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01
Bringing Bazaar Back
By: Shaheer Ali Babar H2
into danger. This is where Hamza Jawaid and his company ‘Bazaar’ come into
play.
A business-to-business marketplace, Bazaar provides merchants with the
capability to acquire inventories at a standard rate and choose from a much
larger catalogue, currently available in more than 50 cities and has gathered
more than one million merchants. It also seems that it has solved the issue that
most of its South Asian competitors are still struggling with, retention. The
company had stated that their rate of retention in 2021 was 90%, which has
only improved since then. A thriving $170 billion retail market hangs in the
balance in the world's fifth-most populous nation, where the adoption of
technology remains relatively low. Pakistan, home to approximately 5 million
micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, presented a significant untapped
potential.
Even though a significant portion of the population has come online, most
merchants remain unconnected, said the founders, who surveyed shops going
door-to-door. In recent months, the startup said it has tested a buy now, pay
later product and early results have shown 100% repayment.
Bazaar is going after a massive opportunity with the ultimate aim of creating a
generational story in and from Pakistan. “In a country with incredible talent
and huge market opportunity, it’s about time we create an inspirational story
that brings together the country’s best talent who can go on to create such
stories in the future,” said the founders.
Eventually, Bazaar wishes to transform into a super app, or at least a more
general operating system for businesses in Pakistan. They plan on using the
latest capital to grow its services and features and expand into more cities
across the nation, to build and scale more products. What Bazaar has
accomplished in the last few years is groundbreaking. The speed and
robustness they have grown with is astonishing. The development of such an
t one point in our lives; we have all visited a bazaar, whether to get
a soda or a shalwar. Bazaars, or markets, are a cornerstone of
Pakistani culture, and without them, we would feel lost. But, with
the introduction of online marketplaces, these havens have come
A