[ BUSINESS ]
HOW BIG REALLY IS 250 MILLION PEOPLE ?
Right-sizing the Pakistani consumer opportunity
By Saad Hasan
Text : Saad Hasan
I t is the first thing on everyone ’ s Pakistan presentation — its 250-million population . Who wouldn ’ t be impressed by such a large number of potential customers ? While size does matter , this number alone does not tell the whole story . To identify the correct business models and strategies to pursue , it is important to understand the breakdown of the 37 million households and incomes within that population .
• GROUP 1 – Nearly one third ( 32 %) of households is below the poverty line with a household income under Rs . 75,000 per month . These households are extremely price-sensitive and time-insensitive . The journey towards truly having any monetisable use-case for this group will require decades of structural changes for them to be included as a large enough market to serve . This is the labour class of Pakistan , who can be lifted out of poverty only when a social safety net will be created . The upper-quartile of this class are expected to join the lower quartile of the new emerging lower middle class , as discussed below , in the next decade . Migration to Gulf countries and other more developed markets is a trend worth observing , as it could accelerate the transition of this group into the lower middle class more quickly than anticipated .
• GROUP 2 – The better part ( 62 %) of Pakistani households generate an income between Rs . 75,000 to 200,000 per month . These households are very price-sensitive and partially time-sensitive . This is the silent majority or the bulk of where
PHOTO : SW PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES
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WEJ | September 2024