei Global Connectivity Index evaluation of 50 countries back in
2016 Pakistan was 50th on the list.
• On the World Economic Forum's Networked Readiness Index, Pakistan is ranked at
110th.
• In the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) 2018, Pakistan ranks 148th.
• In the global connectivity index 2018, Pakistan is ranked 77th out of 79 countries
1 Pakistan needs digital transformation | daily times. https://dailytimes.com.pk/519332/pakistan-needs-digital-transformation/
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 4
Subscribers
While Pakistan may not be an information
technology powerhouse, digitalisation is progressing
rapidly. Its IT industry falls in the top five net
exporters of the country. The reported FDI inflow in
the ICT sector (IT & Telecom) from July 2018 to
January 2019 is $114.4 million. In the last five years,
the services sector, which is now heavily powered by
e-commerce, fintech, and e-governance, contributed about 70% to the country's GDP growth.
Google's Head of Large Customer Marketing, South Asia, Lars Anthonisen has suggested
entrepreneurs consider the possibility of project and campaign expansion to Pakistan because
it's on its way to "produce one of the largest digital audiences in the world".2
"Promote the use of technology in education, health, agriculture and other key socio-economics
sectors. Encourage the use of ICT in public schools and ensure they are online and have a
meaningful impact on the current education eco-system in a phased manner" - Pakistan's first
ever digital policy announcement in 2018. The policy also extends further about both electronic
and mobile commerce, "Enhance the current market size of e/m-commerce. According to some
estimates, the market carries an enormous growth potential due to exponential growth in
broadband subscribers from 3.7 million in 2013 to over 44.3 million in 2017 and increasing.
With these growth trends projected to persist in the future, overseas investments will continue
to grow in e-commerce." The implementation of this policy was also observed through the
Election Commission of Pakistan's i-voting portal, allowing overseas Pakistanis to
vote in the elections through this portal.
• At the World Economic Forum in 2017, the chief
executive of Ebay recognised Pakistan as one of the
fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world.
• Pakistan's e-commerce market is worth 65
billion rupees
Digitalisation in Pakistan has allowed new economic models to emerge that have reshaped
business processes, creating a much more effective relationship between firms and consumers.
It has allowed the market for goods and services to extend to areas that still lack basic access
to business activities by overcoming physical barriers. Not only does this remove digital
divides that exist terrorrotially but also Digitalization has simplified business practices by
expanding access to marketplaces, replacing physical cash, and facilitating the processing and
delivery of orders over digital channels. Sectoral digitisation is extremely important in
establishing a modern, technology-led economy. The growing technologies in Pakistan help in
the advancing the digital transformation of industries and facilitating the development of new
solutions:
• Agriculture is one of the key sectors in Pakistan's economy. In 2017, Jazz in
collaboration with the GSMA and Farmerline, deployed last-mile digitisation solutions
for the dairy market.
• Branchless banking services (such as Telenor's Easypaisa and Ufone's UPaisa) have
proliferated, increasing financial inclusion in areas where banks have limited to no
2 One way or the other, the future is digital | https://www.dawn.com/news/1499342
3.7 million
44.3 million
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reach, and simplifying transactions and remittances between businesses and
consumers.
• In another key sector, transport, the National Highway Authority (NHA) launched an
app featuring two tools – 'Journey Planning and Interactive Maps' – to help commuters
plan trips. There has also been a sharp increase in the use of ride-hailing services such
as Careem and Uber.
• In the education sector, Telenor launched its "Internet Champion (iChamp)"
programme back in 2014 so students could gain a basic knowledge of mobile
technology. The second variant, iChamp2, was launched in 2017 to give students access
to 17 educational websites through a 4G connection by Telenor.3
The incumbent government has pursued the goal of digitising almost every sector of the
country's socio-economic sphere. According to the Annual Report 2017-18 of the State Bank
of Pakistan titled "Digitization of Services in Pakistan", the rapid digitisation in services,
commerce, fintech, businesses, consumer interaction, and e-government initiatives have
triggered a transformation in the country. The power of technology is explored for discovering
new possibilities to deliver efficient services to citizens. Online access has also made it more
convenient and cost-effective for the masses to avail of wide-ranging facilities.
