Product Management in Pakistan

A few colleagues approached me to comment on the state of Product Management in Pakistan.

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My 2 cents:

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After actively recruiting in Lahore for 3 years, I can safely say that there is no dearth of intelligent professionals in the country.

When I was at Pakwheels 10 years ago, the industry hadn't opened up to the idea of PMs. They were thought to be good-to-haves.

Now, with continual investments in local startups, the importance of product management is being properly acknowledged.

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However, to cultivate a talent base that can truly compete on a global stage, we'll have to work on a few things:

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a. Spreading Awareness:

We need localized programs (much like Product School) that focus on creating awareness about the discipline & reaching a wider audience across major/minor cities to keep expanding the talent pool.

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b. Marrying Experience with Education:

There are plenty of online courses to learn the theory. However, new PMs need access to local projects & MEANINGFUL internships to learn the ropes in a hands-on manner.

e.g. Exploring an Analytics account with years of REAL data vs. reading a GA tutorial.

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c. Opening Mentorship Channels:

Local PMs need access to seasoned product managers globally to discuss & collaborate on specific challenges.

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