Hailing the launch of Facebook Marketplace in Pakistan, Advisor to Prime Minister on Trade and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said the opportunity could prove to be a lifeline for small enterprises as well as women entrepreneurs during Covid-19.

Dawood, in a series of tweets said, “I am happy to see that, after Amazon, Facebook has recently launched market place for Pakistan.” The Advisor to PM was of the view that the launch will encourage small enterprises and entrepreneurs in Pakistan to sell online.

“Such opportunities during COVID-19 could be a lifeline for micro-enterprises,” said Dawood.

Facebook Marketplace is a digital platform where users can arrange to buy, sell and trade items with other people in their area using their Facebook ID.

Over the years, Pakistan has seen a rapid rise in the growth of ecommerce. Back in May, Amazon added Pakistan to its sellers' list, which means that local Pakistani sellers can now list and use Amazon’s platform to sell globally, a massive boost to the country’s e-commerce landscape.

Pakistan to join Amazon’s approved seller list before June

Meanwhile, Dawood remained optimistic that the launch of the platform will also help women entrepreneurs.

Being a proponent of ecommerce growth, Dawood had earlier stressed that the trend of ecommerce had accelerated in recent years with the development and easy accessibility of the internet.

“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of e-commerce had increased manifold, making it an extremely vital sector of the economy,” the advisor quoted.