The digital impact on the economy is by and large
significant. According to the Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) development authority, about 90% of
Pakistan's businesses are SMEs, contributing a 40% share
in the country's annual gross domestic product.
Developments in the digital sector are broadly helping
SMEs reach more consumers and achieve maximum potential growth.
The finance industry has had a low client turnover for decades. New contenders like FinTech
start-ups are flooding the market with innovation and creativity, and customers are more
educated than ever. The use of new technologies in the financial institution is applied not just
for marketing but also for developing new business models and learning ways. Without
Financial Inclusion, there would be no digitalisation possible; the term is typically defined as
the proportion of individuals and firms that use financial services in a country. The following
statistics must be kept in mind while sketching a road map to increase financial inclusion in
Pakistan through digitalisation:
• The financial inclusion rate of Pakistan is 13.9%
• The digital inclusion rate is 13.1%
• Less than 18% of the adult population is registered with a financial institution.
• While 59.7% of the population has an awareness of mobile money, only 12.5% have
access to it.
However, organisations in Pakistan are embracing the technological revolution in the past few
years, the telecoms and financial sectors being amongst the topmost in the race. They are
pursuing financial inclusion, branchless banking, enhanced payment systems, more adoption
3 Pakistan: progressing towards a fully fledged digital economy | https://www.gsma.com/asia-pacific/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/24253-Pakistan-report-updates-LR.pdf
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 6
of financial tools by more than 80% of the unbanked population, mobilisation and more digital
education. According to the report on Digital Financial Services (DFS) - Innovation Challenge
Facility by State Bank of Pakistan:
"It is estimated that the market potential
of Digital Finance services in Pakistan
will cross the US $36 Billion by 2025,
providing a 7% boost to the GDP,
creating 4 million new jobs and resulting
in US$ 263 Billion new deposits."
Post-COVID Trends in Digitalisation
Spotlight on the e-commerce and fintech industry
As reported by Tribune a leader in the e-commerce industry commented that 2020 is the year
in which more Pakistanis will adopt digital solutions.
"In 2020, the mindset of a majority of Pakistanis changed," he said. "Firstly, people started
taking digitalisation seriously and secondly, work from home became widely acceptable."
According to the State of Pakistan's Economy report 2019-2020, traffic surged by 15% across
the country as soon as the lockdown was imposed. In the Fiscal Year 2020, the fourth quarter
recorded the highest growth in internet data usage of 89%. Government institutions and the
central bank highly encouraged people to switch to digital methods and payment channels.
However, even though the trend in e-commerce and fintech
increased in 2020, it was still below expectations. Telemart Co-
founder and Director Hamza Abdul Rauf said, "A jump was surely
witnessed in digital payments on the platform. However, the traffic,
number of orders, registered items and sales grew at a much steeper
rate than electronic payments. "He added that Pakistan failed to lift
digital payments because they are mostly done via banks. Since the
consumers for commercial banks are low, the use of digital
payments is limited.4
He highlighted another issue with digital payments. Since banks charge 2.5%-3% duty per
transaction, called the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), e-commerce marketplaces do not
promote digital payments since it will affect their profits. Hence, many e-commerce platforms
list a limited number of banks, so customers are forced to pay in cash. For this, he suggested
that the banks should incentivise payments for 1-2 years and keep MDR to zero.
4 Pakistan embraces digitalisation in 2020. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2278669/pakistan-embraces-digitalisation-in-2020
Digital payments
Sales
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 7
Priceoye.pk CEO Adnan Shaffi also stressed the need for digital wallets. "We have an outdated
banking system, and digital wallets are needed to give a boost to digitalisation," he said.
Without digital wallets, freelancers in Pakistan who used to receive payments in dollars from
abroad were offered poor conversion rates and so faced losses.5
Now, the State Bank of Pakistan has approved many digital wallets to begin operations in
Pakistan, which will boost freelancing in the country and eliminate the need for PayPal.
