FAISALABAD: Women-led businesses need to be facilitated to export their products (traditional and non-traditional) to world markets, women economy should be strengthened at international level in the larger interest of promoting women entrepreneurship, said Nighat Shahid, President Faisalabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FWCCI).
She was addressing to the participants of first ever international Conference organized by FWCCI at Serena Hotel, Islamabad.
The meeting was largely participated by Ambas-sadors/High Commission-ers/Representatives from Germany, Uzbekistan, Portugal, Thailand, UK, Jordan, Iran, Italy. Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan Vietnam, Korea, Palestine, Philippines, Denmark and other world countries.
She said that our women though have majority part in Pakistan but are in least participation of 12 percent compared to India 24 percent and Bangladesh 36 percent. She said that her main focus has been to promote women entrepreneurship particularly for young females to new business startups in order to drive economic growth.
She said that she simultaneously focused on capacity building by skill development to achieve best productivity and competitiveness in the emerging business scenario.
She said women need not only cheap finance but also ‘preferred facilitation’ to get loans for which SBP need to enhance number of female staff in the banks,. She said that policies of Government and Finance Schemes introduced by State Bank are too productive but need is for easy documentation, removing unnecessary formalities rather initiating mobile service at door steps by banks at gross root level for providing cheep and quicker finance.
She said that we have invited attention of policy makers that girls at school level must be equipped with vocational training to become a productive part of the national economy, She said FWCCI has already started facilitating young female graduates for new business startups including training programs and consultancy services and requested to TEVTA Authorities, GIZ, JICA, ILO, USAID, to come forward as partner organization with FWCCI to harness young educated females for news business startups and necessary technical and vocational trainings.
To upgrade women home based businesses, she informed that FWCCI has started training programs in Digital and Social marketing, web development, computer application, graphic designing, green technology etc. She urged Trade Development Authorities of Pakistan to facilitate women entrepreneurs to visit potential foreign markets to explore export opportunities at zero expense in travelling and subsidized freight for their shipment orders.
She recalled that lucrative incentives had been practised by Export Promotion Bureau – previous name of TDAP. She urged that same incentives need to be offered by TDAP to enhance exports so that women could ship their products in foreign markets with competitive cost.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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