Women’s entrepreneurship has grown rapidly, gaining widespread acceptance, leading to a better understanding of the difficulties of women pursuing entrepreneurial careers. The social roles and stereotypes that are traditionally allocated to men and women might indicate the gender gap in entrepreneurship.
Women’s entrepreneurship has grown rapidly, gaining widespread acceptance among academics and, most all, leading to a better understanding of the variables that contribute to the difficulties of women pursuing entrepreneurial careers. The social roles and stereotypes that are traditionally allocated to men and women might indicate the gender gap in entrepreneurship.
Women make up only 1% of entrepreneurs in Pakistan, compared to 21% of males. Women entrepreneurs confront several hurdles, ranging from legal impediments to beginning a firm to a lack of access to finance and financial know-how.
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1. 1. Ambreen Bukhari – Menika Mines, Islamabad
When Ambreen dared to venture into a risky company, she was met with a barrage of problems and criticism. She gathers, cuts, and exports precious stones, as well as creating studded jewellery for the home market.
Nobody believed her when she chose to start her company 11 years ago. It was thought to be an exclusively male realm since one is expected to travel to the mountains, communicate with male entrepreneurs for the administration of the business’s backward and forward links, and aggressively seek for niche markets.
Many of her coworkers believed that a female entrepreneur starting a business would be disrespectful to males, yet she did it and is successful. She did her post-graduate studies in geology in another country.
She divorced and went to Pakistan with her two girls, where she quickly established this business in challenging circumstances. She was confident, though, and wanted to strengthen herself so that she could assist her children and face life’s challenges. That strengthened her drive to pursue business and battle against all difficulties.
She now has a full floor display for her jewellery at a business area in Islamabad’s most famous bazaar. She has also organised exhibits in Islamabad and Karachi, and she has taken part in international events. She is a famous precious stone exporter and has represented Pakistan at a number of international conferences. She also works as a consultant and teaches stone-cutting methods.
Address: SIDB Plaza,Jinnah Super,F-7, Islamabad
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2. 2. Ayesha Zeenat – Pappasalis, Islamabad
Ayesha Zeenat, also known as Gina, has given her academic specialty a practical shape and form. She earned a Diploma in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Houston’s Conrad Hilton College. She realised there was no future in obtaining a suitable career in this industry after working as an intern for numerous restaurants as a chef-helper, accounting assistant, and various other restaurant-related occupations.
She then decided to strike out on her own and open Islamabad’s first authentic Italian restaurant. The initiative was funded by her father. It was a tremendous risk since Islamabad was not an easy place to do business in. However, what began as an eight-table restaurant proved to be a success from the outset. It was the perfect idea for the right moment.
There were no international food chains in Islamabad, so an Italian restaurant was a delight for patrons. The tiny cafe, which opened in 1989, has grown into a double-story, 40-table restaurant in Islamabad, with another branch in Karachi, thanks to Gina’s capable management and her innovative recipes. Gina has extended her culinary company by opening Bistro Alfredo, a café for light snacks, in 1998.
Last year, though, a restaurant bearing the same name debuted in Lahore. Gina had to undertake a legal battle to safeguard her franchise, which she eventually won. Gina has made steady success in the culinary industry because to her devotion and hard work. “I have always kept a strong eye on the working conditions at my restaurant, and try to establish a personal contact with all my customers,” Gina says of her secret to success.
3. 3. Firdous Huda – Firdousi Beauty Parlor, Islamabad
Firdous believes that the business environment for women entrepreneurs is steadily improving. She has three children and has been running her own beauty salon for 12 years. She began her career at the well-known beauty salon Depilex. After years of service, she travelled overseas and married. She has three children and divorced from her spouse.
She returned to Pakistan after completing a couple of beautician courses overseas. Her father, 47, pushed her to establish a business and even offered funding. Her brother, on the other hand, was not thrilled with the concept.
She was, nevertheless, compelled to do something to provide for herself and her three children. She started her company on the bottom level of her house before moving upstairs to live with her children on the first floor. The business quickly grew in popularity, and she realised she needed to set up a separate location for it. She lacked the necessary resources. She worked tirelessly to save money till she could purchase her current location.
Firdous believes in providing individualised service to her clients. She claims that the quality and grade of her service are sufficient to advertise her firm and that she does not require any further marketing efforts.
