Sialkot is 15 kilometers from Pakistan’s border with India and is famous for producing surgical instruments, musical instruments, sports goods, textile goods, and leather goods which are exported across the globe. Moreover, it also contains military outposts and cantonments which is surplus for Pakistan.
According to an old tradition, Alexander the Great conquered this great city. Currently, one of the biggest online retail companies Alibaba following its expansion strategy gave Sialkot a chance. Since this city got the attention of Alibaba.com, 90% of Pakistani sellers on the platform belong to Sialkot.
During the pandemic, many people became entrepreneurs and started selling export quality Sialkot products on Alibaba.com like cricket kits, boxing gloves, medical products, and more. Even those businesses that were not startups registered themselves on Alibaba to sell their products.
Although, the main reason behind more Sialkot sellers on the platform is due to multiple industry setups in the city which led to the diversity of products. Even in March this year, Alibaba the e-commerce giant announced that they plan to open a local office in Pakistan. Therefore, the company plans to turn Pakistan into a global “digital trade hub”.
Nilesh Christopher a renowned journalist uploaded pictures inside of a Sialkot factory where two men are working and those products are sold on Alibaba with the caption “Inside the Pakistani city at the heart of Alibaba’s global expansion strategy”. The journalist was appreciating the efforts of Sialkot and Alibaba for achieving this milestone.
On the other hand, some more photos Nilesh uploaded show men making boxing gloves in a factory in Sialkot. Besides, Mubashir Bhatti is a partner of Alibaba’s new Pakistani channel that motivates companies to sell on this global site. He had arranged a gathering on a sunny July day recently, actually a summit on exports at the Sialkot Business and Commerce Center. Almost two-hundred business owners were a part of this gathering, to meet with the representatives of Alibaba.
Other than Mubashir Bhatti’s factory, Computer Xperts, and almost eleven other channel partner organizations exist in Sialkot alone. Some companies like Web Excels and Alpharex International have also made a presence on Alibaba.com with such summit events like this in export hubs Faisalabad and Lahore.
What Sialkot business owners need to understand is whether they are making sports equipment like soccer balls, boxing gloves, or medical equipment like dental instruments or shoes, Alibaba.com will open a gateway to a “virtual international trade show”.
Hence, this e-commerce platform has a lot of potential and almost 20 million shoppers. Alibaba’s working on building its presence in Pakistan for five years so Pakistanis must take advantage.
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