Obaid Arshad

founder and CEO of Ginkgo Retail

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Obaid Arshad is the founder and CEO of Ginkgo Retail, which he has described as the largest order aggregator in Pakistan. He has said the company was started in 2019, although his team had been in the e-commerce space since 2015 or 2016.

Early life and background

Obaid Arshad was born and brought up in Dubai. His father was a mechanical engineer in the Dubai government, and his mother was a teacher. Arshad has said his family was middle class, and that his grandfather was ex-army and later worked at an ordnance factory. He has said his parents taught him from childhood to do things on his own. He attended a school in Dubai. [1]

Arshad has said the family had to come back because of an economic crisis after the 2008 recession. The family moved back to Islamabad. He has said his upbringing taught him patience and tolerance. [1]

Education

Arshad completed ICOM and then BCOM. He has said that after ICOM he saw himself as a hustler who wanted a professional career. [1]

Career

Arshad's first job was as a retail sales officer selling credit cards, from about 2011. He has said he worked at a bank as a cash teller and a retail sales officer, and that he joined the bank twice. He later moved to Dubai. He has said he came to feel a strong emotional connection to Pakistan. [1]

Arshad supplied tank parts as a general order supplier to heavy industry in Taxila, working with a partner. He invested in a restaurant. He has said he learned banking, operations, logistics and people management through hands-on work. [1]

In 2016 Arshad joined a company as a customer services officer. A year later he moved to an agency as a manager, where he worked on e-commerce. He has said that after moving to a new company he gradually rose position by position. He has said he came to see himself as a good operations person, and that he is good at explaining products to laymen and at linking technical teams with the business. [1]

He has said that after one year he was heading four to five departments. He has said he led billing, recovery, business development, marketing, sales, Shopify development and plugin departments. He has said that within one to two years he was taking care of a company at something like C-level. Arshad has said small plugins were built from 2017 to 2019. He has said he did not take certain offers because, where he worked, he was connected with more than 100 clients. [1]

Ginkgo Retail

Arshad has said he held equity in the company alongside his CTO. He has said that as the product grew, a partner became a sleeping partner, and that the company bought the equity from a partner about two years back. He has said the company is now wholly owned by its own team. He has said he did not want equity in another company and instead wanted skin in the game and his complete equity in the company. [1]

He has said the stake was bought out at a mutually agreed number that he called reasonable. He has described the exit as a good, happy outcome for everyone involved, and has said he set a decent and reasonable figure and was ready to exit himself. [1]

Arshad has described the company's product as a post-order management solution built for the Pakistani market. He has said integration is the company's core speciality, and that the company connects other systems to its platform through APIs and XML. He has said the company turns a retailer's stores into fulfilment centres, which raises the inventory available, and that it converted online inventory and dark stores to an omni-channel model and helped many businesses survive using technology. [1]

He has said the company processes about 3.5 million orders a month. He has said more than 8,000 brand locations work on the platform's omni-channel system and that more than 100 brands use the company's omni-channel system. He has said that among the platform's merchants, more than 80 percent of the fashion and footwear ones are large enterprises, and that 70 to 80 percent of the enterprises working with the company have their own international website. He has said the company targets store owners with more than 500 orders a month. [1]

Arshad has said Endeavor was the first client for the product, and that the company was the first Shopify Plus agency level partner. He has said employee retention at the company is above 95 percent. He has said the company launched a product described as the one and only made-in-Pakistan digital BI and smart AI marketing audit system for merchants. He has said the company raised conversion by 30 percent before checkout. [1]

Market and growth

Arshad has said Pakistan's e-commerce grew 97 percent year on year. He has said the company's average year-on-year growth over the last three years is about 70 to 80 percent, and that its white-label products bring in more than 8 million ARR dollars in Canada and the US. He has said Pakistan is a safer market for the company because there is no international competition. [1]

