Capacity-building: Two-day exhibition for female entrepreneurs

Three months of training was imparted to young women in educational institutes.

PESHAWAR:

The Women Business Development Centre (WBDC) held a two-day exhibition for young entrepreneurs to display their work.

A project titled Gen-Y was initiated by WBDC and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) at education institutions in the city to encourage and train young women in entrepreneurship skills.

“We want to instill the concept of entrepreneurship among young girls that would help them in creating jobs for themselves,” said Nabila Safdar, the programme manager for WBDC.

During a three-month training period, 45 young women were skilled in handicrafts, apparel designing, jewelry designing and other household items.

Bushra, one of the participants who attended the training course, said she was taught handicraft skills while pursuing their studies at the same time. She said she was very happy with the overwhelming response of the visitors at her stall.

Talking about her training, Bushra said she was trained in a conducive environment and such initiatives will help promote an entrepreneurial culture among women.

The project, however, remains Peshawar-based and still out of reach for women in the rural areas.

Smeda has established a centre in Swat for similar projects and also plans to set up offices in DI Khan and Abbottabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2013.