Free E-Commerce Training in Bhakkar: WealthEcom and Thal University
Over the past few months, more than 50 students at Thal University Bhakkar have learned how to build and run an online store, how to sell on global marketplaces like TikTok Shop, Amazon, Walmart and Etsy, and how to use LinkedIn to find real clients. The training was completely free.
It came out of a partnership between WealthEcom, an e-commerce store management agency, and Thal University Bhakkar, the public university that opened its computer lab to the program.
We started this because we kept hearing the same thing from young people in our district. They know online earning is possible, but nobody nearby can show them where to begin. This article explains what we built, why it matters for Bhakkar and the wider Thal region, and what comes next.
About Thal University Bhakkar
Thal University Bhakkar is a public sector university set up in February 2022 under an act of the Punjab Provincial Assembly. It sits on University Road in Bhakkar, in the middle of the Thal Desert region, and grew out of the University of Sargodha’s old Bhakkar sub-campus, which had served local students since 2012.
Today the university says it has more than 4,500 students across 20+ departments and five faculties, including a Faculty of Computing and a Faculty of Management Sciences. For many families here, it is the only realistic way to get a degree. Sending a son or daughter to Lahore or Islamabad costs more than most households can manage, and that barrier is even higher for young women.
Leadership: Prof. Dr. Saeed Ahmad Buzdar
The university is led by Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Saeed Ahmad Buzdar. The Punjab government appointed him in November 2024. Before that he directed the Institute of Physics at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, with more than 24 years in teaching, research and academic administration.
Under his leadership, the university has grown its enrollment, added departments and joined the ISLAH Consortium with other Punjab universities. His message on the university website talks about education that serves the community, and that idea shaped our program too. When we first brought the training idea forward, he encouraged us to set it up formally so students could benefit properly. At the end of the batch, he personally handed the certificates to the students.
The Problem: Degrees Without a Path to Earning
Pakistan’s latest Labour Force Survey put unemployment at 7.1% in 2024-25, the highest level in about two decades, and joblessness among people aged 15 to 29 rose to roughly 11.5%. In a district like Bhakkar, where farming is the main source of work, that pressure feels even heavier.
From our conversations with students, the real problems are practical ones:
- No local guidance. Students hear about online earning on YouTube, but nobody nearby can show them how a real store works from the inside.
- Scams and false promises. Paid “get rich online” courses sell dreams, not skills. Many students have already lost money to them.
- Theory without practice. University courses teach business and IT concepts, but rarely show a live marketplace dashboard, a product listing or a client conversation.
- Weak professional profiles. Most students have no LinkedIn profile, or one that says nothing about what they can actually do.
- Extra barriers for women. Many female students can’t move to a big city for work, even when they are among the best in their class.
The global demand is there. Pakistan is now one of the leading freelancing countries in the world, and online stores keep growing every year. The gap is not talent. It is access to people who do this work every day.
The Solution: Hands-On Training From People Who Run Stores Every Day
Our answer was simple. Teach students the same work our team does for clients, inside a real computer lab, for free. The sessions ran in the Thal University computer lab, each lasting about an hour to an hour and a half, so students could practice on screen instead of just taking notes.
Meet the trainers
The training was split between WealthEcom’s two founders, with each one teaching the side of the business he handles every day.
Jabbar Ahmad, Founder & CEO of WealthEcom, taught the marketplace side. He has been in e-commerce since 2020 and today leads a team that runs stores on TikTok Shop, Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, Temu and eBay. In the lab, he showed students how each marketplace works, how products are sourced and listed, and what really happens between an order and a delivered package.
Mazhar Sher, Co-Founder & Head of Growth Strategy at WealthEcom, taught LinkedIn. With more than seven years in LinkedIn outreach, he has worked with 50+ businesses, managed over 150 LinkedIn profiles and writes a weekly LinkedIn newsletter read by 8,800+ subscribers. He walked students through building a profile that gets noticed, writing a headline that explains what they do, and starting conversations with clients without sounding salesy.
Between them, students got both halves of the picture: how to do the work, and how to find the people who will pay for it.
What students learned
- E-commerce basics. How an online store works, from finding a product to the moment it reaches the buyer’s door.
- Selling on multiple marketplaces. How Amazon, Walmart, Etsy and TikTok Shop differ, and which one suits which kind of product.
- Product sourcing. How to find suppliers, check quality and work out whether a product can actually make a profit.
- Product listings. Writing honest titles and descriptions, choosing the right category and using clear product photos.
