Entrepreneurial spirit shines in KPK

The startup culture in Pakistan is on the rise. With the entrepreneurial mindset of this generation’s youth, many young startups have emerged and contributed to the growth of Pakistan’s economic landscape. Though we have a long way to go, current centers for innovation and incubation are supporting the young startups to become mainstream.
National Incubation Center (NIC) in Peshawar is one of such centers, funded by Ignite and the Ministry of IT & Telecom and is driven by LMKT in collaboration with PTCL. It aims to build a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by supporting the creation of innovative product-based startups.
Within the walls of NIC Peshawar, one such startup is Dukandar.com that has grown since its inception in 2017 to become a prominent e-commerce store in Pakistan. Their products include clothing for both men and women, smartphones, beauty care items, automotive products, home decor products, groceries and much more. The store has a unique selling proposition in the form of testing and verifying the quality of products before it reaches its customers.
Another feather in the cap for Dukandar.com is its recent merger with Qareeb.com, an international e-commerce delivery service that is operating in UAE, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Qareeb.com connects its customers to their favourite local grocery stores, bringing products to the customers’ doorstep in less than an hour. Moreover, the pre-existing short delivery time of 1-4 working days would be cut down to single-day delivery for non-perishable products, and under one-hour delivery time for groceries.
Haris Shahzad has a co-partner, Ismail Khan, and both have extensive experience of the Middle Eastern market. Dukandar team’s coach, Sayyed Ahmad Masud, worked tirelessly with them to refine the team’s potential.
Haris Shahzad, Founder of Dukandar.com, said, “I’m very excited about this merger as our local knowledge combined with the international expertise of Qareeb will bring in great value to the end consumers in Pakistan. The merger will further extend our reach from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and UAE. We plan to further expand our operations to Egypt and Turkey in the near future.”
Murtaza Zaidi, Director, NIC Peshawar, said, “It gives us a sense of pride to see the growth and success of Dukandar and getting international recognition. They have created a brand that has grown immensely in a short period of time and get in the limelight for their value proposition. We always believe in the immense talent our youth has and such successes show the potential in the Pakistani entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Qareeb’s merger with Dukandar will provide international exposure to local vendors in Pakistan. They will be given more opportunities to export their products and handiwork, resulting in global recognition and economic empowerment. The Dukandar and Qareeb merger will increase Pakistan’s access to the global market.
Dukandar.com has proved its competence as an online store and its merger with Qareeb will further speed up its deliveries.