LAHORE: Pakistan is one of the fastest growing markets in the world in terms of freelancers and it has a huge potential to be the next hub of IT SMEs; however, this requires a robust eco-system starting from training, business development, enough exposure and the payment cycles.
Mohsin Muzaffer, Country Manager, Payoneer, which is a New York-based financial services company, said this while talking to the Business Recorder.
According to him, IT exports are the most effective ways to boost our foreign exchange reserves. There is potential of digitization and technological revolution by improving Pakistan’s freelancing sector, which currently lags behind in terms of revenue generation compared to other nations.
Pakistan’s e-commerce sector constitutes merely 1% of the country’s retail market; however, by implementing an effective strategy, Pakistan could create innovative employment opportunities for its young population.
Mohsin Muzaffer maintained that Payoneer has been serving Pakistani IT workers (companies and individuals) for more than a decade with a full suite of products and services. With the current ongoing macro-economic challenges in Pakistan, IT exports hold the key to grow the country’s foreign reserves.
In this view, Payoneer plays a vital role to enable IT workers to bring their hard-earned money to Pakistan with ease, he said. “Both individuals and companies can open their Payoneer account free of cost to receive business payments.”
He further said Payoneer offers a range of solution to the IT fraternity including the options like receiving funds from popular global freelance marketplaces like Upwork, Fiverr etc receiving payments from ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy etc. Payoneer also enables companies to receive payments directly from clients using its ‘Request a Payment’ feature where clients from around the globe can pay using their cards.
Payoneer also offers international receiving accounts in various currencies including USD, GPS, EUR, AED, CAD, AUD etc., where clients can pay locally and funds quickly hit the Payoneer accounts, he added.
He said Payoneer enables the IT companies to withdraw funds from Payoneer to any local bank in Pakistan. If you have accounts in Jazzcash, Faysal bank or HBL, you can access Payoneer direct from the banking app and withdraw funds in real time, he added.
With a huge user base, there are touching stories of people from under-privileged areas to work remotely with global clients and receive funds using Payoneer. This poses an equal opportunity to people from remote areas with internet to get the exposure and become financially independent, he said.
To a query, he said, IT exports are light on import; all you need is a laptop, internet and skills to be able to bring foreign exchange.
There have been numerous training initiatives in Pakistan to up skill free lancers, however, it is important to graduate these freelancers to companies to be able to move the needle, he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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