Ehsan Saya

Managing Director of Daraz

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

Ehsan Saya is the Managing Director of Daraz, which he says has more than 100,000 sellers on its platform and more than 20 million products on its app. He became Managing Director of Daraz at a very young age. He says the values he brought to Daraz include integrity, doing the right thing, and customer experience.

Early life and background

Saya was born in Karachi. His family moved away from Karachi at that time because the situation in Karachi was not good, and his father decided to leave Pakistan. The family followed him to Saudi Arabia. Saya is one of three siblings, and before university he had not lived in one place for more than three years. [1]

He says that years of moving taught him to get to know people quickly. [1]

Education

Saya attended elementary school in Saudi Arabia and also in Athens, Georgia. He spent ninth and tenth grade in Houston, and eleventh grade and half of twelfth in Saudi Arabia. He spent the last semester of high school in Canada. [1]

Career

Saya spent seven years in investment banking. He was running his own startup in Canada when Daraz approached him, and it was the first time he considered moving to Pakistan. He says everyone around him told him not to go to Pakistan and that he would fail there. [1]

He gives his reason for moving to Pakistan as the wish to have an impact, which he believes Pakistan offers more than anywhere else. He says it would be hard to bring this kind of impact in the US, Canada or Europe. [1]

Daraz

Saya says Daraz had about 15,000 sellers seven or eight years ago. About 2 to 2.5 million people visit the Daraz app each day, and Daraz's cricket streaming led to a big spike in people learning about the app. He says Daraz onboarded 150 brands in about the last 60 days, while preparing for 11.11. He also says that Daraz's returns are about 1 to 1.5 percent, that many Daraz sellers have grown from traders into manufacturers, and that companies like Daraz have democratized these industries. [1]

According to Saya, Alibaba is Daraz's parent company, and Daraz gets a lot of its technology from it. Daraz adapted technology from Alibaba to fit local needs and does not plan to sell its technology as a product. He describes Daraz as a very data-driven organization that segments consumers using its data. [1]

Saya says Daraz hopes to do 10 to 20 times its daily volume during 11.11 and considers itself the original leader of 11.11. He says that during wedding season, fashion, health and beauty pick up. [1]

Logistics and delivery

According to Saya, Daraz started Daraz Express in 2018. He says Daraz had no way to check whether its delivery partners were telling the truth about failed deliveries. Daraz Express itself handles about 70 to 80 percent of Daraz's deliveries and has about 90 to 100 hubs and stations across the country. It now also does last-mile delivery for other companies. Saya says Daraz has about 3,000 to 4,000 riders, whom it calls heroes. [1]

Saya says Daraz has invested heavily in logistics over many years. It started a logistics marketplace four or five years ago, which gives local operators Daraz's technology and volume, and it works with all the delivery companies in Pakistan through its 3PL partnerships. He describes the logistics business as a game of scale in which not all 32 players can do well, and last-mile delivery as a razor-thin margin business and a thankless job. He says his fixed expense is already covered and his variable expense keeps falling as he adds more volume, and that Daraz has an advantage because it has already done the capex behind it. He also says Pakistan's earlier logistics companies had not built return infrastructure. [1]

He says Daraz delivered to about 4,540 towns and villages last year. The share from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad fell from about 65 percent three years ago to about 45 to 50 percent now, and growth is faster in Punjab's cities than elsewhere. [1]

Sellers, payments and trust

Saya says Daraz pays sellers every week and is working towards letting them withdraw whenever they wish. About 80 percent of orders are still paid cash on delivery, and about 35 percent of order value is paid by card. Buyers who chose cash on delivery get a push notification an hour before the rider arrives, with a button to pay digitally, though not every rider has a phone that can accept tap-to-pay. He says Raast has reduced the cost barrier between digital payments and that every bank is partnering with Daraz to give special discounts. [1]

He says Daraz educates about 5,000 sellers each month, free of charge, through Daraz University, and that sellers who reach a set number of points must take Daraz University courses before being re-listed. Saya says Daraz assumes sellers are innocent until proven guilty and that repeat offenders are permanently delisted. He says trust is still not an easy problem to solve when tens of thousands of nodes and human hands are involved. Daraz has worked with banks so that money reaches consumers faster after a return, and its return policy is 14 days. [1]