He has said the company's model differs from Octane's, and that the two may overlap but are not head-on competitors. He has said Shopify is expensive for merchants because it charges on payment gateways and each transaction. He has said Pakistan is 96 percent cash on delivery, Egypt is 80 to 90 percent, and Saudi Arabia is 70 percent. [1]

Expansion and funding

Arshad has said the company has started targeting Saudi Arabia and Dubai and already has customers in Dubai. He has said the company has set up a company in Dubai and has a few clients, and that it is in talks with companies and investors in Saudi Arabia. He has said Pakistan will act as a test market before the company exports. [1]

He has said the company has been bootstrapped and profitable from day one. He has said the company set out to build a SaaS product rather than keep offering services, and that the product was built without giving equity and without a formal funding round. He has said the company is open to investment from like-minded partners and wants to do an IPO in the future. [1]

Arshad has said he expects the company to be a technology hub globally within five years. He has said the company wants to become an incubation centre for e-commerce products. [1]

Views

Arshad has said people management is a core aspect of his work, and that he sees himself as a counselor, advisor and motivator to his team. He has said that on his deathbed he is 110 percent sure he will not have wronged anyone. He has said objectives missed in the short term will come back to a person in the longer run, a belief he holds firmly. He has said he did not want to manage two different things at a time. [1]

He has argued that digitizing cash brings transparency across the economy. He predicts Pakistan will be in a very vulnerable position over the next 25 years. He has said that over the next 25 years Pakistan will be discussing water, the ozone layer and air quality, and that his 25-year view comes from his gut and intuition. He has said children should be sent abroad at an early age. [1]

Timeline

2011
First job, as a retail sales officer selling credit cards, from about this year.[1]
2016
Joined a company as a customer services officer.[1]
2017
Small plugins were built from 2017 to 2019, according to Arshad.[1]
2019
Ginkgo Retail was started, according to Arshad.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-12-10 Sending your kids abroad isn't an investment, it's exposure Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Obaid Arshad?

Obaid Arshad is the founder and CEO of Ginkgo Retail. He has described the company as the largest order aggregator in Pakistan. He has said the company was started in 2019, although his team had been in the e-commerce space since 2015 or 2016.[1]

What does Obaid Arshad do?

Obaid Arshad is the founder and CEO of Ginkgo Retail. He has described the company's product as a post-order management solution built for the Pakistani market. He has said the company processes about 3.5 million orders a month.[1]

Where is Obaid Arshad from?

Obaid Arshad was born and brought up in Dubai. His father was a mechanical engineer in the Dubai government, and his mother was a teacher. Arshad has said the family had to come back because of an economic crisis after the 2008 recession, and the family moved back to Islamabad.[1]

Where did Obaid Arshad study?

Obaid Arshad completed ICOM and then BCOM. He attended a school in Dubai. He has said that after ICOM he saw himself as a hustler who wanted a professional career.[1]

What company did Obaid Arshad found?

Obaid Arshad is the founder and CEO of Ginkgo Retail. He has said the company was started in 2019. Arshad has said the company set out to build a SaaS product rather than keep offering services.[1]

What does Obaid Arshad say about Pakistan's future?

Obaid Arshad predicts Pakistan will be in a very vulnerable position over the next 25 years. He has said that over the next 25 years Pakistan will be discussing water, the ozone layer and air quality. Arshad has said his 25-year view comes from his gut and intuition.[1]

