The last two years have seen an unprecedented surge in the entrepreneurial landscape of Pakistan. Pakistani female entrepreneurs are not just creating impact locally but are gaining the attention of international investors and audiences alike. For Pakistan to become one of the strongest economies and nations of the world, it is imperative that our women are equipped, enabled, and empowered to become effective economic contributors. This is where initiatives like Parwan-e-Nisa play a very significant role that not just encourage but enable and empower women to ‘dream big, soar high’!

A program to encourage women entrepreneurs, Parwan-e-Nisa is a year-long project of TiE Lahore funded by the U.S. State Department in partnership with TiE Global and Sustainable Advisory LLP. The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) is a global non-profit organization that boasts 10,000 Charter Members and 60 Global Chapters. In 2002, Syed Babar Ali (Founder, LUMS) brought the global mandate to Punjab and established the TiE Lahore Chapter. Since then it has enjoyed a history of enabling the youth and women of Pakistan in their entrepreneurial endeavors and hopes to continue the legacy with Parwan-e-Nisa. The program focuses on empowering Pakistani women towards a life of financial independence, sustainability, and impact.

If you’re a woman aged 20 to 35 years living in Punjab, here are 8 reasons why you should enroll in Parwan-e-Nisa to grow your business.

1. Women need to be instilled with the self-belief to explore themselves, to nurture their esteems, develop their skill-set and work towards building their dreams. Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to do so and Parwan-e-Nisa helps you accelerate your entrepreneurial journey.

2. Starting a business means having a lean team, a limited budget, and lots to do with less resources. As a founder, that calls for you to have the right skills needed to grow your business. Parwan-e-Nisa empowers you with just the right skillset through multiple trainings & workshops that you would need as an early stage businesswoman.

3. No matter how skilled we are, guidance is something we all need when it comes to building our businesses. Through this program, you’ll get dedicated months of mentorship from the industry experts in your domain – locally and internationally.

4. Based on your performance during the mentorship phase, you’ll get advanced level trainings during the business incubation

5. If you make it to the top 25 finalists, you’ll get the chance to get residence at a co-working space for you and your team to focus on growing your startup.

6. You’ll also get the opportunity to pitch your startup in front of local and international investors, and raise funds.

7. Understanding the social and cultural constraints faced by the women of Pakistan, Parwan-e-Nisa has been designed with a hybrid model of virtual and physical training workshops to facilitate you as much as possible.

8. The best part is that you get access to all of the above absolutely free of cost!

150 women entrepreneurs will be selected after undergoing a rigorous shortlisting process.

The registrations for the program are open at https://bit.ly/parwanenisaapplication. The last date to apply is January 9, 2022.

This post is sponsored by Parwan-e-Nisa.

Cover imge via Parwan-e-Nisa