Artificial intelligence

Saya says businesses that are not using AI are making a mistake. He says Daraz trained an AI model to show fashion products on a Pakistani model, and that the AI bot starts responding until the seller needs to get involved. Daraz can also use AI to suggest product titles and sizing for sellers. He says AI can help Pakistan leapfrog, because a linear catch-up is not enough. [1]

Views

Saya is very optimistic about Pakistan's future. He says Pakistan has a young economy and a population of over 225 to 250 million, and that many organizations around the world want Pakistani talent. He says he tries not to focus on too many of the problems. He gives his life mantra as the idea that people should be comfortable being uncomfortable. [1]

Personal life

Saya describes his father as a die-hard patriot and says his father is one of the first people he speaks to for advice. He says that as a first step he grew a beard so that he would look a little older. He also says that at the annual seller summit, held in Lahore and in Karachi, he is almost left in tears. [1]

Timeline

2018
Daraz started Daraz Express, according to Saya.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-12-22 You can't have 32 logistics players all surviving Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Ehsan Saya?

Ehsan Saya is the Managing Director of Daraz. He became Managing Director at a very young age. He was born in Karachi and spent seven years in investment banking.[1]

What does Ehsan Saya do?

Ehsan Saya is Managing Director of Daraz. He says Daraz has more than 100,000 sellers on its platform and more than 20 million products on its app.[1]

Where is Ehsan Saya from?

Ehsan Saya was born in Karachi. His father decided to leave Pakistan, and the family followed him to Saudi Arabia. Saya says he had not lived in one place for more than three years before university.[1]

Where did Ehsan Saya go to school?

Ehsan Saya attended elementary school in Saudi Arabia and also in Athens, Georgia. He spent ninth and tenth grade in Houston, and eleventh grade and half of twelfth in Saudi Arabia. He spent the last semester of high school in Canada.[1]

What did Ehsan Saya do before Daraz?

Ehsan Saya spent seven years in investment banking. He was running his own startup in Canada when Daraz approached him.[1]

Why did Ehsan Saya move to Pakistan?

Ehsan Saya says his reason for moving to Pakistan was to have an impact, which he believes Pakistan offers more than anywhere else. He says people around him told him not to go and that he would fail there.[1]

What is Ehsan Saya known for?

Ehsan Saya is known as the Managing Director of Daraz, a role he took on at a very young age. He says the values he brought to Daraz include integrity, doing the right thing, and customer experience.[1]

