Very interesting points mentioned here. I always think about connecting small and medium sized enterprises of Pak to CH. I have confidence, that many goods manufactured in Pak, as well as digital services services will successfully compete in CH market. The idea goes towards export, but not in the traditional sense. The problem I see here is lack of trust, biased perception, different cultural values and work ethics towards pak companies. That's the reason why traditional export won't work. I am convinced, that this kind of problem could be overcome by creating an additional layer in form of a entity in Ch.
I am working on one idea, where the focus lies on providing IT& digital Marketing services to swiss companies with a pak backed virtual workforce.
I also believe, that some pak businesses could benefit if they get Know-How and best practices from Ch companies. For example in the construction field, the Swiss are famous for their precise, highly specialized processes. Kind of a knowledge share thing.
Or for example the process of making cheese, trust me, they are pretty good at it and got 100+ different types of it
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Short story:
When I was around 23 (fulltime student), I was in pak and realized how good and in comparison to ch, how affordable tailor made suits and shirts were. I organised a tailor willing to work with me, explained the idea and took back samples of textiles, styles of suits etc. etc. And agreed with him upon a strict process on taking measurements.
Back in ch, I targeted employees of companies which required a formal dress code. I offered them high quality and specifically to their body tailored 3 PCs. suit and shirts. I chose to price them moderately despite the fact, that the suits and shirts would have competet easily against the big brand names here.
As soon as they agreed to buy a suit, I made an appointment and met them in their offices, gyms, homes where ever they were. I took their measurements, let them choose the style of the suit and tons of accessories and extra wishes.
I have to say, that it worked very well. As a student I made good money and also the tailor in Pak received good profit margins. But I think already after 1.5 years of doing it, I started to receive complains, the quality decreased, and deliveries were often late. Everytime I confronted the tailor, he would always find an excuse. "Aaj protest ho raha tha" "Aaj kui bijly nahi thi, generator bhi kaam nahi kr raha tha" "eid days hain, bohot stress hay" etc etc etc. I even offered him a higher profit margin up to 60%, but even then, his service didn't improve. It wasn't enjoyable for me anymore, regular clients weren't happy.
I am sure it could have gone big, more profitable through improved processes and with a proper brand strategy. For me it was a side business, not much priority, I really enjoyed the work and meeting new clients. It was fun to be honest. But i decided it wasn't worth the time and energy I invested, so I gave up this little side hustle.
The point is, goods and services of Pakistan can successfully compete in a foreign market, in my case the ch market. The only thing we need are the right people at the right place.
Not someone like my tailor
. Hope you enjoyed.