The women entrepreneurs here on Tuesday announced the formation of the Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (WCCI) NWFP chapter to provide a forum for highlighting their problems and promote women entrepreneurs in the province.
The body would be registered with Ministries of Commerce & Industries and DTO shortly. In this connection, a meeting of the office-bearers of Exporters and Women Association was held here at the Sarhad Chamber with Adeel Rauf, president Sarhad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), was in the chair.
President Exporters and Women Association Peshawar Mrs Nelofer Sami and general secretary Farah Naz and a large number of women entrepreneurs attended.
Others present on the occasion included senior vice-president SCCI Haji Muhammad Afzal, Nauman Wazir, Riaz Arshad and regional chief of Small & Medium Entrepreneurs Development Authority (Smeda) Muhammad Tariq Mashwani.
Briefing the participants about the aims and objectives of the WCCI, general secretary Exporters and Women Association Farah Naz said the body would be affiliated with the head office in Lahore and would pinpoint projects for the women entrepreneurs in the NWFP, a deeply conservative society, and would seek solution of their business-related problems.
She said that the women, who are mostly running boutiques, would be encouraged to work in other sectors also and would search business opportunities through extending help to them in the marketing-related matters.
Farah Naz said that the body would recognise the outstanding performance of the women entrepreneurs through awards and certificates and would invite delegations of foreign women entrepreneurs to get information about the demands of the market in different countries.
Similarly, it would take measures to equip women entrepreneurs with the required skill of the modern era.
AVAILABLE AVENUES: Giving deliberations regarding the available avenues for the women entrepreneurs, she said: Fashion, education, food, gems, interior, property and information technology are better available opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
She said that they would also assist their members in cases concerned with income tax, sales tax, tariff and customs. The future projects of the MCCI, Peshawar chapter, would be research & development, database, one-window operation, micro-credit programme, gem cutting institute and establishment of display centres and international network among the women entrepreneurs of the world.
Talking on the occasion, president SCCI Adeel Rauf welcoming the establishment of the Women Exporters Association, said that the women association would be proved an effective mean for resolution of the problems of women investors at both local and foreign level and bring local women entrepreneurs into the national economic stream.
He said that the step would not only help expand the business of the women entrepreneurs but would also enable them to represent their segment on equal basis along with the fellow men.
However, he called for making Business Women Association more effective and inclusion of more women members in the association. He extended full co-operation to the association in its registration with the DTO.
Nauman Wazir, chairman Industry & Trade Advisory Cell (ITAC), offered the services of the experts in the promotion of the women entrepreneurs.
He said that both Smeda and ITAC would provide complete assistance to this new chamber. "Women in the NWFP are in advantageous position, so they should not underestimate themselves," He remarked.
He appealed to the government to extend financial assistance to such bodies with immediate effect and called for the release of Rs 50 million on emergency basis for it.