- Dropshipping vs. buying stock. Why many sellers start with dropshipping to test a product, then move to bulk orders once it sells.
- Platform rules. Why marketplace policies matter, and how one fake claim or late shipment can damage an account.
- LinkedIn for work. Building a professional profile, writing a clear headline, connecting with the right people and starting conversations without sounding salesy.
We kept one rule throughout: no shortcuts and no promises of overnight income. Students learned how the work is really done, including the boring parts like customer service and order tracking, because those are the parts that keep a store alive.
Inside the Lab and the Certificate Ceremony
What stood out most was who showed up. A large share of the students were young women, many of whom had never seen a real seller dashboard or written a product listing before. Working on actual screens, not slides, made the ideas click much faster.
Most of these students already had the talent. What they were missing was someone who could open a real seller dashboard and show them how the work actually gets done. That is what we came to give them.
Jabbar Ahmad, Founder & CEO, WealthEcom
The batch ended with a certificate ceremony on campus. Each student received a training certificate from WealthEcom, handed over by Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Saeed Ahmad Buzdar in the presence of university faculty. The program was signed off by Jabbar Ahmad (Founder & CEO) and Mazhar Sher (Co-Founder) of WealthEcom.
For a district that is often left out of the digital economy conversation, a campus lawn full of students holding e-commerce certificates says a lot.
Local Skills, Global Marketplaces
The best part of e-commerce and freelancing is that location matters less every year. A student in Bhakkar can manage product listings for a US seller, handle customer messages for an Etsy shop or run LinkedIn outreach for a company in Europe, all from home.
That is exactly how our own agency works. WealthEcom manages online stores for clients in the United States and other countries, with a team that works remotely. The skills we taught at Thal University are the same skills we use every day: marketplace management, product sourcing, listing optimization and professional communication.
This matters beyond individual students too. Pakistan’s freelancers keep bringing in more foreign income each year, and the government keeps calling e-commerce a priority for youth jobs. Training programs in smaller cities like Bhakkar help make sure that growth doesn’t stay limited to Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.
For students, the takeaway is practical. Learn one marketplace properly, build a clean LinkedIn profile, take on small tasks to build a track record and grow from there. There is no shortcut, but there is a clear path.
What’s Next: The Second Batch
The first batch showed us the demand is real, so we are working with Thal University on a second round. It will stay free for students and run in the university’s computer lab, with a sharper focus on TikTok Shop, Temu and LinkedIn.
If you are a student at Thal University Bhakkar and want to join the next batch, keep an eye on announcements from your department. If you run a university, college or foundation and want a similar program for your students, contact the WealthEcom team. We would be glad to talk.
Special thanks to Prof. Dr. Saeed Ahmad Buzdar and the Thal University administration, and every student who gave their time to learn something new.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there free e-commerce training in Bhakkar?
Yes. WealthEcom runs free e-commerce and LinkedIn training for students at Thal University Bhakkar. Sessions take place in the university’s computer lab, and students get a certificate when they finish the batch.
What do students learn in the training?
Students learn how online stores work, how to sell on TikTok Shop, Amazon, Walmart and Etsy, how to source products and write listings, and how to build a LinkedIn profile that attracts clients. Every session is hands-on, on real screens.
Who trained the students?
The training was led by WealthEcom’s founders. Jabbar Ahmad, Founder & CEO, taught students how to sell on marketplaces like TikTok Shop, Amazon, Walmart and Etsy. Mazhar Sher, Co-Founder, taught students how to use LinkedIn to build a professional profile and find clients.
Who is the Vice Chancellor of Thal University Bhakkar?
Prof. Dr. Saeed Ahmad Buzdar is the Vice Chancellor of Thal University Bhakkar. The Punjab government appointed him in November 2024. He previously served as Director of the Institute of Physics at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur.
Can I earn online from Bhakkar with e-commerce skills?
Yes, but it takes real skills and patience, not shortcuts. Many people in Pakistan work remotely for international sellers, managing listings, customer service or marketing. Start with one marketplace, learn it properly and build a track record.
Do I need money to start learning e-commerce?
No. You can learn the skills for free and start by working for existing sellers or agencies. Running your own store does need some budget for products and ads, which is why we suggest learning and gaining experience first.
How can my university or organization run a similar program?
Contact the WealthEcom team through our website. We are open to working with universities, colleges and foundations that want practical e-commerce and LinkedIn training for their students.