Problems
According to Parvez Iftikhar, an IT member of the PM's Task Force, Pakistan's most prominent
digital infrastructure problems are that optic fibre penetration is low. Moreover, many small
towns lack even mobile towers or 4G services. Additionally, since taxes on IT and the prices
of ICT equipment are incredibly high in Pakistan, the country experiences sluggish progress in
terms of digitalisation.
Agri-Tech in Pakistan
Agriculture accounted for almost one-fifth of Pakistan's
economy and 42% of the workforce in 2019. Yet, despite being
a substantial part of the economy, productivity in agriculture is
declining and so posing a threat to food security and the
economy.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that the
Internet of Things (IoT) can help increase agricultural
productivity by 70% by 2050. Moreover, Dr. Muhammad
Awais, a professor at LUMS, says that if IoT is brought to
Pakistan's smaller geography, farmers can have greater profits
and improved yields.
He added, "similarly, a gene-editing technique using Crispr has untapped potential for greater
crop productivity, enhanced nutritional value, reduced food wastage and climate resilience. In
Pakistan's context, small farmers are significantly more affected by insufficient information,
unpredictable weather changes, soil erosion, yield loss due to pests and insects, and increased
input and cultivation costs. Therefore, technology adoption is even more essential for the
transformation of agriculture. The use of high-yield crops resistant to disease, pests and adverse
weather conditions can potentially help alleviate poverty, conserve the environment and ensure
food security."6
5 Pakistan embraces digitalisation in 2020 | https://tribune.com.pk/story/2278669/pakistan-embraces-digitalisation-in-2020 6Need for innovation in agriculture - Newspaper - DAWN.COM. https://www.dawn.com/news/1573496
Agriculture share
of economy
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 8
While many countries have experienced innovation in the agricultural sector, Pakistan lags far
behind. Despite heavy investment by the public sector for research, the commercialisation of
biotech crops doesn't seem to be occurring due to poor policy in the government.
Dr Yousuf Zafar, former chairman of the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC),
believes in adopting a more sustainable approach to agriculture. "We must adopt practices
involving sustainable use of our natural resources, allowing farmers to grow more with less.
Technologies such as laser land levelling, solar-powered high-efficiency irrigation systems,
smart water grids and drones need to be promoted for precision agriculture and higher
productivity. Leveraging drone technology in agriculture alone will enable farmers to increase
their productivity through improved pest management and increased precision owing to their
increasing applications, such as aerial mapping, plant health monitoring, soil analysis and weed
detection."
According to Dr. Zadar, the potential for digitalisation in the agriculture industry remains
vastly untapped due to the overarching legislative and policy framework which discourages
investment by the private sector in R&D. Moreover, the public sector lacks the necessary
financial resources to fund R&D. The adoption of technology has been slow, and Pakistan
severely lacks an environment to encourage innovation in Agri-Tech.
Currently, the government of Pakistan and the Higher Education
Commission are working on transferring technology for
agricultural development from China as part of CPEC.
Some start-ups that are working to bring innovation in the Pakistani Agri-Tech landscape
include Ricult (see case study), Cowlar, Peepu, and Pak Zar Zameen. Cowlar has received
$50K worth of funding and is working on digitising the process of monitoring dairy cows. They
produce smart non-invasive neck collars to measure the vitals and activity of each cow.
Moreover, Peepu, founded in 2019, operates a digital marketplace where farmers can sell their
produce online. Pak Zar Zameen, founded in 2018, facilitates farmers with the use of drone
technology, as suggested by Dr. Yousuf Zafar above. Additionally, their mobile application
"Kisan Zar Zameen" provides a health analysis of crops using satellite technology.
Tech transfer
Public Policy
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 9
Case Study – Ricult Inc.
An Interview with Founder and CEO Usman Javaid
About Ricult
Ricult is a social enterprise that uses FinTech and
AgriTech based solutions to help smallholder
farmers in developing countries. Their website
highlights that Ricult has "7built an ecosystem in
which multiple players in the agricultural value
chain benefit from improved productivity and
profitability".
