Mr. Jehangir Khan Tareen, Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives launched Pakistan’s first B2B (business-to-business) and business information portal, “Industrial Information Network” (IIN) www.iin.com.pk, on 25th of June, 2005. The launch event was held in Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore and was attended by over 350 people belonging from various business sectors including textile, leather, auto, insurance, academia, banking, legal, young entrepreneurs, IT, commercial counselors, chambers, export promotion bureau and donor agencies.

 While speaking on the occasion, Mr. Jehangir highlighted the opportunities that are available because of the rapid advancements in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) and empowerment of groups and individuals to transcend boundaries and connect directly with one another across the globe.

Mr. Tareen said that ICT’s role in driving down costs, improving productivity, reducing time to market and providing quality services the customers cannot be denied. Understanding the role of ICT resulted in an investment of over $200 million in IT products during the fiscal year 2003-4.

He said that the development of IIN is a shining example of the Government’s changing approach to delivering services through one window. IIN will surely be an answer to most of the present and future information challenges and of direct assistance in international outreach.

Mr. Tareen also spoke on the importance of B2B models and gave the examples of Boeing and Wal-mart and the benefits achieved by them by adopting the B2B models. He said that the launch of IIN’s B2B e-market is testimony to the government’s commitment to help businesses meet new challenges posed by the use of e-commerce in the global market place.

Mr. Tareen said that IIN portal will act as point of contact for the business community. It will provide the information that a businessman needs. He invited the business community to join hands with the IIN team in identifying their business information requirements to serve them better.

He also said that his Ministry is committed to raise the share of manufacturing sector in GDP. As SMEs are the backbone of the country’s economy they are being given special focus and an SME policy is being developed.

Mr. Tareen appreciated the role of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which conceived the idea of an IIN network, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom which provided the funding and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), which rendered technical support. He said that without the support of and of these organizations, this project would still have been a dream.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Suleman Ghani, Secretary MoIP highlighted the challenges faced by business community in strategic decision making due to unavailability of timely information. He said that it is due to information technology that now information can be made available anywhere and at anytime. He also said that currently, the virtual absence of electronic trade, particularly by the export-oriented industries, is taking a heavy toll on the national economy by limiting the productivity on the one hand and access to the international markets on the other.

Mr. Suleman said that the export-oriented sectors and the industries can benefit from the B-2-B, particularly traditional exports like textile, leather, surgical goods, sport goods and handicrafts. It can now be expected to benefit from the IIN Project. He said that the Electronic Commerce is an ultimate marketing tool in the digitalized world of today and Local businesses should grasp, the information technology tools, their intelligent use in e-commerce and e-business to keep up with the pace of development in the country.

He said that in Pakistan e-commerce is still in its infancy and faces many barriers to grow but there is a lot of scope of e-commerce in Pakistan, and most companies are eager to go to the digital world but holding their plans to start e-business until clouds of barriers disappear, the time has come now, launch of “Industrial Information Network” is expected to minimize the barriers and serve as a catalyst for developing business-to-business e-commerce and information network in Pakistan.

Mr. Shahab Khawaja, Chief Executive Officer of SMEDA said that IIN web portal is designed to become one of the largest sources of generating, exchanging and disseminating business information in the country, which was focusing on providing value-added support and services to industry.

While talking about Pakistan’s first B2B web portal, he said that the primary IIN objectives are to promote the business-to-business e-commerce within the country and utilize IT to link businesses with international buyers, vendors, trade facilitation bodies and government institutions. IIN will enable Pakistani businesses to create a place for themselves in the e-world and get their share out of this fast growing trade channel.

Mr. Shahab said that IIN portal will be facilitating SMEs as well as large businesses and a project worth Rs. 39 million for a three year period. He said that the IIN project would initially focus on textile and leather sectors during its first three years of operations. He also said that after textile and leather dairy, gems & jewelry and marble & granite will be the focused sectors for IIN.

