Furquan Kidwai is qualified from Cambridge University and Imperial College, London. He is recipient of International Student of the Year Award. Furquan was the eminent investment banker and was the youngest Vice President of Investment Bank in London. He is an inspirational cyber entrepreneur, he returned to Pakistan to remunerate to his country, running his cyber business of online pharmacy with the name well.pk and dawaai.pk. Recently, he shared his views and experience about rising trends, and dynamics of cyber business in Pakistan with Technology Times
Tell us briefly about yourself and highlights of your career?
I was previously a London based investment banker running emerging markets financing business at an International Investment Bank. Qualified from top notch Cambridge University and Imperial College London. Then promoted to be one of the youngest Vice Presidents at any investment bank in the City of London. I was also awarded International Student of the Year Award by the then British PM Tony Blair.
How you plunge yourself as cyber entrepreneur?
I always wanted to give something back to Pakistan and do something in my homeland. I have always been a believer in consumer businesses. Foresaw the emergence of internet and its penetration in the country and hopped onto the bandwagon.
Where do you see yourself after 5 years?
I want to take well.pk at a certain level in coming years and we are committed to make it one stop shop for all consumer health and wellness needs.
How you recognized the need of creating an online portal i.e. WELL.PK?
More than 60% of the market is fake. This problem becomes acute when it comes to health consumer items due to the potential side effects. More importantly, health is not a luxury but essential for the well being of the society.
We saw a big gap in this area. Especially tier 3 and tier 4 cities where access to quality healthcare essentials is even bigger a problem.
At what level you want to take your well.pk, being an entrepreneur?
There are number of opportunities we want to credit and establish well.pk as a top brand as far as consumer health is concerned. We are vividly working on it with highly skilled professionals that look after marketing and operations of well.pk and we are certainly hopeful to meet our targets in couple of years.
Is there any mechanism i.e. do you ask for prescription from customers for particular drugs?
Well.pk does not have any drugs. We have a sister portal Dawaai.pk which has all drugs. None of these are dispensed without prescription. Patients can send it as a scanned copy via our website or email. Our qualified pharmacists are available on the phone to further verify the authenticity of such orders.
How did you manage to cope with the difficulties that hindered you in attaining your objectives, both professionally and psychologically?
There is one world formula for me that is “Perseverance.” If you have a vision stick to it firmly, be sincere to the core. We have also adopted this resolve and we adhere to our vision to provide only authentic items with convenience.
Can an online business be setup with small investment?
I partially agree with the statement. There are number of such examples in which startups started from low capital and reached the top. But as finance is the oxygen of the business it definitely has big impact on smooth operation of business activities. Online business can be setup by small investment but it will be difficult without a certain minimum amount of investment.
What factors do young entrepreneur must take care of before setting up an online business?
Vision; and there is no shortcut to success. This is even more pronounced in a country like Pakistan where venture capital and exit not very obvious. They should prepare themselves for the longhaul.
What future of cyber entrepreneur do you see in developing countries like Pakistan?
Pakistan has enormous potential and talent. The cyber market is growing at rapid pace with increasing broadband usage and if the right ecosystem continues and people in the industry are sincere to the cause the future is certainly illustrious.