Daily Times

LAHORE: A Women Innovation Network (WIN) was set up at the Government University (GCU) Lahore by the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) to support women in developing their businesses.

United States Consul General to Lahore Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau was chief guest at the launching ceremony of the innovation network which was also addressed by Punjab Minister for Labour & Human Resource Nauman Kabir, Minister for Human Rights Faisal Mushtaq and GCU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Hassan Amir Shah.

US Consul General Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau said that PCSW and GCU are two organisations, based in Lahore, that do groundbreaking work every single day and Pakistan should be very proud of them.

“As I travel around Punjab and other parts of the country, what I see is that Pakistani women are not looking for gifts; they are looking for tools and this is exactly what this women’s business incubation centre at GCU would do,” Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau said.

The US consul general believed that Pakistan needs all of its population to play its effective role to make it a great country that it actually is.

In her keynote address, PCSW Chairperson Fauzia Waqar said that that there was a lot of potential in the nascent women entrepreneurship sector in Pakistan and WIN would provide them a platform where they can learn to overcome these challenges.

“WIN would offer a range of support service to women entrepreneurs to enable them to develop their businesses, including physical and technology amenities as well as business support service, networking opportunities, access to finance and day-care centre,” she said.

The PCSW chairperson said that WIN would facilitate women entrepreneurs through online counselling, web based services as well as in person. She also shared some of recent surveys conducted by PCSW to gauge potential women in Punjab for launching different businesses.

She also said that the government departments loved to work in isolation but PCSW was trying to draw maximum support from them.

Speaking at the occasion, Nauman Kabir said that women owned businesses represent only 2-3.5 percent of the 3.2 million enterprises registered in Pakistan whereas the global percentage is almost 35 percent.

“Women entrepreneurship has a long way to go to come at par with men and initiatives like WIN are a step in the right direction,” he concluded.

Faisal Mushtaq said that women have to face a number of physical and social challenges that constrains them from starting or growing their own business ventures.

GCU VC Professor Dr Hassan Amir Shah said that the ratio of female students was constantly increasing in their universities, so their talent and education must not go waste.

“There should be such business incubation centres in all universities which facilitate in becoming successful entrepreneurs,” he concluded.

Published in Daily Times, July 18^th 2018.