Female student achieving prosperity one step at a time
Girl wins an award and intends to continue her work in agriculture sector
Saima Kanwal. PHOTO: EXPRESS
LAYYAH:
Saima Kanwal has become a role model for her university fellows after she employed her educational qualification of farming techniques into business.
The 24-year-old started her own business at her house in Kunal Nasheeb, Union Council District Jakkhar, Layyah. She has four siblings and belongs to a middle-class family. She is studying agriculture in 4th semester of BSc (Hons.) at Bahadur Campus, sub-campus of Bahauddin Zakariya University in Layyah.
“I decided to share financial burden of my father and to meet my educational expenses, I started a business of livestock in which I had an initial understanding because of its relatedness with my studies,” she tells The Express Tribune.
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Starting a business, however, does not come without its challenges and the main issue she faced was the arrangement of initial capital investment. She, along with her father, went to Karobari Rehnumai Markaz (KRM) established by Awami Development Organisation, a non-government organisation established in partnership with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) in Union council Jakkhar, in order to apply for a loan.
Credit Officer Ghulam Qasim said that Kanwal was given all the information about acquisition of an interest-free loan for a small layer farming business. After receiving a loan worth Rs20,000, she purchased a layer farming guide from the market and then purchased layer hens and arranged a suitable place for them in her house.
A few months later, she started selling the eggs but she got a little demotivated because the local market was not yielding much profit for her as she had planned. Her father, who had always supported her in her business, travelled to Layyah and made an agreement with a wholesaler, who promised to supply eggs.
The wholesaler offered a good price per egg compared to the local rural market. She has a strong sales volume of about 10,000 to 11,000 per month out of which she earns almost Rs7,000 of profit per month. She has collected Rs28,000 in the past four months and her sales volume has risen with the passage of time. She said that she has 100 chickens right now.
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Kanwal’s future plans include setting up a big hatchery and pursuing higher education in agriculture. She said that with the earning from selling eggs, she has not only repaid the loan but also paying her university dues. She said that her university friends were also inspired by her business and her seven friends were planning to start businesses of dairy, livestock, and farming in Laddhar, Union Council of Layyah tehsil.
Kanwal shared that she wanted to pursue her masters on scholarship after completing her current degree so that she could play a positive role in contributing to the agriculture sector of Pakistan. She said that women are second to none and the most important qualities that anyone needs to be self-sufficient are courage, self-esteem, dignity, persistence and consistent planning.
Kanwal’s father Ghulam Mohammad, 65, said that her daughter is a very courageous girl. He said that she utilised the solar panels, distributed by the Punjab government in schools, for the provision of electricity to the small hatchery. Kanwal plans to buy a macro hatchery of around 500 to 1,000 eggs from Faisalabad. “Girls should come forward and apply their technical education in businesses if they are unable to find jobs.”
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Chief Executive Officer (PPAF), Qazi Asmat Esa, said that PPAF had received 235 nominations out which 33 people have received awards. Kanwal also received Citi Microentrepreneurship Award in the special category of Young Entrepreneurship by Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. He said that PPAF aims to enable young girls to earn a respectable livelihood.
The chief executive officer said that the nominees for the awards underwent a two-day training on marketing and financial management that further improved their enterprises.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2019.
Saima Kanwal has become a role model for her university fellows after she employed her educational qualification of farming techniques into business.
The 24-year-old started her own business at her house in Kunal Nasheeb, Union Council District Jakkhar, Layyah. She has four siblings and belongs to a middle-class family. She is studying agriculture in 4th semester of BSc (Hons.) at Bahadur Campus, sub-campus of Bahauddin Zakariya University in Layyah.
“I decided to share financial burden of my father and to meet my educational expenses, I started a business of livestock in which I had an initial understanding because of its relatedness with my studies,” she tells The Express Tribune.
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Starting a business, however, does not come without its challenges and the main issue she faced was the arrangement of initial capital investment. She, along with her father, went to Karobari Rehnumai Markaz (KRM) established by Awami Development Organisation, a non-government organisation established in partnership with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) in Union council Jakkhar, in order to apply for a loan.
Credit Officer Ghulam Qasim said that Kanwal was given all the information about acquisition of an interest-free loan for a small layer farming business. After receiving a loan worth Rs20,000, she purchased a layer farming guide from the market and then purchased layer hens and arranged a suitable place for them in her house.
A few months later, she started selling the eggs but she got a little demotivated because the local market was not yielding much profit for her as she had planned. Her father, who had always supported her in her business, travelled to Layyah and made an agreement with a wholesaler, who promised to supply eggs.
The wholesaler offered a good price per egg compared to the local rural market. She has a strong sales volume of about 10,000 to 11,000 per month out of which she earns almost Rs7,000 of profit per month. She has collected Rs28,000 in the past four months and her sales volume has risen with the passage of time. She said that she has 100 chickens right now.
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Kanwal’s future plans include setting up a big hatchery and pursuing higher education in agriculture. She said that with the earning from selling eggs, she has not only repaid the loan but also paying her university dues. She said that her university friends were also inspired by her business and her seven friends were planning to start businesses of dairy, livestock, and farming in Laddhar, Union Council of Layyah tehsil.
Kanwal shared that she wanted to pursue her masters on scholarship after completing her current degree so that she could play a positive role in contributing to the agriculture sector of Pakistan. She said that women are second to none and the most important qualities that anyone needs to be self-sufficient are courage, self-esteem, dignity, persistence and consistent planning.
Kanwal’s father Ghulam Mohammad, 65, said that her daughter is a very courageous girl. He said that she utilised the solar panels, distributed by the Punjab government in schools, for the provision of electricity to the small hatchery. Kanwal plans to buy a macro hatchery of around 500 to 1,000 eggs from Faisalabad. “Girls should come forward and apply their technical education in businesses if they are unable to find jobs.”
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Chief Executive Officer (PPAF), Qazi Asmat Esa, said that PPAF had received 235 nominations out which 33 people have received awards. Kanwal also received Citi Microentrepreneurship Award in the special category of Young Entrepreneurship by Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. He said that PPAF aims to enable young girls to earn a respectable livelihood.
The chief executive officer said that the nominees for the awards underwent a two-day training on marketing and financial management that further improved their enterprises.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2019.