Pathways to rise
Why this is important
Women and young people in Pakistan are struggling to access and build fulfilling livelihoods. Women's labour force participation stands at an abysmal 24%, placing the country near the bottom of the 2024 Global Gender Gap Report, ranked 142 out of 145 countries (WEF). Youth unemployment is similarly stark, with over 4.5 million people unemployed in Pakistan overall and the rate reaching 29% among those aged 15 to 24 (Pakistan Economic Survey, 2023). Even for women who are in work, the picture remains difficult: 75% are classified as being in "vulnerable employment", characterised by low pay, a lack of job security, and poor working conditions.
The enterprise landscape tells a similar story. Pakistan ranks 120 out of 136 countries in global enterprise development (Global Entrepreneurship Index, 2022), and just 1% of women are entrepreneurs. Women led startups make up only 10% of all ventures, a figure far below both regional and global averages (LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship, 2023).
These gaps stem from a number of interconnected causes. Low educational attainment and poor access to skills development leave many women and young people without the foundations needed to enter the workforce or build a business. Cultural and societal norms and attitudes continue to limit women's agency and mobility, while broader economic instability, including high levels of external debt and a large fiscal deficit, constrains opportunity across the board. Cuts to development aid have further entrenched socio-economic vulnerabilities, undermining efforts to alleviate poverty and inequality.
Underpinning all of this is an unsupportive skilling and enterprise ecosystem. On the finance side, women face significant barriers to accessing loans, including low financial literacy, limited access to collateral or credit, poor bank penetration in rural areas, and financing products that are simply not designed with their needs in mind. Even once financing is secured, many women struggle to manage or grow their businesses effectively, hindered by a lack of business development knowledge, a complex regulatory environment, and limited access to markets, business networks, or mentorship.
Donor: Alborada Trust
Project partners: District Development Association, Tharparkar and Rural Community Development Society
Duration: January 2026 – December 2026 (1 Year)
Project goals
Entrepreneurship offers women a genuine pathway out of poverty. As their livelihoods strengthen, so does their wellbeing and independence, with benefits that reach their children, families, and wider communities.
Over one year, this project will support the growth of 400 microenterprises led by women aged 18 to 40 across rural, peri urban, and urban communities in Sindh and Punjab. We shall work with women from households earning an average of PKR 70,000 (£182) a month. Each business must already be running for one to three years, earning at least PKR 10,000 to 20,000 (£26 to £52) a month, and show clear potential for further growth through a standardised screening process, along with a solid understanding of its product and market.
Participants will receive gender responsive training covering business planning and management, digital and financial literacy, product development, and climate literacy for entrepreneurs. They'll also be supported in accessing finance, market linkages, and trade fairs.
What we are doing
We support women entrepreneurs to achieve a sustained increase in revenue, with demonstrable improvements in financial literacy and business management. Alongside this, we help women scale their enterprises, building the resilience needed to remain in operation well beyond the programme's end.
To make this growth possible, we are building a network of key stakeholders, working to understand and address the gaps in the ecosystem that affect women's access to entrepreneurship resources and opportunities. We also draw on learnings from the success of microcredit in our previous projects to inform these discussions and shape our approach.
Ultimately, we are working towards systems change, advocating for the policies, practices, and innovations needed to make microcredit more accessible for women and youth led microenterprises in the long term.
Key outcomes of the project include:
- 300 microenterprises increasing the monthly revenue by at least 50% from baseline PKR 10,000 (26 GBP)
- 50 microenterprises accessing PKR 50,000 (132 GBP) in additional financing to support business development and expansion
- Improved business practices, including recordkeeping, cost-based pricing, product and service diversification, and stronger customer engagement, amongst at least 300 microenterprises (75%)