The Impulso Podcast E34: [COO talks] running Alibaba-owned ecommerce in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (all at once)
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Oct 13, 2023 Zori Zafirova, COO of Daraz who runs ecommerce across Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, shares her journey from international corporate roles to leading frontier‑market operations. She discusses building logistics in low‑infrastructure cities, the quirky onions growth hack in Bangladesh, managing multimarket teams and borrowing Alibaba playbooks to scale everyday goods and groceries.
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Frontier Markets, Big Population Opportunity
- Daraz is much smaller than Lazada but operates in highly frontier markets across Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nepal.
- These markets are underserved yet collectively approach Southeast Asia in population, offering large long-term potential.
Geopolitics Shapes Team Mobility
- Cross‑border movement of staff is constrained by geopolitics: Pakistani central team members often cannot travel to Bangladesh.
- That restriction forces remote coordination and shapes how Daraz organizes multi‑market operations.
Low Penetration, High Upside
- E‑commerce penetration in Daraz markets sits in low single digits while GDP per capita is well below many SEA peers.
- Low penetration plus huge population explains Alibaba's interest and big upside if infrastructure improves.