Mustafa Merchant

Alumni background

Mustafa is a highly experienced professional with a strong background in both the automotive and banking sectors. He is currently the Assistant Vice President at HabibMetro, a leading Pakistani trade finance bank with an extensive network of over 500 branches across more than 200 cities.

Previously, Mustafa served as a Manager at Toyota-Indus in Karachi. This renowned company has been a prominent manufacturer and marketer of vehicles in Pakistan since 1989. Mustafa was responsible for developing and distributing marketing materials to authorized Toyota dealerships across the country which had a direct and positive impact on sales.

Before joining Toyota-Indus, Mustafa honed his skills in financial analysis and risk assessment as a credit analyst at Meezan Bank Limited.

Mustafa holds a bachelor's degree in Strategic Business Management and a master's degree in Business Administration from Bentley University in Massachusetts. Additionally, he completed his Master of Global Trade at RMIT University in Vietnam as a Hinrich Global Trade Leader Scholar.

Personal statement

Despite being a beautiful nation with gorgeous naturally preserved valleys, mountains and meadows, Pakistan is very poor. One of the leading factors contributing to the country’s poverty is its lack of effective global trade.

When taking global trade into account, it is fundamental to understand the importance of balance of trade. When a country out of necessity imports far more goods and services than it exports, a trade deficit or negative balance of trade occurs. Unfortunately, Pakistan is currently operating in a trade deficit of over $11.6 billion due to its lack of adequate exports and necessity for surplus imports.

Pakistan’s excess outflow of domestic currency is primarily realized due to the country’s comparative lack of ability to create export-quality goods and services. While Pakistan does sizable exports, it is not matched by the amount the country imports.

Global trade is successful when each country optimizes its earnings by investing time and resources in what it manufactures best, while saving funds on imported goods that would be comparatively more expensive to create locally. Hence, successful global trade creates economic advantage for everyone, assists in forming strategic alliances between countries and conversely, lowers the chances of conflict or war. 

From the Master of Global Trade program, one of the key lessons I intend to learn is how to strategically maximize our specializations and comparative advantages. By focusing on what our country does best, we can maximize local production, efficiency and effectiveness. The Hinrich Foundation’s pathway of aspire, learn, grow and lead will equip me with useful skills and experiences to adopt global trade best practices.