TiECON 2015 Karachi: Top 5 Reasons to Stay Away From Pakistan

[Riaz Haq]

Guest Post

by Monis Rehman, CEO of Rozee.pk

Based on Presentation at TIECON 2015 in Karachi

#5: Pakistan is the World’s most dangerous country

You are 50 times more likely to be murdered in St. Louis than killed in a terrorist attack in Pakistan

You are 10 times more likely to be killed in a car accident in the US than killed in a terrorist attack in Pakistan

*** 75% of VC funded startups fail - worried about 0.0009%? Really? ***

#4: Pakistan is small market with little purchasing power

■ 190 Million People

○ World’s 6th most populous country

 ■  (PPP) of $835 Billion in 2013

○ World’s 24th largest GDP 

○ Higher than Netherlands, Malaysia and UAE

 ■ 54% of Population is youth

○ Rapidly growing middle class consumers

○ Motorcycle sales increased 4X over last 10 yrs

 ■ 37M people with GDP per capita > $12,200

○ Comparable to South Africa and China

#3: Pakistani economy is failing

■ Retail Sector is BOOOOMING

○ Clothing, electronics, food, healthcare, FMCG, automotive

○ GDP growth rate does not reflect market

■ Real Estate Prices are doubling

○ 50% to 100% growth quite common in USD terms

○ Still undervalued compared to India

■ KSE World’s 2nd Best Performing stock market in 2013

#2: Pakistan lacks scalable payment mechanisms

Rapid emergence of branchless products

○ UBL Omni, EasyPaisa, Mobicash, TimePey

○ Bank Alfalah, JS Bank, Others

■ IBFT Web Banking Huge Success

○ Secure account to account transfer across all banks

○ Online APIs

■ COD Logistics Providers

○ TCS, BlueEx, Leopard

○ Entrepreneurs rushing to fill this space

#1: Pakistan is not online

30 Million Internet Users

○ Growing to 65 Million over next 5 years

○ Larger than UK, Australia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia

■ 10 Million 3G Users

○ 15 Million smart phones

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Major Tipping Point: Pakistan Middle Class Grows to 55% Of Population

E-Commerce Growth in Pakistan

Pakistan's Official GDP Figures Ignore Booming FMCG Sector

Musharraf Accelerated Human and Economic Development in Pakistan

Pakistan's Growing Middle Class

Pakistan's GDP Grossly Under-estimated; Shares Highly Undervalued

Fast Moving Consumer Goods Sector in Pakistan

3G-4G Roll-out in Pakistan

 

Pakistan Government Deploys Mobile Apps

 

Telecom and Media Boom in Pakistan

 

Mobile Money Revolution in Pakistan