The Role of Entreprenure Women in Economic Development of

Pakistan

In Pakistan, women entrpernureship is presently considered a significant tool in enabling women

empowerment and emancipation. It is said that the advantages of women entrepreneurship are
many and varied. The number of women entrepreneurs across the globe is rising, which is
definitely good sign for families, communities and economic development of Pakistan. However,
in the various states, the number of women entrepreneurs still lags behind men. The experts
urged that the governments and businesses should consider strategies to support women
entrepreneurs in ways that are appropriate for a country’s economic stage of development and
the country-specific cultural and practical issues that women face.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s (GEM) ‘Women’s Entrepreneurship’ report from 2016-
2017 revealed that women’s overall rates for total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) rose
by 10 percent in 20 years. The 2017-2018 GEM report revealed that the gender gap between men
and women entrepreneurs had declined by 6 percent since 2016. Other various researchers have
revealed that while men are more probable to become entrepreneurs — women are also a
significant and rising source of the economic development and job growth that comes with
entrepreneurial activity globally. There are various causes why women become entrepreneurs.
The GEM reported that women tend to be driven more by necessity than men, particularly in
efficiency and innovation-driven economies. Women may start businesses to offer the sole form
of income for their families or to augment their spouse’s income. They might start their own
businesses in order to avoid a glass ceiling or to have a job that offers flexibility to manage their
family’s needs.

The top 10 Entrepreneur women are as follows:

1. Fiza Farhan
The 28-year old entrepreneur is the co-founder of the Buksh Foundation. Since 2009,
Buksh Foundation has been operating in Pakistan. Buksh foundation is a microfinance
institution that takes clean energy projects to the underprivileged and rural areas of
Pakistan. The institution has brought solar powered lights to around 6750 household all

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 across Pakistan. It has also trained 135 women as energy entrepreneurs. The
distinguished business magazine Forbes has included her name in its list of 30 under 30
social entrepreneurs for the year 2015
2. Jehan Ara
PASHA (Pakistan Software Houses Associations) is the brain child of Jehan Ara. The
organization collaborates with other national and international institutions to provide its
clients the best of software products. Jehan Ara also excels in the field of marketing,
communications and media. She has an experience of around 30 years. Besides Pakistan
she has also worked in other countries such as UAE, Hong Kong and the Far East. Jehan
Ara is an entrepreneur par excellence. She is also an excellent speaker, motivator and
writer
3. Nabila Maqsood
Nabila Maqsood, opened her first salon in May 1986 in Karachi and through “sheer” hard
work she is the gigantic name we all know today. Nabila is considered an integral part of
the fashion industry of Pakistan. She has been associated with the fashion world for the
past 20 years or so. However she does not let that get in the way of her business, she has
expanded her salon all over Pakistan and has recently opened a men’s saloon “N-
Gents” as well as a Nail Salon.
4. Salaina Haroon
Responsible for building and managing human capital as well as growing her public
relations business. Salaina Haroon is an entrepreneur who advises leading corporations
on ways to introduce innovation and creativity into their corporate cultures. Salaina
Haroon is the Editor in chief of CIO Pakistan and the founder and director of
Communique Collective. CIO is the largest business technology leadership magazine in
the world. Communique Collective is a marketing firm that deals with small and medium
enterprises both in locally and internationally
5. Salma Jafri
Salma Jafri is one of the most successful ‘content marketers’ in Pakistan. She is also the
founder and CEO of WordPL.net. The organization focuses on marketing content that
any young entrepreneur aims to push through social media. The company specializes in

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 social media marketing and planning, blog and content writing. It also provides
marketing consultation.
6. Seema Taher Khan
Mrs. Seema Taher Khan co-founded “Interflow Communications” with her husband Mr.
Taher A. Khan. She is currently heading the Interflow Group’s electronic television
channels; TVONE, NewsOne and Waseb TV as the CEO, and is also the Group’s Public
Services Division head.
7. Kalsoom Lakhani
Kalsoom founded “Invest2Innovate”, also known as i2i, in 2011. Her startup connects
budding entrepreneurs with investors and support, in line with their belief
that “entrepreneurs have the power to change the world”.
8. Saba Gull
The CEO of “Popinjay”, a non-profit organisation that works with artists in Pakistan to
produce handmade bags. It focuses on empowering these women, as the website states
that they “offer our artisan women practical training, fantastic wages, dignity and a path
to self-sufficiency by connecting them to global markets; we bring them a fair value for
their work.”
9. Maria Umar
Founded “Women’s Digital League” (WDL), which is an online portal that provides
digital services. WDL aims to tap into “a vast dormant workforce which is either
discouraged from working outside or has trouble finding work opportunities”. Maria
believes that this will help women become more economically empowered.
10. Roshaneh Zafar
Roshaneh Zafar is the Founder and Managing Director of the Kashf Foundation. The
institution provides financial aid and education to the women working in villages, in
order to improve their economic condition. She used to work for the World Bank before
she started off Kashf Foundation. The foundation operates in Sindh, KPK, and
Balochistan.