News for software developers who want to sell their software locally online! Wi-tribe has just announced the beta launch of wi-tribe Bazaar – Pakistan’s first Buy and Sell software portal – as a platform where Pakistani software developers can sell and monetize their software. The portal, as all things wi-tribe, is slick and the User Interface is very simple to use. This is in beta so developers are warned that there might be a few bugs – and these should be reported so that they can be fixed.

The basic categories that they have defined in the portal include:

So all a software developer has to do is fill in the details in the online application form, mention the price, provide a description, the OS the app runs on and send it to w-tribe alongwith a sign up fee of Rs. 1000. According to the information on the portal, wi-tribe will get a contract to the developer within 7 days. In accordance with the contract, the developer will get 65% of all revenues minus taxes. There are some pre-requisites though. The software must have had a minimum of 100 downloads and should have been on the portal for at least 3 months. The shopping experience for buyers is very simple – add to shopping cart, use the scratch card and download! You can also create a wish list if you are not sure how many products you want to end up buying.

According to Ali Fahd, Director Marketing wi-tribe, the wi-tribe Bazaar is powered by wi-tribe scratch cards, allowing the purchase of software through scratch cards available at over 600 locations throughout Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Faisalabad. There is no hassle or requirement of credit cards or other e-commerce payment methods. Understanding the Pakistani market, they are aware of the fact that consumers in Pakistan are familiar with scratch cards and use them frequently for various services. So why not software?

“wi-tribe Bazaar is our effort to support, encourage and proliferate the local IT industry and software developers in particular,” says Ali Fahd. “We understand that there are a lot of developers with products that they would like to sell in the local market. We are also aware of the challenges in monetizing software and applications (apps) in Pakistan. With wi-tribe Bazaar, software developers will enjoy a significant portion of the revenue share as the main beneficiary. The software and apps can be priced at Rs.100, Rs.250, Rs.500 or Rs.1,000 by the developer. wi-tribe Bazaar also offers hundreds of free applications, which will support developers in building and reaching a larger market.”

Currently, wi-tribe Bazaar supports Windows Desktop and Mobile Apps for Android, Blackberry and Symbian. It is a robust platform for selling any windows software and mobile applications such as games, system utilities, wallpapers and customized themes. The platform is open to all types of developers who would like to bring either their commercial product or even a final year university project to their target market, says Ali Fahd.

wi-tribe state that they are only acting as a catalyst by providing the platform. To help build a local ecosystem of software and apps, wi-tribe has taken a conscious decision to open the platform to all – not just to wi-tribe users. They will aggressively market the wi-tribe bazaar in Pakistan.

Test drive the beta version at http://bazaar.wi-tribe.pk.

Provide feedback on the Bazaar to support.bazaar@wi-tribe.pk.