Policy for women entrepreneurs soon

Framework sets targets for women's employment, exports, financing and access to business support services

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan is set to launch its first-ever National Women Entrepreneurship Policy aimed at promoting women's financial inclusion through dedicated financing for women-specific initiatives. The policy also seeks to expand existing federal and provincial programmes, encourage financial institutions to introduce products tailored to women, and implement the State Bank's Banking on Equality Policy along with the SECP's Women Equality in Finance Policy.

Key policy outcomes include pilot interventions under the National WEP. The policy aims for a 5% increase in women's employment, up from the current 2%, and plans to boost women exporters to 50% from the existing 2,500. It also proposes a 20% rise in co-working spaces, allocates 15% of SME Fund proceeds to women entrepreneurs, and reserves 5% of the Export Development Fund for women exporters. Another target is supporting 20% of BISP beneficiaries in high-risk disaster zones and providing 100,000 women entrepreneurs with access to information.

SMEDA and FPCCI jointly celebrated Women's Entrepreneurship Day in Islamabad, bringing together more than 21 Women's Chambers of Commerce and Industry from across Pakistan. The event highlighted the growing role of women entrepreneurs in driving inclusive and sustainable economic progress.

Addressing the ceremony and later speaking to the media at FPCCI headquarters, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production, Haroon Akhtar Khan, praised the determination and innovation of Pakistani women. He announced that Pakistan will soon introduce the National Women Entrepreneurship Policy, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has placed women at the centre of economic development.

Key initiatives

A major initiative under the policy is the Women Entrepreneurship Portal, being developed in collaboration with FCDO. The AI-enabled portal will link business support organisations and regulators and provide mentorship opportunities.

Under the ADB Women Inclusive Finance Programme worth $2.2 million, special programmes will include a digital engagement initiative using non-smart phones, training content in multiple languages, and re-skilling and reintegration plans for homemakers. Rural women's enterprise and livelihood strengthening will also be supported, alongside the establishment of a special cell and institutional hub.

A product development support programme will set up a design cell at SMEDA with leading fashion and textile universities. It will facilitate access to finance for home-based and micro women entrepreneurs, improve export readiness, support participation in international fairs, and link women to grant opportunities. Climate-smart business support will include green financing and circular economy initiatives. It recommends SMEDA as the nodal agency for implementation.

The WEP also seeks to support women's transition from the informal to the formal sector, develop fiscal packages, reduce regulatory costs, enhance market access, and strengthen initiatives such as the Khadija Programme of Pakistan Single Window.