Usman's Take on Digitalization in Pakistan
Pakistan lags far behind in terms of digitisation of both public and private sectors. Governments
in countries like Bangladesh and Thailand took steps towards digitalisation by launching
projects such as Digital Bangladesh and a Digitalization Ministry. However, in Pakistan, there
has never been a push by the public or private sector. In order for digitalisation to occur, there
need to be some enablers present. Some of the biggest enablers in terms of infrastructure are
access to the internet and access to smartphones, which are not readily available in rural areas.
The quality of the internet is based on the number of
telecommunication towers covering an area. Since
telecommunication companies in Pakistan are primarily
focused on urban areas, there are very few towers in rural
areas hence leading to internet connectivity issues.
Moreover, telecommunication companies will continue
to focus on urban areas as they get greater returns on
investment from there as compared to rural areas.
Therefore, government initiatives are required to promote
investments in rural areas.
How Ricult Operates
Due to the lack of access to the internet and smartphones in rural areas, Ricult shifted focus its
primary focus from on a digital smartphone application to enabling local infrastructure (aarti,
schoolmasters, dealers, field agents) to provide information to farmers, without increasing
Ricult's physical footprint.
7 Ricult. https://www.ricult.com/
Public policy
Capital
Info
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Ricult monitors customer behaviour by collecting data from farmers and "farm-related
services". It then shares this data with banks and mills to help farmers avail loans for buying
crops.
In terms of marketing, Ricult is highly focused on digital
marketing to farmers who have access to smartphones and the
internet. Usman realised that physical advertisements do not
have the same "reach".
Ricult is not concerned with the location of its employees since
all communication occurs digitally via platforms like Slack and
Google Hangouts. This has been occurring before COVID-19; hence
the internal operations of the company were not affected by the
lockdown and the virus.
The company provides Customer Service via a complaint
option on their mobile application since they are not selling a
product per se.
Ricult's Impact
Using technology, Ricult has enabled 2.1 million acres of land to be digitised. This includes
documenting the farms' boundaries, monitoring farm owners, and using satellite imagery and
statistical data models to predict crop growth and yield.
Future Challenges
Currently, Ricult focuses on farmers who own smartphones and have access to the internet.
Usman believes a problem will arise when Ricult reaches saturation in this segment of farmers
(70-80%), and they would have to start reaching farmers without smartphones and the internet.
Low footprint
Digitization
Data analysis
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 11
Consumer Behaviour
Survey Summary
The survey was used to analyse trends and patterns as part of the consumer behaviour analysis.
The level of trust in online platforms was arduously analysed, which yielded that 47.9% of the
respondents were still indecisive regarding their trust in online platforms. However, a very
interesting fact to note here is the remainder of the respondents slightly leaned more towards
expressing their trust in such platforms as compared to being distrustful, which may point
towards people gradually becoming more comfortable with using online platforms. Moreover,
Pakistani's are generally sceptical regarding the efficacy and originality of the products and
services they find online: a majority of the respondents who chose offline shopping to online
stated intangibility as their reason for preferring the former.
This points to a form of ingrained distrust embedded within residents of our society that they
would rather make the effort of time and transport consumption to buy something, rather than
conducting that same transaction online and saving time. This was also reflected by the survey
results, as when questioned regarding the main factors why consumers chose not to shop online,
60.8% stated the intangibility of the purchase as their reason, and 69.8% stated fear of fraud as
the main factor.
Another main factor is the lack of proper
knowledge and awareness to be able to conduct
such transactions on such platforms. Considering
the demographic of our population, our population
pyramid flattens more as we move downwards,
which means a greater youthful population of
millennials and Gen Z. However, due to the
crippling poverty statistics and lack of education
in many fringes of our society, we have a huge
chunk of our population who cannot even conduct
transactions online, let alone hefty monetary expenditures. The government released a report
in 2019-2020 where a series of centres for education and innovation were aimed to be
constructed nationwide within the next five years to assist these individuals with hidden talents
and provide an avenue for them to explore themselves and their interests.