References

  1. Sending your kids abroad isn't an investment, it's exposure . Thought Behind Things , 2025-12-10.
Show the source passages (86 statements)
  1. He is the founder and CEO of Ginkgo Retail. we speak with Obaid Arshad, Founder & CEO of Gingko Retail
  2. He was born and brought up in Dubai. I was born and brought up in Dubai
  3. His father was a mechanical engineer in the Dubai government, and his mother was a teacher. my father was a mechanical engineer in Dubai government, my mother was a teacher
  4. He has said his family was middle class. hum jo hai woh middle class family se belong karte the
  5. He has said his grandfather was ex-army and later worked at an ordnance factory. my grandfather was ex army aur woh phir Pakistan Ordnance Factory mein the
  6. He has said his parents taught him from childhood to do things on his own. bachpan se yeh dikhayi gayi sikhayi gayi thi ki yaar apne apne own pe khud karna hai
  7. He attended a school in Dubai. jab hum Dubai mein the hum different aur ek aur bada aspect tha ke jab main New Indian Model School mein tha
  8. He has said the family had to come back because of an economic crisis after the 2008 recession. 2008 ke recession ke baad us tarah se stability was not there toh jis wajah se economical crisis ki wajah se we had to come came come back
  9. The family moved back to Islamabad. Nahi, wapas hum log aaye Islamabad mein.
  10. He completed ICOM and then BCOM. Toh wahan pe maine ICOM kiya, phir maine BCOM kiya.
  11. His first job was as a retail sales officer selling credit cards, from about 2011. So I started my first job as a retail sales officer, credit card bechne se back in like 2011
  12. He has said he worked at a bank as a cash teller and a retail sales officer, and that he joined the bank twice. kyunki main wahan pe as a cash teller bhi tha, retail sales officer bhi tha kyunki maine do time HBL join kiya tha
  13. He later moved to Dubai. Phir uske baad main Dubai chala gaya
  14. He has said he came to feel a strong emotional connection to Pakistan. Mera Pakistan ke saath bahut zyada emotional connect ho chuka tha
  15. He supplied tank parts as a general order supplier to heavy industry in Taxila, working with a partner. maine as a general order supplier heavy industry Taxila mein tank ke parts bana ke supply kiye with my partner
  16. He invested in a restaurant. maine ek restaurant mein investment kar di
  17. He has said he learned banking, operations, logistics and people management through hands-on work. Kahin pe main banking seekha, kahin pe main operations seekha, kahin pe main logistics seekha, toh people management seekha
  18. He joined a company as a customer services officer in 2016. Yeh basically main jab 2016 mein maine Sapphire mein as a customer customer services officer jab join kiya tha
  19. A year later he moved to an agency as a manager, where he worked on e-commerce. toh uske ek saal baad main ek company mein chala gaya tha as an manager aur udhar maine e-commerce mein so it was an agency
  20. He has said that after moving to a new company he gradually rose position by position. so main jab Sapphire se main Alchemative aaya toh main bada gradually position by position upar jana shuru hua
  21. He has said he came to see himself as a good operations person. Phir mera thoda aur confidence badha toh mujhe laga I am a good operations person
  22. He has said he is good at explaining products to laymen and at linking technical teams with the business. I am good in explaining product to a layman and a good connector between techies and the layman to the business
  23. He has said that after one year he was heading four to five departments. because I was heading 4 to 5 department after one year
  24. He has said he led billing, recovery, business development, marketing, sales, Shopify development and plugin departments. I was leading the billing, recovery department, business development department, marketing department, sales ka department, Shopify ki development ka department, plugin Shopify ke apps ka department
  25. He has said that within one to two years he was taking care of a company at something like C-level. within 3 to like within 1 to 2 years I was taking care of a company sort of like C level
  26. He has said small plugins were built from 2017 to 2019. From 2017 to 2019 tak chote chote jo plugins bane
  27. He has said Pakistan's e-commerce grew 97 percent year on year. Pakistan ki e-commerce year on year 97% ki growth pe chali gayi
  28. He has said he did not take certain offers because, where he worked, he was connected with more than 100 clients. but I did not took these offers because mujhe sirf ek cheez achi lag rahi thi ki jahan main baitha hoon wahan main 100 plus clients ke saath connect kar raha hoon
  29. He has said he held equity in the company alongside his CTO. aur meri bhi equity thi within Jinko and uh with my uh with my CTO as well
