Recently, the Buraq Center by Ladiesfund has been launched in Karachi, which offers a world of possibilities to women entrepreneurs and innovators....
women
According to Forbes, women are now making up a whopping 40 per cent of new entrepreneurs, indicating that more women are turning to entrepreneurship than ever before. Fortunately, there is a lot of progress being made in Pakistan to support women entrepreneurs through incubation. Business Incubators are companies which support new and start-up companies in their initial development stage by providing an array of targeted resources and services.
Recently, the Buraq Center by Ladiesfund has been launched in Karachi, which offers a world of possibilities to women entrepreneurs and innovators. It is a collaboration between Dawood Global Foundation (DGF), the German Consulate in Karachi and LUMS National Incubation Center (LUMS NIC). Spotted at the launch event were Idris Kothari, Khalid Mirza, Ameena Saiyid, Senator Nasreen Jalil, Nazneen Tariq Khan, Moidul and Seema Hassan, Fazal Dadabhoy, Caroline Bates, Shannon Grewer, Shanaz Ramzi, Khursheed Hyder, Pervez Madraswala, and various diplomats. The evening was hosted by Moneeza Butt, with National Anthem performed by Nabila Bano. Tours of the space were given, showcasing the bold, pink look that was both feminine and powerful, featuring wired incubatee desks, networking tables, soundproofed interviewing space and pink bean bags.
Inspired by the winged horse that transported the Prophet to the seven skies, the centre is about energy that transforms the gender equation and opens up opportunities to empathise, ideate and create at the speed of thought. The slogan of the centre is ‘Watch Her Fly’ and symbolised by a pink Pegasus. “It is humbling to launch Pakistan’s first all-female incubation centre, something so needed for our nation. Women need a safe and culturally comfortable community space that celebrates and supports their dreams, while providing solid training and scalable techniques, all the while recognising the pure Islamic legacy of women entrepreneurship dating back to Hazrat Khadija. We strive to create women-led unicorns for Pakistan, or in the name of our centre, buraqs for our country,” stated Tara Uzra Dawood, President DGF and Ladiesfund. Sindh Governor Imran Ismail spoke about possible collaborations including having the centre be a loan-centre for women SMEs. The German Cooperation supported the scaling and creation of the centre and Guest of Honour at the launch was German Consul General Eugen Wollfarth, who has been a great supporter of Ladiesfund; which has sponsored the international fellowships of 8 girls to study in Germany. Moreover, Mr. Wollfarth addressed the jam-packed audience, giving much support and NIC Lahore Director Faisal Sherjan flew in for the event and addressed the audience.
The centre will be short listing and selecting its first 10 incubatees by end of March. Each incubatee will be trained by a curriculum provided by NIC Lahore and certified by NIC Lahore, along with DGF. Applications are now open.
The women’s co-working space is also accepting applications from interested female-led start-ups, who want to be part of a community space just for women in business.
–– A. Jafri
