Ahmad K Khan is working as the Co-Managing Director Asia Region of Kaymu.com. Kaymu.com is an online marketplace started by Rocket Internet GmbH.

Q: Kindly give a brief account about yourself and Rocket Internet as a brand you represent?

A: Currently, I am working as the Co-Managing Director Asia Region of Kaymu.com. Kaymu.com is an online marketplace started by Rocket Internet GmbH, which has previously invested in world-famous eBay and Groupon.

Rocket Internet is a German based company and is the largest e-commerce incubator in the world. At present Rocket Internet has eight ventures operating in Pakistan and Kaymu.pk is amongst the most prominent and successful ventures operating in the country. A testament to that success is the fact that Pakistan is the head office of Kaymus operations in Asia and Eastern European region. Before joining Rocket Internet, I worked in Procter and Gamble, and McKinsey and Co.

Q: How many product categories do you have on the Kaymu online marketplace?

A: We have more than 30,000 products on Kaymu.pk; ranging from electronics, cosmetics, clothes, accessories, sports goods, and much more. Kaymu.pk is working on a no-inventory model and hence can work with an unlimited number of suppliers. What this basically means is that anyone selling products through traditional market mediums can sell on Kaymu.pk.

We have a dedicated business development team, in all major cities, working to bring traditional offline businesses on Kaymu.pks platform. However, it must be noted that all our sellers/suppliers are carefully vetted by our team and only trusted sellers are taken on board to sell their products on our website.

Q: How is the process for Rocket Internet to launch a start-up in a new country like Pakistan?

A: Rocket Internet is always looking to launch new, exciting ventures in emerging markets; such as Nigeria, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and many others. For Kaymu, currently we are in around 17 countries in Asia and are now launching in some 12 more countries, including Eastern European countries. The success of Kaymu.pk in Pakistan is reflected in the fact that Kaymus operations in Asian countries are spearheaded out of Pakistan. So this basically means the head office of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and other Asian countries is Kaymus office in Lahore, Pakistan. We believe this is a tremendous achievement by our team working here in Pakistan and is a testament to.

Q: Who is the biggest competitor of Kaymu.pk globally and by region?

A: Kaymu.pk has indirect competitors as a number of online shopping websites have sprung up in the last few years. However, since Kaymu.pk is a one of a kind marketplace with over one thousand sellers, and many more to come, on its website, we are not in direct competition with anyone. Most online shopping websites are on board with Kaymu.pk and are also selling on our platform. This is because being on our platform exposes these businesses to a much wider audience as we have around 40,000 daily visitors on Kaymu.pk.

Q: How will the existing new technologies 3G/4G services impact your business?

A: 3G services will transform the entire landscape of Pakistans e-commerce business. It will take a few months, maybe up to a year, for the market to adopt and benefit from this technology; but eventually it will boost the entire e-commerce industry of the country. The launch of these services has provided users with an option to shop on our website on the go. This high speed internet facility will further enhance the user experience on our website and will hopefully attract more and more users to shop on Kaymu.pk.

Q: What would be the most important piece of advice you could give to young entrepreneurs and why?

A: A great idea cant stand alone; it must be pushed through by consistent hard work. In my opinion a young entrepreneur should be open minded and willing to process advice from more experienced individuals. The idea should be to learn from your mistakes, because as a young entrepreneur you will commit a few mistakes along the way. A business is bound to face ups and downs; an entrepreneur should strive to maximize the benefits of a boom his/her business goes through and minimize the damages during lean periods.

By Web Team

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