ISLAMABAD, Nov 05 (APP):The experts in a panel discussion titled ‘Women in trade – a South Asian Perspective’, organised by the SDPI for Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) on Tuesday highlighted multiple challenges and areas of improvement to increase women entrepreneurship.
The conference is being organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), said a press released issued here.
Birgit Lamm from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) opened the discussion and shared how her foundation was helping formulate the framework needed for any business to grow, especially women led businesses.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asqurr and co-convener of FPCCI’s committee on entrepreneurship Nausheen Barkat shed light on how women entrepreneurs could benefit from associations like FPCCI.
She said there were mechanisms in place with such federations, such as subsidised registration rates, as well as platforms to engage with other businesswomen, that could aide in improving access and market reach.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pakistan Single Window (PSW) Aftab Haider said the problems were well documented. Several of the challenges of doing business are untraditional, such as cross border trade. Women who are new to business face problems but many women who have been in business for a long time also face the same problems, he added.
Former chairperson of the National Tariff Commission (NTC) Anjum Assad Amin turned the conversation towards the discrepancy between mainstream statistics and the realities at hand, especially the divide between urban and rural women.
Najma Afzal, former member of the provincial assembly, said if the sectors where women were already predominant were focused on, it could largely help women-led businesses.
Chairperson of National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) Gulmina Bilal Ahmad concluded the session by saying that the public, private and development sectors should not be saying that they were “supporting” women.
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