In an exclusive interview with You! Sadaffe talks about her life and journey …
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Sadaffe Abid is the founder of CIRCLE Women Association, a leading social enterprise that aims to build and develop the entrepreneurial and leadership capacity of women in Pakistan.
She brought ‘She Loves Tech’ to Pakistan, now the world’s largest women and start-up competition globally. Sadaffe was a founding team member, COO and later CEO of Kashf Foundation. She is also on the board of Pakistan Microfinance Network, UN Women Pakistan Civil Society Advisory Council and Indus Earth. And, she is an adviser to Dell Women Entrepreneurship Network (DWEN).
Sadaffe went to Lahore Grammar School where she did her senior Cambridge and then she went to Kinniard College. After that, in her third year she went to USA for her B.A at Mount Holyoke College. She completed her Masters at the Harvard Kennedy School and Advanced Management Program at INSEAD. She is a recipient of the Mount Holyoke Alumni Achievement Award. In an exclusive interview with You! Sadaffe talks about her life and journey …
You! Did you achieve your targets while in Kashf Foundation?
Sadaffe Abid: When Kashf Foundation had just started, it was in two small rooms and there were less than hundred clients. I still remember it very clearly as I was deeply inspired by the mission. I decided to join the team when my former boss, Shahid Kardar who as economist advised me to check Kashf Foundation and meet Roshaney and that is how I landed over there and started working closely with her for the next 12 years. I was the chief operating officer and later the CEO. By the time I left we had 300000+ clients, a network of 140 branches across the country and from the 17 team members we grew to 2000 members. It was a very exciting journey to scale an idea and build systems around it and most importantly to create impact.
You! How did the idea come about to launch Circle Women Association?
SA: I remember being in Dubai and when I came to Karachi, I started thinking about what I could do to bring change. My aim was to work with youth. Pakistan is young and 60 per cent of the country is under 60 and I wanted to work with young women. That is when I started researching about what could create value for young women in Pakistan and I saw that women were generally stuck in low paid jobs in the informal sector and they were not in the high growth fields. That was when I thought of setting up CIRCLE with the goal of empowering women through technology and entrepreneurship.
You! Can you tell us a bit about ‘She Loves Tech’?
SA: ‘Tech Karo’ is a technological and life skills programme developed especially for young girls from underserved communities to up skill them and provide better earning opportunities. The programme is supported by Engro Vopak, Engro Foundation and WeConnect.
‘She loves Tech’ started in 2017. I remember meeting the founder at a conference in Malaysia where I was a keynote speaker and she asked me if I want to bring ‘She Loves Tech’ to Pakistan and immediately said yes because I love the idea of having a platform for women in tech and to increase visibility of start-ups. ‘She Loves Tech’ is currently in its fifth year. Last year, we took it to 10 cities, and we went to second tier cities like Quetta, Sukkur etc.
You! Do you believe that technical education should be mandatory for women too?
SA: Education curriculum in Pakistan is not updated unfortunately and it doesn’t lead to jobs. So, we really need to rethink how we are educating the youth of our country, especially in digital skills and think about where we need to bring our people. Whether it is to code, digital marketing, design, data analytics or AI.
We’ve been doing ‘Tech Karo’ for the last four years. Our female students are in 10Pears, IBEX, OutSprint, SastaTicket, BMA Capital and they have proven that they can really make their names in this field. During the pandemic, we went online and we were one of the quick ones to do it. We got recognised by Microsoft for start-ups for using technology to solve pressing challenges. It is really recognition of Pakistan’s youth and women.
You! What do you like most about your work?
SA: I love this work. I feel very much inspired when I engage with the young people who are part of ‘Tech Karo’ and the community from ‘She Loves Tech’ start-ups. Their journeys, their determination, the problems they are trying to solve inspire me because I really feel that this can make such a big difference to Pakistan.
You! Being a woman, what kinds of challenges do you encounter?
SA: Women face a lot of challenges, be it in Pakistan or any other country because they have a lot of home based responsibilities. Then there is also an unconscious bias in the workplace because women don’t get as many opportunities, they aren’t promoted as fast as men. I have gone through all these challenges. Growing up, my father gave me a lot of confidence. In my first job, I travelled all over Balochistan, I went to slums in Rawalpindi. I went to places I have never been to before and I saw the reality of Pakistan. It was when I joined the workforce I saw that there weren’t many women. Transport is a huge barrier for women, safety at work, harassment on the streets etc.
You! What is the most important advice you can give to women?
SA: My advice to women is to believe in yourself - tell yourself that you are capable, you have potential. Life has highs and lows and no one's life is perfect.
You! Any lessons learnt the hard way?
SA: When we were starting ‘Tech Karo’, I started the project by going to marginalised communities. So, the lesson learnt was that access is important, we should be inclusive but first start with small wins. Start with areas that are more easily accessible, demonstrate your work and then go to harder terrain.
You! Do you think general mindset of our society is changing?
SA: I think it is changing but the pace is too slow. I think we need more men as partners, as allies. We really need the men in our families and societies to support household work and help women work on their dreams.
You! What does a typical day look like for you?
SA: My day starts with waking up at around 8am. I do meditation and read. Then I have my breakfast which is mostly grapefruit, pomegranate, toast, and a hot coffee. My lunch consists of a salad. I try to do yoga three times a week. I have meetings, I connect with my team, follow up on emails, look at new projects. We are starting a pilot project in Gilgit/Baltistan to teach Digital Marketing skills.
You! How do you keep balance between family life and work?
SA: Work life balance was tricky earlier, now I would call it managing your energy. I take small breaks, eat healthy, sleep well, read and, listen to inspiring stuff like.
You! Your philosophy of life:
SA: To live life with awareness, not be on autopilot.
You! How do you unwind?
SA: I love being in nature, picnics, good food, yoga, a nice movie, going up in North, GB I would love to live there.
You! What are your future plans in terms of expansion of your work?
SA: Go to second tier cities, give women over there tools and inspiration.
