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| E-Commerce- Online Store |
Eradicating poverty and unemployment from the country is certainly the top priority of every government. Today, the global war for economic survival is being fought in the economic arena, the weapon of which is certain knowledge. We need to understand where the world will stand in the next 50 years.
Despite the global crisis, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have grown, and the business of major technology companies in the United States is improving again. Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Google's last quarter business reports for the last year have informed these companies about their profits and earnings. All these reports had in common was that production was rising, and there were no signs of slowing down, with Amazon being the most profitable company. The e-commerce and online shopping company sold $1 96.1 billion worth of goods in three months, up 37 % from 2019.
Online shopping was started in 1979 by British businessman Michael Aldrich. Aldrich connected the modified home television to a multi-user transaction processing computer via a telephone line, which was later sold in the UK, Ireland, and Spain. The system was marketed in 1980 and was then introduced as the Business to Business System (B2B). The development of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in the 1960s paved the way for e-commerce. EDI replaced traditional mailing and document faxing by allowing data transfer from one computer to another.
In 1982, France launched an online service called Money Teal, which provided access to video tax terminal machines via telephone lines. The "Money Teal" telephone was completely free for users and connected millions of users to a single computing network. By 1997, there were mini-terminals in more than 7 million homes. After the success of the Internet, the Money Teal system could not survive. The history of e-commerce is closely linked to the history of the Internet. The general use of online shopping became possible when the Internet became accessible to the general public in 1991. Amazon was one of the first e-commerce websites in the United States to sell its products online, and thousands of companies have followed suit.
In today's modern age, e-commerce or electronic commerce is being used worldwide to buy and sell their products. Simply put, e-commerce is something we use daily, such as paying bills online or shopping online, and many other things you can easily do with your phone at home. Are not possible before today. Thanks to the 3G and 4G facility and the increasing use of smartphones, home and business have come together, meaning we can now trade from home, and the shopping process has become much easier. Earlier people used to go to the markets for shopping, but this is no longer the case, especially after Covid-19. Like other countries in the world, online shopping in Pakistan is increasing day by day.
Fortunately, for the first time in Pakistan's history, the current government has introduced an e-commerce policy. In this regard, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan a few days ago, he termed e-commerce as the most important need of its economy. He said that our aim is to facilitate small and medium enterprises and remove obstacles facing the business community. He said that SBP and the Ministry of Finance should facilitate freelancers, educated and skilled youth in earning employment. Remove barriers to both institutions using e-policy.
The development of any business is possible only when it is sponsored at the government level. Saqib Azhar, the head of Enablers in raising awareness about e-commerce in Pakistan, whose name certainly does not need any introduction for the people associated with the e-commerce sector, met President Dr. Arif Alvi a few days ago. Apart from his organization's performance for the promotion and development of the sector, he was also apprised of the urgent need for e-commerce in the current context. President Dr. Arif Alvi appreciated the work of his organization Enablers and assured government cooperation at all levels to promote e-commerce in collaboration with the organization.
Saqib Azhar has years of experience in technology, digital marketing, and product sales in international e-commerce channels and has worked as a consultant for various companies in the UK, the Middle East, Pakistan, and other parts of the world. He has been selected by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which works to alleviate poverty in 170 countries around the world, as its representative in Pakistan.
Saqib Azhar's book 'Learn the Art of Passive Income via International E-Commerce' will definitely guide newcomers to the world of e-commerce. He has compiled all his knowledge in this book after helping hundreds of people start their e-commerce business in Pakistan and all over the world, while from Amazon, eBay, and other online trading platforms. People are fully guided on the possibility of earning extra income.
Working on a digital basis has become time-consuming to promote trade worldwide. The number of formal jobs has been steadily declining since the advent of technology. For the country's economy to grow and poverty eradicate, our young generation, especially women, need to raise awareness on our own to be a part of this new business venture. We need to encourage people like Saqib Azhar, who are certainly capitalists. They play the role of a strong bridge between the rich and the poor, and the government should encourage such people. Only then can Prime Minister Imran Khan's dream of making Pakistan a welfare state and eradicating poverty be realized.