Mr. Khawaja highlighted the current sections of IIN and said that currently IIN is providing a set of complete information on ginning, spinning, weaving and tanning. The other important set of information available at IIN include government rules and regulations, information on financial products and services, business news, shipping news and schedules, business startup information, economic indicators, pre-feasibility studies, tips and case studies on human resource, marketing and financial management etc. He also said that IIN portal also carries a full chapter highlighting WTO and Pakistan relations with its impact on different industries.

He congratulated Mr. Salman Khalid, Project Director - IIN, and his team on their commitment and dedication to bring the IIN dream into reality.

Khawaja Yousaf, Chairman Pakistan Tanners Association appreciated the role of SMEDA and said that SMEDA has always been in the forefront by addressing the common concerns of private sector and solving them. He said that the addition of information services in the form of IIN web portal is another step by SMEDA to serve the business community in a holistic manner

He also said that PTA strongly believes that Information has now become critical for sustenance and growth of any Business or Industry in the globalized economy. . He said that because of unavailability of right, updated and timely information along with lack of information at a centralized place, the entrepreneurs in Pakistan are unable to access and gauge the market pertaining to technology, competition and price of product & services. And with the increase in competition and melting away of international boundaries, the demand for information is reaching new heights.

He highlighted that the countries willing to do business in form of Trading, Transfer of Technology and other forms of sustainable relationships with the industrial and business communities of Pakistan are unable to access the profiles of industries of their interest. The development of Industrial Information Network is undoubtedly the challenge taken up by SMEDA to narrow this ‘Digital Divide’ between the Business Community of Pakistan and the rest of the World. He said that services offered by IIN will make it act as a catalyst for Pakistani businessmen to increase their business volumes through an interactive e-Marketplace facilitating Business to Business (B2B) relationships. He wished success to the project with full assurance of support from PTA.

Mr. Arif Saeed, Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association praised the efforts of MoIP and MoITT for its efforts in promoting ICT in the country. He said that the development of industrial information network is a very positive move by the Government in providing the business community the information required to enable them run their organizations efficiently.

He said that the development of IIN portal is only the first step. The main challenge will be to have this platform communicated and marketed effectively so that a proper utilization of this effort can be made. He also said that if we browse the internet, we find many resources rich with information but searching for them is what needs time. Availability of all the required information at one platform does not exist. Similarly there are a lots of B2B portals available online today but unfortunately there was none by Pakistani government.

Mr. Arif appreciated the role of SMEDA and said that SMEDA has always been on the forefront whenever and wherever some facilitation is required. SMEDA, especially the team involved in the designing and maintaining of this network deserves to be appreciated.

He also highlighted the role of associations like APTMA that can play a vital role in identifying what exactly is required by the industry which can then be worked on and made available for the users. He concluded with his best wishes for the project.

Mr. Salman Khalid – Project Director IIN gave a briefing on IIN, its current services and vision. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Salman Khalid – Project Director IIN said that business worth $4,160 billion was being transacted through e-commerce and is expected to grow to $10,800 billion by 2006. He elaborated salient features of the portal and said that the IIN offered state-of-the-art set of services that include a unique platform for international outreach and provision of updated international business information, International trade inquiries where buyers and sellers can contact one another directly.

He said that the potential beneficiaries of this website are Entrepreneurs, Exporters and Business and Industrial associations who are looking for opportunity to gain access to worldwide trade and business enquiries all while staying in their office. IIN will also help the International buyers and prospective industrial partners to identify their counterparts in specific areas of interest.

Mr. Salman also said that before the portal’s formal launch it is receiving over 1,000 hits per day from countries like the United States, Germany, Denmark and Italy, which is expected to increase after launch.

Presentation of souvenir shields followed the speeches that were presented to Mr. Jehangir Tareen, Mr. Suleman Ghani, Mr. Misbah-ur-Rehman, Mr. Arif Saeed, Khawaja Yousaf and Mr. Salman Khalid.

In the end, a multimedia presentation on IIN was shown explaining different sections of the portal and the benefits that one can achieve by becoming a part of IIN. And then the event was concluded and lunch was served.

The event got an effective coverage by both print and electronic media. All national as well as regional newspapers published news on the launch event. In addition all major television channels also made the coverage of the event. About 90 people from media were present at the event.