What is the Problem With the Construction and Textile Industry in Pakistan?

The textile industry in Pakistan, as well as the construction industry, is severely lagging behind in adoption of technology as compared to other sectors which is leading to inefficiency and low profits. 

It is no longer a question of whether these industries need to be digitized but a question of when and how. Some of the main reasons hindering digitization in the construction industry and textile industry in Pakistan are the uncertain nature of the industry, lack of awareness of tech tools, and the absence of a proper business environment that can enable this digital transformation. Especially for small and medium-sized businesses with low-profit margins. 

Outside of the construction industry and textile industry in Pakistan, other manufacturers have significantly reduced costs by aggressively adopting digital solutions. While technology will not solve all issues, it will still stimulate the greatest performance in these Pakistani industries. It is a long-term solution to being able to compete and stay afloat in an ever-evolving manufacturing market.  

Obtaining raw materials is a huge issue facing Pakistani construction and textile industry manufacturers, who need to make a dozen phone calls with suppliers just to get rates. These industries have been functioning with little to no innovative changes including a lack of digitization, with the most notable change maybe being the use of WhatsApp to communicate faster. 

How Does Zaraye Help with Sourcing Raw Materials?

Zaraye comes in to help the construction and textile industry of Pakistan, a secure, user-friendly B2B platform that facilitates the free exchange of raw materials through a reverse-bidding model. Helping customers get the best prices at the fastest rate while maintaining their autonomy to choose suppliers effortlessly.

Raw materials found on the website include cotton yarn which is the main raw material needed to create end-use fabric in the textile industry in Pakistan. And as for the construction industry, you can find cement, sand, gravel, crushed stone, and steel.  

The construction and textile industry in Pakistan has not modified or evolved a lot in 70 years and even larger companies are unable to compete within a competitive global market. The solution is to keep up with the rest of the world and to digitize the construction and textile industry in Pakistan. 

Small and medium-sized textile and construction companies in Pakistan operate with paper-thin margins and raw materials can make up 65% of their total cost. Procuring competitively priced raw materials is a massive issue for manufacturers already struggling with finances, completely inhibiting their ability to expand and grow as a business. 

Zaraye aims to solve all these problems facing manufacturers in the construction and textile industry in Pakistan. The platform caters to buyers and sellers in the construction and textile industries in Pakistan, with over 1200 partners and suppliers across 20 cities. 

The core goal of Zaraye is to finance working capital for manufacturers, targeting smaller manufacturers, whose annual revenues fall between $250K and $2 million. The aim is to strengthen the backbone of the country’s economy by assisting entrepreneurs to optimize and scale their operations. Zaraye will help partners to compete locally and globally by making the procurement process convenient, as partners find more savings in time and money to create the best products. 

Saving time and money is the key to solutions to all the issues with the manufacturing supply chain, and with Zaraye there is no more going through intermediaries and aimless communication. Using Zaraye, manufacturers in the construction and textile industry in Pakistan can post their requirements for any raw material, getting rates in real time. 

Contribution of Construction to GDP In Pakistan

The seamless process offers manufacturers information and options to make quick and efficient buying decisions. Zaraye will handle the whole sourcing process, from getting quotes with assured quality to delivery as well as offering after-sales assistance. As for suppliers, the expansive network of buyers on one single platform allows them to access mass demand volumes. 

The bottom line is that small and medium business owners in Pakistan have been trapped in a vicious cycle of high competition and lack of financing options setting them up for failure. Zaraye will help these businesses expand by resolving all inefficiencies in the procurement process, allowing business owners to make better decisions

Zaraye was founded in late 2021 by Taha Iqbal Teli, Hashair Junaid Ahmedani, and Ahsan Ali Khan and has raised $2.1 million in pre-seed funding from Tiger Global and Zayn Capital. This is the first time Tiger Global has made such an investment in a Pakistani startup. Investors other than this include +92 Ventures, Jack Rizvi, and current and former employees of Careem.