She employs 16 women and intends to grow her business to other cities. She recognises that running business is tough for women since they must carry children and raise them, but male entrepreneurs are exempt from these duties. She is sure, though, that with pure hard work and determination, everything is achievable in life.
4. 4. Naheed Fatima – Tuition Centre, Rawalpindi
Naheed established her tutoring facility five years ago. She intended to operate a school but was intimidated by the lengthy procedure, the need for start-up funds, and the government’s taxes. “Because I came from a lower-middle-class family, I didn’t have much money to establish a school.” Because I lacked collateral, I had no possibility of obtaining official funding. “Because I lacked government ties to manage the registration and taxes requirements, I chose a tutoring centre; a more informal choice,” she recalls.
She had never started a business before and was hesitant to take any chances, so she chose to start small. The primary motivation for establishing this centre was her family’s financial hardships. She and her sisters had graduated a few years previously, but they were all reliant on the minimal money supplied by their male family members. The family’s low income and growing inflation pushed Naheed’s relatives to help her manage this facility.
The family was quite supportive since they assumed that her business did not include any male interaction because she only catered to female pupils. Soon after, two of her sisters joined her because they were unemployed, and they hired two additional instructors to begin teaching other courses as well. Naheed currently runs a profitable tuition centre and plans to turn it into a model school.
She has developed a lot of business confidence, but she is unsure how long it will take to open a full-fledged school. She is dissatisfied with the status of women in Pakistan and is concerned about the fact that women have very little negotiating power in society. She is highly insecure as a woman in Pakistani society.
5. 5. Parveen Shahid – Roop Boutique, Islamabad
Parveen earned her Masters in Psychology from Karachi University but never received any official training for her current business. She began teaching at a local college, where she was interested in extracurricular events such as Students’ Week. The week used to host design competitions, and she frequently won prizes for producing the finest clothing at the lowest rates. This is how she discovered an artist within herself, which gave her the courage to begin creating garments and developing the abilities she had learned as a youngster from her mother.
Most people liked her designs, so she decided to start the business she is presently in. The availability of seed money and her husband’s assistance were two major factors. She had a number of difficulties at first. However, the difficulties with the male workers were severe – their attitudes were reckless, rebellious, and occasionally aggressive. However, she progressively gained competence in dealing with them.
She now has a store in Islamabad that specialises in formal, casual, and wedding attire. She employs 13 people, 12 of them are men. She still believes there is a communication and comprehension gap between her and the workers, but she is unable to change this. Parveen claims that her company has kept her extremely busy, and that the majority of her relatives complain that she does not mingle with them. She believes that male contact is a big limitation for women pursuing business in Pakistan, owing to the society’s tunnel vision and restrictive attitudes regarding women.
6. 6. Shagufta Rana – Saint Jacob Cambridge School, Islamabad
Shagufta is the first woman in her family to start her own company. She is married with no children and feels that education is the responsibility of every member of the Muslim community.
She decided to open this school since she had completed her undergraduate degree in Education and because there was no English medium school in the area. She rented a building, which she found challenging, and opened the school in 1996. “I had no business experience, but my family was delighted about this new venture, and my father, mother, and sisters assisted me much in getting this business started,” she exclaimed.
The early years were extremely difficult since the number of pupils was far fewer than what she needed to break even. She’d used her funds to rent the premises and buy the essential furnishings and equipment. No financial institution was willing to lend without collateral, and costs were outstripping revenue. Meanwhile, she married, and her spouse assisted her in overcoming commercial issues and reorienting the firm.
The school is well on its way presently, with classes ranging from 1 to 10 and 13 female instructors on staff. Shagufta plans to grow the size and breadth of her firm right now. She intends to transform this institution into a college where she can teach FA/F.Sc programmes as well. She believes that teaching others is a tremendous responsibility, and that the government should offer more resources to those involved in this noble activity.
7. 7. Shahida Syed – New Baby Garments, Rawalpindi
Shahida is a self-made businesswoman who began her firm on a small scale in 1989. She had no schooling and her family was scraping by when she decided to start sewing clothing at home. Most of her customers enjoyed her stitching, so she spread the word in the neighbourhood that she could give this service at a low cost and of high quality.
The little firm expanded slowly at first, but after three years, she needed to incorporate her sister in the business. Her brother was the next in line to handle marketing. She had no prior business experience and had no idea about the cost of inputs, but she learned everything by doing it herself. Most of her relatives and acquaintances opposed her because they believed it was a “curse” for a woman to leave her home to engage in business, but she did it because she needed to.