Transportation Issues
Most online platforms ideally use a third-party transportation service to transport the product
from the business to the consumer. Historically, this mediational service has been subject to
gross mismanagement and the occasional blunders at times as well, whereby the product ends
up taking much longer to arrive at its destination than was originally promised, or a mix up on
the rider's end leads to further issues.
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 12
Many people have also had to endure issues with
accepting the package, whereby the money is
always enquired prior to giving the product to the
consumer for confirmation. This leads to the
liability and burden of exchange and returns falling
completely on the shoulders of the consumer, who
then has to go through the prolonged
return/exchange process. Customer service for
when such issues arise is also a factor of negligence
which has added to the divide and distrust for
consumers.
The positive
Now talking about how consumers
today are being attracted towards
online platforms, the vast majority
of respondents depend upon either
recommendation from
family/friends or search engines to
find relevant products, therefore,
investing heavily on both online
and offline means for insights
about products. This indicates an ever-increasing reliance on online shopping/outlets for prices/
information /recommendations. These findings perfectly match up to the research conducted
by Ipsos and Quantum on Pakistani consumers:
"When they (Consumers) are more willing to do heavy research, product quality, accessibility,
and popularity are what matters most. And as they explore reviews, warranties, celebrity
endorsements, and in-store availability, they're more likely to be open to discovering new
brands and products."
It is therefore not surprising to note just how much
emphasis is given to digital advertising as well as
sponsorships through celebrity endorsements. With
numerous Pakistani Youtubers gaining millions of
subscribers on YouTube they are able to influence
the decisions of many undecided consumers
through featuring constant ads/ sponsorships and
promotions on their channels." Given that more
than half of Pakistani YouTube users say they've
seen ads that help them decide which product or
brands to buy, brands can experiment with tailored
videos to engage undecided shoppers".
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 13
Macroeconomic Trends
The survey conducted by LCG
aimed to analyse how people
viewed Digitalization in
Pakistan to grow over the next
few years and beyond. Based
on the replies given by our
respondents, 74.1% did not
expect much out of their initial
experience with online platforms or were indifferent to what to expect. After having gone
through the experience, 87.7% felt their perceptions shift which goes to show how digital
platforms and services are misconstrued or negligently analysed in Pakistan.
Given the advent of the pandemic and the shifting ideals and preferences of the consumers,
many believe that the digital age is not far away for Pakistan. The respondents to the survey
conducted progressively believe that the next five years or so will bring about a tantamount
shift where people would be more comfortable and willing conducting their every day and, in
some cases, hefty monetary transactions online. 68.3% of the survey respondents are willing
to shift their mode of payments either completely or partially online over the next few years,
especially given the emerging fintech start-ups and the new innovative perks and services being
provided by banks across Pakistan.
When specifically questioned
regarding the shifts which respondents
believe will be witnessed in the next
five years, 81.3% feel that online
transactions would increase, and
84.7% consider their traditional habits
having been affected significantly by online facilities.
All these statistics and trends show that the future towards the mass expansion of digital
platforms is very viable and should precipice soon. However, to ensure that the traffic being
attracted remains, existing issues need to aptly be curtailed to cement the trust of the consumers
in the digital realm and platform.
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 14
Employment
Despite certain negative trends where Pakistan lacks behind the South Asian average in terms
of mobile internet penetration with 24% compared to the South Asian average of 33%;
however, there have been positive trends that indicate that Pakistan is moving towards a full-
fledged digital economy, and even the public sector is beginning to realise the massive potential
that Pakistan can unlock by putting greater emphasis on the digital realm. The unprecedented
growth in the Freelance market in Pakistan over the previous years is a testament to the fact
that Pakistan has a relatively untapped potential in the Digital markets.
Pakistan ranks 3rd in the world in terms of the amount of technical labour purveyed for online
services. Furthermore, "Software development and technology were the most sought-after
occupations" This is largely owing to the constant efforts to increase internet availability in
remote areas of Pakistan and the constant efforts of Private organisations and NGOs to equip
individuals in far-flung areas with proper skill sets and empowering them to generate revenue
streams for themselves. One prime example of this being Abacus consulting: "United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information
Technology Board (KPITB) have collaborated with Abacus Consulting to train and educate the
youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" providing a range of courses including Big Data analytics and
Microsoft Azure (MCSD: Web Applications).
