Women
Pakistan has the lowest rate of female entrepreneurship in the world, with only 1% of female entrepreneurs compared to 21% of male entrepreneurs. Our aim is to increase the participation of women in the entrepreneurial community in both urban and rural settings and to empower these women through capacity development, digital literacy, financial inclusion, access to safe spaces, mentors, markets, and finance.
Imarah
Imarah is a research-based initiative primarily focusing on the income generation of women-led enterprises and on highlighting the problems the women in Mehran Town, Karachi are facing in the community to upscale their business potential. The research is divided into three areas: finding employment, opening their own businesses, and skill development – to understand the challenges these women face. This programme aims to provide a holistic view of how different organisations can intervene effectively to economically empower women in Mehran Town by encouraging industries to hire labour force from this area, empower these women to fit better in the industry, and build the capacity of women to start their own enterprises.
Women in Leadership Programme
Implemented by SEED Ventures, the Women in Leadership (WIL) Programme was the British Council’s comprehensive training and development initiative aimed at empowering and equipping women to reach their full potential as leaders in their respective fields. The programme, designed for women at all levels of their vocations, followed CLORE’s Social Leadership training which provided a range of professional and personal development opportunities, including training workshops, mentorship, and networking events.
Delta Women Incubation Programme (WIC)
Under the umbrella of DELTA, SEED Ventures also launched a Women Incubation Programme with an aim to empower and grow women-led micro-enterprises from Baldia Town and Nazimabad in Karachi. This included capacity-building on key business skills such as bookkeeping, leadership, organization, financial management, communication, and negotiation. Training sessions for participants from Nazimabad were held in RAST Foundation and sessions for participants from Baldia Town were held in Hunar Ghar. The programme was conducted with the support of the British Asian Trust and Halcrow Foundation.
The DICE Women’s Fellowship
The DICE Women’s Fellowship aimed to work with women business owners and business leaders running promising social and creative enterprises in Pakistan. This fellowship aimed to develop a community of fellows, building their camaraderie and collective economic agency. The programme also honed their leadership and other soft skills, enabling them to effectively navigate a male-dominant business landscape, as well as their business acumen, with a specific focus on digital skills. As this was a digital fellowship, a portal, known as the DICE Portal, was developed as the main tool for conducting this fellowship and bringing all the selected women entrepreneurs together. This portal was used to deliver online sessions, track individual progress, and provide access to learning material as well as a community-building safe space for the group.
Incubating Potential Programme (IPP)-Balochistan
The Incubating Potential Programme was developed to enhance the induced capabilities and bring a change in perspective in the rural women of Balochistan with respect to what they could do with their skills in their respective villages. Through this project, the women of Balochistan were taught how they could convert their skills into micro-businesses and make an earning for themselves.
