Sialkot: Leading global B2B e-commerce marketplace, Alibaba.com held a Seller Summit; titled ‘Unlock Business Growth Code’ in Sialkot to bring Pakistani sellers aboard its platform, thereby helping them to access over 200 markets globally. The summit featured talks by representatives of Alibaba.com, local trade associations, senior government officials and a number of successful online sellers.

Alibaba is one of largest business-to-business marketplace platforms that drive global e-commerce and continue to register substantial growth by the day. The company is actively working to tap into Pakistan’s unexplored potential for e-commerce and has launched multiple similar initiatives in the recent past. According to business estimates, Pakistan is expected to witness an annual growth of 28% in e-commerce in the next 3 years, crowning it as one of the biggest exporters of online goods.

The Sialkot Summit will help Alibaba reach out to local micro, small and medium scale businesses, who can grow their businesses by selling through Alibaba’s platform. In order to ensure sustainability of the new businesses, particularly those who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Alibaba.com will extend support services like advertising, logistics, payments and daily operations systems. The platform will help the SMEs connect with new buyers and explore new markets globally.

The summit featured roundtable conference and keynote speeches of important stakeholders for exchange of ideas and consultation in order to chalk out a clear pathway for growth of local businesses and exports.

Speaking at the event, Head of Alibaba.com, APAC, Mr. Stephen Kuo said we are thrilled by the enthusiasm and keenness of local business leaders and entrepreneurs to explore new horizons. There is a lot of untapped potential for growth of e-commerce in Pakistan and Alibaba.com wishes to help unlock it for sustainable economic growth of SMEs and in turn the national economy. He said that the ecommerce giant will fully support local sellers by helping them start their business online, right from setting up their stores, uploading products to logistics and operations. He further said, the collaborative arrangement will create unprecedented shared value and facilitate mutual growth in the long run.

Also speaking, Vice President, Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ms. Shabina said, we are thankful to Alibaba.com for its efforts to open newer avenues for local businesses to enhance their sales and profitability. The world is changing fast through digitization; therefore traditional businesses should also change for good. E-commerce is the future and is beneficial for the small and medium business holders because it is less effort and operational cost for better revenues. Through, Alibaba’s global platform, our businesses can access markets all over the world and contribute effectively to the national economy.