On January 17th, 2020, Fiverr, a well-known freelancing platform, held its first official meet up in Islamabad, Pakistan at KNCT Hub. This was the first meet up of any Fiverr freelance community and was attended by content writers, digital artists, and creators. The event was conducted in collaboration with Glug Pakistan, a national wing of the international organization Glug, which champions artistic groups around the world. The event was also conducted in partnerships with Stippple, KNCT Hub, and Media Clicks and was sponsored by Agile Pakistan Education.
The theme of the event was focused on how to start and sustain a freelancing career. A lineup of expert speakers and trainers shared their valuable work and learnings with attendees and encouraged the local freelancers’ community to use the available freelancing platforms more effectively. Freelancers from different digital backgrounds and skill sets attended the event, which was hosted by Mamoon Sabri, a sportscaster, host, interviewer, and journalist in the global Esports world.
Speakers included Tariq Tahir, an expert freelancer who shared insights on how to sustain a freelancing career and earn sufficient money via freelancing; Danish Iftikhar, a top-of-the-line freelancer and design & freelancing trainer who has trained more than 500 students and helped them earn thousands of dollars; and Mohsin Shahzad, a certified scrum professional, trainer and coach with 18 years of industry experience.
The event also featured a keynote speech by guest speaker Raza Ahmed Sukhera, who works as a technical resource in the Ministry of IT & Telecom and discussed governmental initiatives to support the National E-Commerce ecosystem. The event ended with a keynote from Roshaan Saeed, the first female to bring foreign companies like Fiverr, Glug, Sketch, and Dribble to Pakistan to motivate the local design industry. The event was closed with a live performance by the emerging and locally famous band Hijr e Malal.
Overall, the Fiverr Islamabad Meetup was a much-needed event and it is hoped that there will be more opportunities for freelancers in Pakistan in the future. These events bring local communities into the consideration of international platforms, paving pathways for the future and creating opportunities for the current freelancer community. Pakistan needs more creative initiatives like this by community builders who bring global opportunities and skill sets to the local industry of freelancers.
