Pakistan’s freelancers have earned more than Rs4 billion via a tech-based solution, during the covid-19 period, according to Ghazanfar Azzam, President, and CEO of Mobilink Microfinance Bank.
Sharing details at a media talk, he said, “Freelance work by IT professionals increased under the circumstances but they were facing the issue of remittances of very small amounts, ranging from $100-$500. We devised a solution, given that more professionals are taking up small IT jobs.”
As companies and trade suffered as a result of the coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns, the country’s e-commerce and IT sectors expanded. Pakistan has the world’s fourth-fastest-growing freelance industry. When the money was sent into a traditional channel, however, freelancers experienced shortages and high prices.
He clarified that JazzCash, one of Mobilink Microfinance Bank’s subsidiaries, collaborated with Payoneer, an American financial services provider that offers online money transfer and digital payment services.
“Over Rs4bn has been received since January 2020 by more than 100,000 freelancers through Payoneer and JazzCash accounts,” Mr. Azzam said.
He added that reduced human activity and travel, as well as improved internet access, also aided in the promotion of e-commerce.
Wide banks do not have loans for small commercial loading-trucks, bicycles, and other similar requirements, according to the CEO, but the microfinance sector does.
“Ranging from the food sector to general items, the supply to home business has increased manifold and so has the demand for riders and motorcycles,” he said, adding that such needs are being fulfilled only by the microfinance sector.
The accessibility of technology has aided in the reduction of time, expense, and human experiences in the processing of loans for such projects, as well as small agri-loans, to purchase cattle or carts.
Similarly, JazzCash has released a business app to serve the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) market, which has yet to reap the maximum benefits of a digital payments environment, according to him, adding that some of them are not even part of the formal economy.
Pakistan has a huge number of SMEs, but just a few thousand embrace digital payments, leaving the country’s economy mostly cash-based.
The JazzCash Market App can offer you insight into your business’s success while still automating day-to-day tasks.
Users may use QR to collect fees, reconcile transactions, disburse wages, and compensate for stock purchases.
Mr. Azzam, on the other hand, claims that policymakers and government agencies in developing countries such as Pakistan have little empathy for small and micro enterprises, which is limiting the sector’s development in comparison to industrialized countries with a more stable financial network.