References

  1. You can't have 32 logistics players all surviving . Thought Behind Things , 2025-12-22.
Show the source passages (96 statements)
  1. He was born in Karachi. Yeah, I think so, I was born in Karachi.
  2. His family moved away from Karachi at that time because the situation in Karachi was not good. family us time pe isliye move hui thi because Karachi ki situation, you know, wasn't so great.
  3. His father decided to leave Pakistan, and the family followed him to Saudi Arabia. mere father decided ke yaar let's move out of Pakistan. To wo Saudi, wo Saudi Arabia gaye.
  4. He is one of three siblings. There's three of us siblings
  5. He had not lived in one place for more than three years before university. I had never lived for more than three years in any place until university.
  6. He attended elementary school in Saudi Arabia and also in Athens, Georgia. elementary school Saudi mein thi. Khair, usme Athens mein bhi thi, Athens, Georgia.
  7. He spent ninth and tenth grade in Houston, and eleventh grade and half of twelfth in Saudi Arabia. 9th and 10th grade I was in Houston, 11th and half of 12th mein Saudi mein tha
  8. He spent the last semester of high school in Canada. last semester of high school mein Canada mein tha
  9. He says years of moving taught him to get to know people quickly. I can, I can get to know people at a deeper level very quickly. Because like I said, all my life I had to.
  10. He says his father is one of the first people he speaks to for advice. one of the first people I speak to is my father, for advice.
  11. He says the values he brought to Daraz include integrity, doing the right thing, and customer experience. jis tareeqe se humne values, I think, Daraz mein bhi daali hain, of integrity, of, of doing the right thing, customer experience, customer service
  12. His father is, in his words, a die-hard patriot. My dad, my dad is also a die-hard patriot
  13. He spent seven years in investment banking. I did investment banking for seven years
  14. He was running his own startup in Canada when Daraz approached him. at that time I was running my own, own startup in Canada.
  15. Daraz approached him, and it was the first time he considered moving to Pakistan. when I was approached by Daraz, it was sort of the first time I, I thought about it.
  16. He says everyone around him told him not to go to Pakistan and that he would fail there. feedback sabka ye tha ke yaar Pakistan na jao. You're going to fail in Pakistan.
  17. He says his life mantra is that people should be comfortable being uncomfortable. And actually that's sort of what, like my life mantra has been, you should be comfortable being uncomfortable.
  18. He says his reason for moving to Pakistan was to have an impact, which he believes Pakistan offers more than anywhere else. mujhe kuch life mein aisa karna hai that I can have an impact. Main kuch change la sakoon. And I think Pakistan gives you that better than anywhere else.
  19. He says it would be hard to bring this kind of impact in the US, Canada or Europe. Ab US mein, Canada mein, Europe mein aapko wo impact laana aapke liye mushkil hoga.
  20. He says many organizations around the world want Pakistani talent. you see that in so many organizations in the world, they want Pakistani talent.
  21. He is very optimistic about Pakistan's future. I'm very optimistic about Pakistan of the future.
  22. He says Pakistan has a young economy and a population of over 225 to 250 million. we have a country jahan you have you know over 225, 250 million people, growing population, yes, but a young economy.
  23. He says he tries not to focus on too many of the problems. I try not to focus on too many of the problems
  24. He says that at the annual seller summit, held in Lahore and in Karachi, he is almost left in tears. hamara ek har saal seller summit hota hai, ek Lahore mein hota hai, Karachi mein hota hai. And almost, honestly, every year I do it, I, I'm almost left in tears.
  25. He says that as a first step he grew a beard so that he would look a little older. step one, I had to grow a beard, um, so that I would, I would look a little bit older.
  26. Ehsan Saya is Managing Director of Daraz. we sit with Ehsan Saya, Managing Director of Daraz
  27. He became Managing Director of Daraz at a very young age. becoming Managing Director at a very young age
  28. He says companies like Daraz have democratized these industries. companies like Daraz, what's powerful about them is that they democratized these industries.
  29. He says many Daraz sellers have grown from traders into manufacturers. ab main bahut saare sellers se milta hoon jo evolve hue hain jo traders se gaye hain manufacturing ki taraf
  30. He says Daraz's returns are about 1 to 1.5 percent. Hamare returns I think takriban 1-1.5% hain.
  31. He says Daraz has more than 100,000 sellers on its platform. we have more than 100,000 sellers on our platform
  32. He says Daraz had about 15,000 sellers seven or eight years ago. takriban 15,000 sellers the 7-8 saal pehle
  33. He says about 2 to 2.5 million people visit the Daraz app each day. har din 20 se 25 lakh log hamare app pe aa rahe hain
  34. He says Daraz has more than 20 million products on its app. we have more than 20 million products on our on our app
  35. He says Daraz's cricket streaming led to a big spike in people learning about the app. jab humne wo cricket streaming ki thi to usse we had a huge spike in you know people knowing about the app
