Business
Saif Ali from Dastgyr shares knowledge on idea validation, connecting with stakeholders, innovative tech B2B, and the fast-growing startup scene in Pakistan. Dastgyr is a tech platform that helps emerging and local businesses manage their inventory more effectively. More specifically, the initiative is a B2B e-commerce solution working with mom and pop stores throughout Pakistan. Local businesses in the area usually experience fragmented service when trying to coordinate between receiving inventory from distributors and matching the demand of consumers. Businesses often pull from their savings to make up for gaps between the two. Dastgyr creates an option that saves local businesses in Pakistan money and time. Dastgyr started testing the idea with a pilot period from May 2020 until August 2020. Colliding the idea with reality, Saif says that the founding team literally the pilot conducted deliveries themselves and used their own homes as the warehouse for their work. Through this idea validation, Dastgyr confirmed that there was utility for the stakeholders involved in the service. The product-market fit was there. Saif explains that the team sought investors after the pilot, and officially launched in September 2020. Being a company based in Pakistan, Dastgyr is responsive to the culture of the region. Saif mentions the precautions and care of following regulations specific to the region. Within the region Dastgyr operates, there are laws built to respect the lens of Islamic belief that businesses will find in similar locations, such as Egypt or Saudi Arabia. Saif notes that this is natural when thinking of the history and culture of the region. Not originally from Pakistan, Saif shares his observations of the current state of business, tech, raising VC funds, and international expansion in the Pakistan startup market. Adjusting to the region was not the only new piece of information for Dastgyr to learn. When having such a direct relationship with the local businesses, the initiative found ways to approach interactions with business owners. Saif shares the concerns of communicating with business owners who are less tech-savvy, or who were adding Dastgyr to their business after decades of working manually. Once Dastgyr is set up, everything creates a positive ripple effect. Saif shares a few of the positive impacts the team recognizes as the initiative helps the community. Young people in Pakistan are showing great interest and innovation in how they incorporate technology. Saif points out that access to information allows young people to actively research different career paths. Young people are experiencing a level of enthusiasm to participate in the market that signals a shift. Since the nearby markets are growing in similar ways, there are many opportunities to share insights. Saif expresses his shared excitement of what the future holds as innovation happens inside of Pakistan and nearby hubs in the region: “This is the precipice of something very large and very exciting, and I'm just glad that I get to be a part of it.”--Saif Ali, Dastgyr If you would like to learn more, you can visit their website, Instagram, Twitter, or Linked-In. Read Full Transcript Adam: [00:00:00] Welcome to People Helping People, the podcast to inspire greater social change and give you ideas on how to take action. I'm your host, Adam Morris. Previously we've had Dalia Kamar on the podcast to speak about building purpose-driven entrepreneurship ventures in the middle east. Today, we travelled further west into a conversation with Saif Ali, from a tech startup, Dastgyr out of Pakistan. Dastgyr uses technology to help emerging and local businesses manage their inventory more effectively. So to speak more about empowering local businesses, Saif Ali welcome on the podcast. Saif: [00:00:34] Hey, Adam, thank you for having me glad too. Adam: [00:00:37] super excited. Can we start off,