  30. He has said that as the product grew, a partner became a sleeping partner. later on jab humne isko grow kiya because uh Alchemitive became a sleeping partner sort of
  31. He has said the company bought the equity from a partner about two years back. we bought the uh equity from them or uh two years back
  32. He has said the company is now wholly owned by its own team. and now this is something which is totally owned by us
  33. He has said he did not want equity in another company and instead wanted skin in the game and his complete equity in the company. I do not want my Alchemitive my equity in Alchemitive. I want skin in the game and I want my complete equity in Jinko
  34. He has said the stake was bought out at a mutually agreed number that he called reasonable. we mutually decided a number and we gave a good buy out, a reasonable buy out uh to the founder because we worked with each other
  35. He has described the exit as a good, happy outcome for everyone involved. it was a good happy happy exit for all of us
  36. He has said he set a decent and reasonable figure and was ready to exit himself. maine us number ko itna decent and itna reasonable kiya ke jispe maine kaha main bhi exit lene ko tayar hoon
  37. He has said that on his deathbed he is 110 percent sure he will not have wronged anyone. Ke main jab death bed pe jaunga toh mujhe 110% yeh confirm hai ke maine kisi ke saath galat nahi kiya hoga
  38. He has said objectives missed in the short term will come back to a person in the longer run, a belief he holds firmly. shorter term pe jo agar objective nahi meet ho rahe woh longer run mein aapko milenge. Sahi hai. So yeh mera bada firm belief hai.
  39. He has said people management is a core aspect of his work. Toh people management is is is a core aspect
  40. He has said he sees himself as a counselor, advisor and motivator to his team. So I am a more of a counselor, advisor, motivator to the team
  41. He has said employee retention at the company is above 95 percent. retention ratio jo hai of employees it's above 95%
  42. He has said Ginkgo Retail was started in 2019, although his team had been in the e-commerce space since 2015 or 2016. Humne Jinko Retail ko 2019 mein start kiya but hum e-commerce ki space mein 2015-2016 se the
  43. He has said the company was the first Shopify Plus agency level partner. we were the first Shopify Plus agency level partner
  44. He has said Endeavor was the first client for the product. the good thing was ke humein Endeavor apna as a pehla client jo hai is pe mila
  45. He has said that among the platform's merchants, more than 80 percent of the fashion and footwear ones are large enterprises. hamare paas 240 merchants hain jismein fashion aur footwear ke above 80% jo large enterprise hain like Sapphire, Ethnic, Outfitter, Limelight and so on
  46. He has said the company is the largest order aggregator in Pakistan. We are the largest order aggregator in Pakistan
  47. He has said the company processes about 3.5 million orders a month. hum average jo hai 3.5 million order jo hai process karte hain monthly
  48. He has said the company converted online inventory and dark stores to an omni-channel model and helped many businesses survive using technology. humne online ki inventory aur inko dark stores pe convert kar ke, inko Omni channel pe convert kar ke we helped lot of business by using technology for their survival
  49. He has said more than 8,000 brand locations work on the platform's omni-channel system. more than 8000 overall different brand ki locations jo hain woh Omni pe work kar rahi hain
  50. He has said more than 100 brands use the company's omni-channel system. obviously 100 se zyada brand hamare saath omni pe hain
  51. He has described the company's product as a post-order management solution built for the Pakistani market. generally post order management solution jo ke is market ke accordingly banaya gaya hai
  52. He has said the company targets store owners with more than 500 orders a month. koi bhi aisa store owner jiske mahine ke 500 se zyada order hain uske liye hum affordable hain
  53. He has said integration is the company's core speciality. jo hamari core speciality hai woh hai integration
  54. He has said the company connects other systems to its platform through APIs and XML. hum API's ke through XML's ke through inko connect kar dete hain
  55. He has said the company turns a retailer's stores into fulfilment centres, which raises the inventory available. hum unke retail ko enable kar dete hain as a fulfillment center theek hai jisme inventory ka quantum badh jaata hai
  56. He has said 70 to 80 percent of the enterprises working with the company have their own international website. 70 to 80% of the uh enterprise working with us uh they have their own international website
