Social media increasing outreach of home-based enterprises

Women startups include food, clothing and other home-made items

ISLAMABAD: Social media has changed the face of female entrepreneurs running home-based enterprises in the twin cities.

There has been an increasing trend of household start-ups for food, clothing and other home-made items. Women working from home were seling goods to online buyers.

Stay-at-home women were not lagging behind working women in terms of creating their own means of income using social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram for selling homemade food or different style of clothing.

Asma, mother of two and a food deliverer in Rawalpindi, said that the idea of generating my own income while sitting at home was intriguing. "With two minors at home I can't go out to work daily, I created my own Facebook page advertising my food items. I received adequate response initially but once I established my repute as credible entrepreneur providing quality food, my business started flourishing", she told. Another young entrepreneur, Sara from Islamabad, said after completing my education, finding job was difficult in this economic situation.

"At the suggestions of my friends and family, I started my own line of clothing with small investment and used Instagram as mean of advertising for my brand," she said.

Sara said she owns a small shop in Abpara market now."On my online outlet, not only I sell my own brand but I also display the work of working women at home whose work is undermined by big brands and they are paid with less wages."

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12^th, 2019.