Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has constituted a nine-member sub-committee with its convenor Mian Bakhtawar Tanvir Sheikh on youth affairs to facilitate the young entrepreneurs. Other members are: Ms Sidra Bakhtawar Sheikh, Nauman Ahmad Khan, Mian Atta Shafi Tanvir Sheikh, Khawaja Muhammad Hussain, Khawaja Muhammad Usman, Asjad Abdullah Hamid, Khawaja Muhammad Hassan, Asim Saeed Sheikh Mian Bakhtawar Tanvir Sheikh will be the convenor of the Committee. Ms Sidra Bakhtawar Sheikh will be in charge of women wing of this Committee.
It has been decided at the meeting of "Youth Entrepreneurs Association Multan" (YEAM) that it will apply for registration with industries department which will work under the umbrella of Multan Chamber. The Committee will safeguard the rights of youth by identifying the issues finding their solutions and raising voice in print and electronic media by writing to department concerned and calling the government functionaries concerned to Multan Chamber. Age limit of members of the Committee will be 18 to 40 years. Committee will arrange events on self-sustainable basis.
Members after three consecutive absents will have to leave the Committee. New members will be added with the consent of founder members of the Committee.
The Committee will arrange National Conference on Youth in the coming months. The memorandum of YEAM will be prepared and supervised by Khawaja Muhammad Usman. Mian Bakhtawar Tanvir Sheikh and Khawaja Muhammad Usman will be the spokespersons of the Committee.
Sidra Bakhtawar Sheikh said that this sub-committee encourages youth to explore the prospects of starting a business as a career choice by providing free counselling and entrepreneurship training. In South Punjab, where a few opportunities are available to women to build their self-reliance, finding self-confident, established women in rural communities is rare. Convenor of the sub-committee of MCCI Bakhtawar Tanvir Sheikh said that few people dare to dream, even fewer are brave enough to act on their dreams. There are hundreds of youth in Southern Punjab who are able to harness their creativity and transform ideas in his head into real life.
He said that south Punjab women are as ambitious as men but have a different set of priorities and face greater hurdles in striking work-life balances because of an extra set of family responsibilities. Socio-cultural norms are also far less conducive to female entrepreneurship than other countries with similar economic conditions.