  57. He has said the company's model differs from Octane's. So we need to understand ke Laim aur Octane ka model different hai, hamara model different hai
  58. He has said the company and Octane may overlap but are not head-on competitors. but we are not head-on competitors
  59. He has said Pakistan is a safer market for the company because there is no international competition. so it's a safer market for me because there is no competition, international competition
  60. He has said the company's average year-on-year growth over the last three years is about 70 to 80 percent. So average year-on-year growth from last three years is is like 70 to 80%
  61. He has said the company's white-label products bring in more than 8 million ARR dollars in Canada and the US. we are already expanded in Canada and US. Hamari white label products hain jo ke udhar more than 8 million ARR dollars kar rahi hai
  62. He has said he expects the company to be a technology hub globally within five years. next five years we we would be a technology hub globally
  63. He has said the company wants to become an incubation centre for e-commerce products. we in next five years we want to be a incu incubation center
  64. He has said the company launched a product described as the one and only made-in-Pakistan digital BI and smart AI marketing audit system for merchants. Zentry Retail by Jinko Retail ek product ko launch kar diya, which is a one and only made in Pakistan digital BI and smart AI marketing audit system for the merchant
  65. He has said the company raised conversion by 30 percent before checkout. Checkout se pehle hi humne 30% of conversion ko increase kar diya hai
  66. He has said Shopify is expensive for merchants because it charges on payment gateways and each transaction. shopify aapko expensive pad raha hai shopify aapko payment gateway pe bhi charge kar raha hai pay transaction pe bhi charge kar raha hai
  67. He has said Pakistan is 96 percent cash on delivery. So hum 96% cash on delivery hain aur hamari abadi hai 25 crore
  68. He has said Egypt is 80 to 90 percent cash on delivery. Egypt jo hai wo 80-90% cash on delivery hai
  69. He has said Saudi Arabia is 70 percent cash on delivery. 70% Saudi cash on delivery hai
  70. He has said the company has started targeting Saudi Arabia and Dubai and already has customers in Dubai. We hamne Saudia aur Dubai ko pe target karna start kar diya. We have already existing customers in Dubai
  71. He has said the company has set up a company in Dubai and has a few clients. We have already registered a company in Dubai. We have got few clients
  72. He has said the company is in talks with companies and investors in Saudi Arabia. we are in talks with the reasonable uh companies, investors uh in Saudi
  73. He has said Pakistan will act as a test market before the company exports. Pakistan would be a test market and later on we will start our export
  74. He has said the company is open to investment from like-minded partners. we are open for the investments because we want to grow, we want to grow with the like-minded people
  75. He has said the company wants to do an IPO in the future. Yes, we want to do it but in the future, InshaAllah
  76. He has said the company has been bootstrapped and profitable from day one. from day one we are profitable, hum bootstrapped hain
  77. He has said the company set out to build a SaaS product rather than keep offering services. humne service nahi deni. We want to build a product, a SaaS based product
  78. He has said the product was built without giving equity and without a formal funding round. We did not gave equity aur we did not did a proper round or something
  79. He has said he did not want to manage two different things at a time. I do not wanted to manage two different things at a time
  80. He has argued that digitizing cash brings transparency across the economy. ke jab cash digitize hoga to uske upar inside jo jo transparency bhi saari ki saari aya hogi
  81. He predicts Pakistan will be in a very vulnerable position over the next 25 years. I see Pakistan in a very vulnerable position in next 25 years
  82. He has said that over the next 25 years Pakistan will be discussing water, the ozone layer and air quality. In next 25 years we would be discussing about water, ozone layer, the air, quality of air
  83. He has said his 25-year view comes from his gut and intuition. So I'm talking about I'm talking from my gut, my intuition and what I'm feeling
  84. He has said that after ICOM he saw himself as a hustler who wanted a professional career. jab maine ICOM kiya, so I knew this thing ki I was a hustler. I want to be in the professional field
  85. He has said children should be sent abroad at an early age. humein humein na badi early stages pe bachon ko out of country bhejna chahiye
  86. He has said his upbringing taught him patience and tolerance. Humein patience sikhaya ja raha tha, humein tolerance sikhaya ja raha tha