South Asia Investor Review

While the world is focusing on the US presidential race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joseph Biden, the app-based service companies have made big news in the Silicon Valley tech world: The gig economy has been saved by California voters who passed Proposition 22 with 60% majority. The entire gig economy was facing the threat of extinction from California Assembly Bill 5 that required all gig workers to be classified as employees with full benefits rather than contractors. The voters in heavily Democratic California state also defeated anti-business Propositions 16 and  21. Prop 16 would have significantly raised commercial property taxes while Prop 21 would have imposed stricter rent controls.  Bob Shrum, a former Democratic strategist and the director of the Dornsife Center for the Political Future at the University of Southern California, told the New York Times that “(T)he results in California show the Democrats that you can go too far. Californi...

Pakistan's digital gig economy has surged 69% during the COVID19 pandemic , putting the country among the world's top 4 hottest online freelancer markets, reports   Payoneer , a global payments platform company based in Silicon Valley, in its latest report. Payoneer attributes it to government programs such as Punjab government's e Rozgaar program that has been offering free online courses in digital freelancing. The sudden rush to learn skills online boosted the demand for instructors. The Pakistan government filled this demand by hiring alumni of programs like e Rozgaar who were successfully participating in the gig economy. Punjab government's e-rozgaar program logo After a brief dip in January 2020, the demand for freelancers took off in February and increased by double digits each month starting in March until June when it surged 47% at the time the data was compiled by Payoneer for its report.“ Likewise, this response is reflected in the revenue figures where fre...

A global  survey conducted by Payoneer , a global payments platform company based in Silicon Valley, shows that Pakistani women freelancers are earning $22 an hour, 10% more than the $20 an hour earned by men. While Pakistani male freelancers earnings are at par with global average, Pakistani female earnings are higher than the global average for freelancers. Digital gig economy is not only helping women earn more than men but it is also reducing  barriers to women's labor force participation in the country. The survey also concludes that having a university degree does not help you earn more in the growing  gig economy . The  survey  was conducted in 2015. Freelancers Hourly Rate by Gender. Source: Payoneer An average Pakistani freelancer working 34 hours a week at $20 an hour earns $34,000 a year, or Rs. 5.7 million a year, a small fortune for a young Pakistani. This is one of the upsides of the online global labor market for skilled young men and w...

Eminent Pakistani economist Dr. Nadeemul Haq (no relation to Riaz Haq) interviewed Riaz Haq last week for his podcast " Soch Bichar " to talk about the subject of "Digitization in Pakistan" in Urdu. Here is a summary of the interview: Dr. Nadeemul Haq: How do you define "digitization"?  Riaz Haq: To me,  digitization  on a national scale is pervasive use of digital technologies in all aspects of life: business, trade, industry, media, finance, government, education, sports, entertainment, military, etc etc. NH: What is happening in Pakistan on digitization? RH: Jahangir Tareen, a close aide to Prime Minister Imran Khan, has recently announced the hiring of a woman of Pakistani origin who is currently working for Google in Singapore. He said she will lead the  digitization effort  in Pakistan from the Prime Minister's office. NH: Is digitization possible in Pakistan? RH: Yes, it is possible. Digitization requires digital infrastructure an...

Pakistan's digital gig economy growth is the fastest in Asia and fourth fastest in the world, according to digital payments platform  Payoneer . Gig Economy Growth in Q2/2019. Source: Payoneer United States led gig economy growth of 78% followed by the United Kingdom 59%, Brazil 48%, Pakistan 47% and Ukraine 36%. Asia growth was led by Pakistan followed by Philippines (35%) , India  (29%) and Bangladesh (27%). The rapid gig economy expansion of 47% in Pakistan  was fueled by several factors including the country's very  young population  70% of which is under 30 years of age coupled with improvements in  science and technical education  and expansion of  high-speed broadband  access.  Pakistani freelancers under the age of 35 generated 77% of the revenue in second quarter of 2019. Growth in Freelance Work. Source: Payoneer Mohsin Muzaffar, head of business development at Payoneer in Pakistan, has said as follows: "Governme...