Due to such measures, a significant portion of the population that otherwise did not have access
to training, infrastructure or even proper communication with the outside world is able to
actively overcome these barriers and actively earn a living through the multiple freelancing
sites that operate in Pakistan. This influx of freelancing agents across different fields has
accelerated Pakistan's freelancing market growth and made it an attractive market for countless
international firms to outsource their projects/tasks. The potential for growth and Revenues
from freelancing has peaked Government interest in this industry as well. "A freelance
Information Technology (IT) hub, a project worth PKR 35 million, has been established by the
government of Pakistan in Rawalpindi." It has been set up to facilitate the IT sector and provide
better employment prospects for the youth.
Therefore, with a promising Freelancing industry, increasing Government support to rapidly
digitalise different sectors of the economy and greater availability of the Internet across
Pakistan, a proper transition to a strong digital economy seems more realistic day by day.
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 15
Conclusion
Digitalisation has not been the
government priority in Pakistan. Despite
that, digitalisation may be the boost that
the Pakistani economy has needed.
While Pakistan lags behind the world in
terms of digitalisation, the growth that
has been noticed in the past few years
shows a promising future. Consumers
believe that digitalisation will play a
more significant role in e-commerce in
the future. At the same time, digitalisation has allowed many Pakistanis to gain meaningful
employment when finding employment has been hard in the country. Industries have begun to
evolve to the threat that digitalisation places on the current status quo. Many start-ups have
disrupted the financial sphere and have secured a place for themselves for the foreseeable
future. The emergence of start-ups has caused increased competition leading to more
innovation in the industry they are present in. However, this innovation is limited to a few
sectors of the economy as most start-ups are focused within a few sectors. Agriculture, one of
Pakistan's largest economic sectors, has the least innovation as there is not enough competition
to drive innovation. Effective policy creation and management from the government are
needed to maintain if not sustainably improve digitalisation in the country.
•Increased competition
•InnovationFirms
•Shifting preceptions
•Increasing salesConsumers
•Technical labour
•Youtube and social media influencersJob seekers
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 16
The team
Mahnoor Hasnain Ahmad
Mahnoor is a junior at Lahore University of Management
Science pursuing a major in Management Science. She’s
working as the Director of Research and Insights at LCG with
the purpose of executing research projects, conducting
podcasts, and managing other research-oriented activities.
She loves poetry and can give a motivational talk any time,
any day.
Mohammad Mubariz Ali Wahla
Mubariz is a sophomore at Lahore University of Management
Sciences pursuing a major in Economics. As part of the
Human Resource Management team Mubariz works on
various projects like People’s analytics. Most of his free time
is spent on finding new ways to visualize data. When he's not
crunching numbers Mubariz can be found doing crunches in
the gym where he also likes to engage in "deep" conversations
with the bros.
Maheen Nadeem
Maheen is a junior at Lahore University of Management
Sciences pursuing a double major in Economics and Political
Science. She is a consultant and serves as the Director
Operations at LCG. She manages all the cash inflows and
outflows for LCG. She is a neat freak who likes to be
organized and has a particular interest in statistics and data
analysis.
https://lcg.lums.edu.pk [email protected] 17
Muhammad Sumraiz
Sumraiz is a freshman currently studying Management
sciences at Lahore University of Management Sciences.
Being part of the marketing department, he works on
attaining sponsor ships, and developing the untapped field of
Meme marketing. When he isn't involved in society or
academic work, he is busy creating digital content (memes).
Muhammad Faaiz Aman
Faaiz is currently a Sophomore at Lahore University of
Management Sciences and hopes (read: dreams) to major in
Econ Math. During his time at LCG, he has worked
diligently with the Learning and Development team to
deliver workshops on Surveys and Market Research, while
working on guidebooks to facilitate other colleagues. He is
a huge Suits fan and loves to socialize with like-minded
individuals.