“Progress of our women is vital for the economic prosperity of Pakistan. Opening new frontiers through entrepreneurial trainings and encouragement to establish small to medium scale businesses for women especially coming from interior Sindh, AJK and Balochistan will bring awareness about rights and responsibilities and improve their economic conditions,” said Syed Ali Hameed, executive director of the Shaoor Foundation for Education and Awareness. He was addressing the closing ceremony of Emerging Women Entrepreneurs’ Week 2018 organised by Women Can Do, a project of Shaoor Foundation for Education and Awareness(SFEA) funded by the US Embassy, Islamabad. The project in one year conducted trainings for over 5000 women at 12 public women universities and 6 religious seminaries across Pakistan. WCD prepared a pool of 50 women entrepreneurs as role-models and change agents for the project institutions/districts by converting their ideas into actual market products via advance incubation, seed grants and securing money from angel investors. At the end of the boot camp seed money worth Rs. 15000000 was distributed amongst top ideas for business development. ‘Women Can Do was a platform to explore diversity not just in terms of startup ideas but also cultures, and these stories of resilience and success are worth rejoicing’ said Women Can Do, Project Manager, Ammara Qazi, ‘This journey has strengthened our faith that women surely can do anything the only key is determination’ Published in Daily Times, August 29th 2018.