Judging by the ongoing slate of hard-won consumer recognition that it has continued to garner in Pakistan’s real estate sector since its 2006 inception, it comes as no surprise, now, to take note of Zameen.com’s newfound success in crossing international waters – beyond the gulf region – and sounding the gong of its market prominence across the Atlantic.
Paving the way for the latest episode in this chronicle of ever-increasing global exposure, the company has managed to secure its inclusion in a groundbreaking new book titled ‘Asian Founders at Work: Stories from the Region’s Top Technopreneurs’ (Apress 2020) – an entrepreneur-specific book compilation aimed at documenting the real-life ‘company founding’ stories of 20 of East Asia, South Asia, and South East Asia’s most prominent business leaders (read: visionaries).
Further, and when judging the development from the purely patriotic standpoint, the fact that Zameen.com is the only Pakistani tech startup to be featured in the effort undoubtedly comes as a cause for celebration.
Add to this the consideration that the book, which extends the theme set by its US/Silicon Valley-centric predecessor ‘Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days’ (Apress 2008), devotes the largest space of all its contained interview-chapters to the company’s story – from its humble but strategically-dense startup origins to its current evolution as a vertically-ascendant real estate powerhouse; as retold by Zeeshan Ali Khan, Zameen.com CEO and co-founder – and the matter becomes practically congratulatory!
When asked for his own take on the undertaking, Ezra Ferraz, a UC Berkley alumnus and founder/managing partner of Manila, PH-based digital marketing firm Ambidextr, and the book’s co-author, explained the company’s selection for inclusion – from a large list of regional, mostly non-Pakistani, contenders – by pointing to its organizational emphasis on pursuing innovative, localized solutions instead of succumbing to the typical startup inclination to adhere to western prototypes of real estate portal executions; saying:
‘Many real estate platforms in emerging markets simply cut-and-paste business models from the West into their own context. What is innovative about Zameen.com is that it provides a digital platform for both home-seekers and home providers to interact effortlessly.’
Commenting on Zameen.com’s inspirational interview featured in the book, Asian Founders at Work’s other co-author Gracy Fernandez, the founder of PH-based car rental platform Graventure, said:
‘Khan and his co-founders did not just build a real estate platform. They simplified interaction in an area rife with serious problems … and ultimately made the dream of homeownership much more accessible to people across Pakistan. With Zameen.com, Khan has effectively created the Pakistani dream!’
The book is currently available for purchase on Amazon.com, the publisher’s official online portal, as well as from select physical retailers across North America and elsewhere.
