Empowering dreams: Supporting women in Pakistan to become entrepreneurs
Alina*, 20, lives in a family of six and is the eldest of her siblings. In low-income households in Pakistan, it’s common for older siblings to take on household responsibilities and, at times, even step into the role of provider. In Alina’s case, her father was the sole breadwinner, while her mother is a homemaker. With four children in school and mounting financial pressure, Alina witnessed her father struggling to support the entire family.
After completing her secondary education, Alina wanted to work and contribute financially to her household and be able to give back to her parents for the sacrifices they had made in raising her and ensuring she completes schooling. She had always noticed their silent struggles, loud in their quiet persistence.
At home, Alina often spent her free time doing craftwork, embroidering clothes and bags, painting shoes - nurturing her creative spirit. When she turned 18, she took up a few jobs here and there but found them stifling. These jobs offered no space for her creativity to thrive.
At the time, Alina hadn’t considered turning her artistic skills into a business, until she found a training programme, supported by the British Asian Trust, that changed her perspective. Unlike the typical vocational training options available in her city, this programme focused on helping businesses grow and develop with a focus on teaching how to use digital tools, as well as providing the financial know how to run a business.
Through this training, Alina began to see her creative skills through an entrepreneurial lens. She started designing embroidered pieces that reflected her cultural heritage and soon learned how to make them marketable. Her skills became her business. Today, Alina manages her own planning, budgeting and marketing. She is a proud entrepreneur.
But Alina is part of a very small group of working women in Pakistan. Women entrepreneurs like her make up only 1% of Pakistan’s working female population. In a country where unemployment remains alarmingly high and where women have historically passed down artisanal skills through generations, this represents a vast untapped opportunity. Women’s participation in entrepreneurship is therefore essential for cultural preservation and economic progress.
Over the past five years, the British Asian Trust, supported by like-minded partners, has run several programmes through which thousands of young women like Alina have received support:
Accelerating Youth-led Enterprise Growth, supported by Citi Foundation, Catalysing Women-led Enterprise Growth supported by CAF America funded on behalf of Target Foundation and currently Thriving Futures, supported by Standard Chartered Foundation.
These initiatives have empowered women to start and grow their own businesses, turning passion and skills into sustainable livelihoods.
By Bushra Amin
Project Officer (Pakistan), British Asian Trust
*Name changed for confidentiality purposes. Images are of a variety of participants in the programme, not a named individual.