  36. He says Daraz onboarded 150 brands in about the last 60 days, while preparing for 11.11. pichle takriban 60 din mein humne 150 brands on board kiye hain Daraz pe in gearing up for for 11-11
  37. He says Daraz launched a program two or three weeks earlier. humne ek do teen hafte pehle ek cheez launch ki thi it's called Daraz Freebie.
  38. He says Alibaba is Daraz's parent company. our parent company is is Alibaba.
  39. He says Daraz gets a lot of its technology from its parent company. We get a lot of technology from them. You know, in our front end like our app, agar hamara pura jo warehouse management system hai, uh hamara jo sara last mile ka system hai
  40. He says Daraz adapted technology from Alibaba to fit local needs. we have taken the technology from Alibaba and then manipulated it a little bit to be to be able to fit local needs
  41. He says Daraz does not plan to sell its technology as a product. I don't think we will productize the you know, the technology part of it
  42. He says Daraz started Daraz Express in 2018. in fact humne 2018 se shuru kiya tha Daraz Express
  43. He says Daraz had no way to check whether its delivery partners were telling the truth about failed deliveries. Aur hamare paas koi koi bhi tareeka nahi tha to check ke wo sahi bol rahe hain ya wo galat bol rahe hain.
  44. He says Daraz Express itself handles about 70 to 80 percent of Daraz's deliveries. aaj mashallah takriban 70 se 80% jo hamari deliveries hain wo Daraz Express khud karta hai
  45. He says Daraz Express has about 90 to 100 hubs and stations across the country. we have about about 90 to 100 hubs and stations across the country
  46. He says Daraz Express now also does last-mile delivery for other companies. Daraz Express mashallah dusri companies ke liye bhi ab hum last mile kar rahe hain
  47. He says Daraz has about 3,000 to 4,000 riders, whom it calls heroes. takriban 3-4000 riders aur jin ko hum actually heroes bolte hain
  48. He says Daraz has warehouses in Karachi and Lahore and plans to open more. hamare warehouses hain Karachi mein hain, Lahore mein hain. Inshallah we're opening more in the future as well
  49. He says Daraz has the most advanced distribution center in South Asia, excluding India. Daraz has the most advanced distribution center in in South Asia minus India
  50. He says Daraz's sorting can handle about 2 million packages a day with almost no human intervention. takriban 2 million packages din ke sort kar sakte hain almost without any any human intervention
  51. He says Daraz delivered to about 4,540 towns and villages last year. last year there was about 4 540 can't call them even cities, it would be towns and villages jahan humne delivery ki
  52. He says the share from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad fell from about 65 percent three years ago to about 45 to 50 percent now. teen saal pehle takriban 65% was you know Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Aur agar aaj dekhein to that's about 50, 45 to 50% that's now happening in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad.
  53. He says growth is faster in Punjab's cities than elsewhere. But in Punjab it's you know they the the cities they they're very they're a lot closer in terms of the volume and the growth is a lot faster in those cities.
  54. He says Daraz has invested heavily in logistics over many years. Humne logistics mein bahut investment ki hai um in the last many many years
  55. He says Daraz started a logistics marketplace four or five years ago. humne ek cheez char paanch saal pehle shuru ki thi called logistics marketplace
  56. He says the logistics marketplace gives local operators Daraz's technology and volume. where we will give you all the technology, we will give you the volume
  57. He says Daraz works with all the delivery companies in Pakistan through its 3PL partnerships. jo 3PL partners hain hamare you know we partner with all the all the delivery companies in Pakistan
  58. He says the logistics business is a game of scale, and not all 32 players can do well. you cannot have 32 players that are all gonna do well. This is a game of scale.
  59. He says last-mile delivery is a razor-thin margin business and a thankless job. it's not only a razor thin margin business, it's a very thankless job.
  60. He says his fixed expense is already covered and his variable expense keeps falling as he adds more volume. Meri fixed expense toh saari hui hui hai. Aur meri variable expense jitni main aur volume dalunga aur kam hoti rahegi.
  61. He says Daraz has an advantage because it has already done the capex behind it. that's where Daraz has an advantage because like I said, we've done the capex behind it
  62. He says Pakistan's earlier logistics companies had not built return infrastructure. Aur Pakistan mein jo logistics companies thi unka jo infrastructure wo return pe to create hi nahi hua tha
  63. He says Daraz pays sellers every week and is working towards letting them withdraw whenever they wish. they get paid every single week. But in fact, we're working towards soon they'll have the ability to withdraw it whenever they wish.
  64. He says about 80 percent of orders are still paid cash on delivery. taqreeban abhi bhi 80 feesad jo orders hain, woh abhi bhi cash on delivery pe hain
  65. He says about 35 percent of order value is paid by card. so 35% of the value is on on cards
  66. He says buyers who chose cash on delivery get a push notification an hour before the rider arrives, with a button to pay digitally. rider aayega usse ek ghante pehle aapko ek push notification jayegi aur aap aapko push notification mein yeh hoga ke yaar agar aap digital payment karna chahte hain, toh click this button and it will take you to the app.
