Platform for innovation: Women entrepreneurs display products at WBDC exhibition

Women from across the province showcased handicraft ranging from clothes to jewellery.

PESHAWAR:

The Women Business Development Centre (WBDC) launched a three-day ‘craft bazaar’ on Thursday, providing women entrepreneurs from across the province with an opportunity to display and sell handicrafts.

A range of women’s dresses varying from modern to traditional designs were displayed along with embroidered shawls, jewellery, handbags, bangles, bedsheets and other cultural products. The exhibition is open for public from 10am to 7pm.

Female entrepreneurs from Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera, Swat, Haripur, DI Khan, and Abbottabad showcased their delicately crafted products at the display centre of the WBDC.

The business development centre is a project of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), which works for imparting skills to women around the province. It has centres in Peshawar, Swat and other parts of the province.

Visitors to the exhibition applauded and admired the effort and skill that these women had put behind making the products. They also contended that given the quality of products, prices were reasonable.

Manager WBDC Nabila Safdar said the main objective of the three-day exhibition was to invite artisans from all across the province in order to help them establish a direct market linkage with the general public. She added that the initiative will also help showcase the diversity in traditional heritage of various regions.

The manager said the WBDC is playing a crucial role in development of skill of these women by working on capacity building through trainings, counselling, seminars, workshops and tours.

“We are happy to be a part of the ‘craft bazaar’ and local people are appreciating our products,” said Sajida, one of the entrepreneurs participating in the event by displaying shawls, ready-made dresses and bed sheets. “We have put in a lot of hard work to make these products and the exhibition is allowing our products to get more exposure,” she added.

She expressed hope that the high demand of such products in the local and international markets will boost the garment industry and provide people with more jobs. Sajida maintained this is an opportunity to understand the requirements of the market and improve creative skill.

Another entrepreneur, Zarmeena, said such initiatives will not only improve sources of livelihoods for artisans from different parts of the province, but also boost their level of confidence to work on more innovative products which will allow entrepreneurs like her to participate in national and international exhibitions.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2014.