When her company grew, she decided to take out a loan. She was lucky enough to receive Rs. 25,000 from the First Women Bank on the personal guarantees of two government officials. She began selling garments on loan to market merchants after obtaining greater business confidence. The majority of the male shopkeepers, on the other hand, were harsh and took advantage of her poor bargaining position by delaying or refusing payments.
She then recruited her brother to her marketing team and chose only the most dependable retailers. When demand rose, she hired several more female workers to her manufacturing team. The next stage was to concentrate in children’s clothing, and then in embroidered ladies’ clothing. She now successfully runs this firm with a team of 15 people, including two men. She works in the local market and plans to employ a manager and begin exporting her products, but she has no experience in the export industry.
8. 8. Dr. Shakila – Shafi Hospital, Rawalpindi
“The main challenge for women in business is that men control every type of activity in Pakistan,” Shakila explains. She also praises her spouse for his help in developing and running her medical services firm. She used to work for the government at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, but the long journey became more onerous for her. She also want to spend more time with her children, which was impossible given her daily job obligations.
Then she made the decision to start her own tiny hospital near her house. She and her husband purchased a plot of land and started a medical clinic. There was no women doctor in that region at the time, but relatively few people came in at first. The region in which she runs a clinic is primarily backward, with the majority of population being illiterate. She purchased an x-ray machine and ultrasound equipment for her patients’ usage. “It is a difficult process to gain people’s trust and get them to utilise contemporary facilities since they are conditioned to use conventional techniques,” she complains.
But she continues in her work because she feels she is doing more than just operating a company. She is extremely thankful to her husband for his unwavering support, without which her business would not have been able to thrive. She employs 13 employees and makes the majority of her company choices with the assistance of her spouse.
9. 9. Talat Peerzada – Muitat, Islamabad
Talat has three kids. She has always loved Chinese food since she was a youngster. She used to make it herself and was always interested in trying new foods and experimenting to improve their flavour. Her family and friends had always praised her cooking talents, but she had never considered promoting her ideas until her husband, who works for the Pakistan Army, was sent to a distant location. Her children’s education required her to remain in Islamabad.
. That was the critical moment when she decided to open a Chinese restaurant to alleviate her boredom and make better use of her time. She believed it would be a nice experience for her, and she would be able to make some money to help her children’s education. She was optimistic that her business would grow from the start, but she soon realised that the general public did not enjoy having a lady sitting at a restaurant’s reception desk and overseeing five male staff.
Her business had some initial hitches, but it went more or less successfully from the start. “It was extremely tough to manage everything,” she says, “from procuring fresh veggies to making big quantities of food with the same flavour and freshness.” She had to work long hours at the restaurant to ensure the quality of the food and service, but it has paid off handsomely.
She now owns and operates a profitable restaurant known for its high-quality food and service. She began a home delivery service over a year ago, and it is doing quite well. Talat believes that women entrepreneurs require assistance in dealing with the government, particularly income tax officials.
10. 10. Uzma Gul – Varan Tours, Saddar, Rawalpindi
Uzma Gul started a transportation firm with just one vehicle and now has a fleet of 75 buses that travel on various routes throughout Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Even male entrepreneurs are afraid to get into the transportation industry, but Uzma dared to. She wanted to shatter the myth that female entrepreneurs are limited to certain conventional enterprises.
Uzma has been involved with this firm for the past ten years and is excited to see it grow. In the beginning, she encountered a slew of difficulties. One major issue was inconsistency in consecutive administrations’ transportation programmes. “The only thing that remained consistent was the government officials’ unfavourable attitude.” “They felt quite embarrassed dealing with a female transporter,” she recalls.
Within the firm, she encountered administrative issues as well as a weird type of hostility from the employees, who were wary of having a female boss. Uzma began with an inter-city service between Sargodha and Rawalpindi and then expanded to Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Along with the business incentive, she wished to provide a high-quality transportation service for working women, which had hitherto been lacking.
Uzma thinks that only hard effort, devotion, boldness, and a dash of insanity can lead to success. “I’ve also learned that it’s a male-dominated culture out there, and a woman can’t do well if the male members of her family don’t create the correct atmosphere for her.” Your family should be very supportive, otherwise you would not be able to achieve anything in this culture, and I have been really fortunate in this sense,” she says.
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