  67. He says not every rider has a phone that can accept tap-to-pay. Every rider in Hero does not have a phone that can accommodate tap on pay.
  68. He says Raast has reduced the cost barrier between digital payments. Raast aaya hai, which creates you know, it's because it's it's that it's reduce it's remove that cost issue between digital payments
  69. He says every bank is partnering with Daraz to give special discounts. every bank is partnering with Daraz to give special discounts
  70. He says Daraz educates about 5,000 sellers each month, free of charge, through Daraz University. har mahine hamare takreeban 5000 sellers free mein hum educate karte hain through Daraz University
  71. He says sellers who reach a set number of points must take Daraz University courses before being re-listed. you get you get a certain number of points then you have to take courses and modules on Daraz University to start getting re-listed again on Daraz
  72. He says Daraz assumes sellers are innocent until proven guilty. my principal assumption is you're innocent until proven guilty. But then if you're guilty, you're not welcome to play in my playground.
  73. He says repeat offenders are permanently delisted from Daraz. there's times agar aap baar baar kuch kar rahe hain toh hum permanently aapko de-list kar denge
  74. He says trust is still not an easy problem to solve when tens of thousands of nodes and human hands are involved. Trust still though is is something jo ke it's not an easy problem to solve because when you have tens of thousands of nodes and human hands
  75. He says Daraz has worked with banks so that money reaches consumers faster after a return. we've worked with the banks to make sure that the money comes to the consumers faster
  76. He says Daraz's return policy is 14 days. hum 14 day hamari return policy hai
  77. He says Daraz's warehousing service for sellers is called fulfilled by Daraz. we called it fulfilled by Daraz
  78. He says Daraz paused same-day delivery and plans to restart it. we were doing same day ab hum you know we've we're inshallah we stopped it for some time and inshallah we'll be starting same day deliveries again
  79. He says Daraz has invested most heavily in automating its sorting. where we've invested very heavily is on the sort on the sorting side
  80. He says Daraz's warehousing is not as advanced as some warehouses in the world. I wouldn't say we're as advanced as some of the other places in the world from a warehousing perspective
  81. He says e-commerce penetration is not a matter of if, but of when. I think e-commerce penetration is not a matter of if, it's just a matter of of when.
  82. He says businesses that are not using AI are making a mistake. If you're not, then you're being you're being stupid to be honest with you.
  83. He says Daraz trained an AI model to show fashion products on a Pakistani model. So we used, we we actually trained an AI model to be able to take those products and make them such that they actually fit, you know, that shows a Pakistani AI model, an actual model.
  84. He says the AI bot starts responding until the seller needs to get involved. the AI bot will actually start responding to you until unless the seller needs to get involved
  85. He says Daraz can use AI to suggest product titles and sizing for sellers. Ab hum AI ke through title suggest kar sakte hain, sizing suggest kar sakte hain
  86. He says AI can help Pakistan leapfrog, because a linear catch-up is not enough. And to me, AI and the the appropriate utilization of it can help Pakistan, especially when we will not be able to we cannot just do a linear catch up to everyone else.
  87. He says Daraz hopes to do 10 to 20 times its daily volume during 11.11. generally when we do 11-11, we're hoping to do 10 to 20 X of our daily volume
  88. He says Daraz considers itself the original leader of 11.11. Daraz is the big boss of 11-11 because baaki sab bhi baaki sab to karte rahenge magar you know, we are the OGs of of 11-11
  89. He says Daraz segments consumers using its data. Jis tareeke se hum data dekhte hain, jis tareeke se hum samajhte hain consumer chah kya raha hai, uski segmentation
  90. He says Daraz is a very data-driven organization. And we're a very data driven organization.
  91. He says that during wedding season, fashion, health and beauty pick up. your shadi season is now so your fashion, health and beauty, those things pick up
  92. He says consumer spending is starting to rise again, especially in Punjab. Alhamdulillah spending is starting to increase again. Um you know, khas tor pe Punjab pe you see more spending starting to emerge than you do in in in Sindh.
  93. He says many brands adjusted product sizes during the inflation period. To a lot of brands actually started you know, adjusting the size of the products that they were selling.
  94. He says Pakistan has a cost advantage in some export categories. magar aisi bhi categories hain jahan Pakistan as a country has a cost advantage
  95. He says Daraz will eventually move into exports, but probably not in the next 18 to 24 months. I think eventually hum jayenge. It's probably not going to happen in the next 18 to 24 months
  96. He says Daraz needs to solve Pakistan first before going into other countries. We really need to solve, we need to crack Pakistan and then inshallah with that we're going to go into to to other countries too.