News

Four social enterprises emerge victorious in UNDP-Jazz SDG Bootcamps 1st cohort

Four social enterprises have emerged victorious from the first cohort of the UNDP-Jazz’s SDG Bootcamps for Social Enterprises. Overall, 70 social enterprises from across Pakistan participated in the first cohort with over 40 percent participation by women.

The winning social enterprises include Digital Libas, an initiative from Balochistan providing skilled women workers with the opportunity to become financially independent; Sukoon, a health-tech initiative from Punjab aiming to revolutionize mental health care; Asani.io, an IoT and automation based social enterprise from Sindh working on solving water scarcity and mismanagement issues; and Peshawar Waste Management Company from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,  a social enterprise working towards building sustainable communities by converting daily waste into natural fertilizers.

Thirteen of the total participants were from Balochistan, 19 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 from Sindh, and 21 from Punjab. Held online, these five-day boot camps are aimed at capacity building essential for enterprise market success and outreach. These boot camps also managed to attract participants from some of the country’s most remote areas i.e., Bhurewala, Mastung, Naushki, Pishin, Bajaur, Jamshoro, and Bahauddin.

Knut Ostby, Resident Representative UNDP Pakistan, said at the conclusion of the first cohort, “UNDP is proud to work with Jazz to support nascent social enterprises in Pakistan. We hope our SDG Bootcamps will help these young entrepreneurs play a vital role in addressing the development challenges of the country to ensure that we Leave No One Behind.”

Syed Fakhar Ahmed, Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer, Jazz stated, “As a technology-driven company, our focus remains on digitally enabling the masses, especially the youth and women. We hope the social enterprises part of the first cohort has gained valuable knowledge on scaling up their innovative solutions. Wishing them luck on their respective journeys, we look forward to the second cohort to be conducted later this year.”

These five-day bootcamps, organized by the School of Leadership Foundation (SoLF), were led by master trainers and covered a wide array of modules including Branding and Customer Engagement, Marketing and Digital Transformation, and Financial Management, Feasibility, and Scaling. On the final day of each regional bootcamp, the social enterprises pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges of industry experts.

The winner of the national bootcamp, planned later this year, will be provided with an opportunity to join Youth Co: Lab, the largest youth social entrepreneurship movement in Asia and the Pacific along with access to mentorship opportunities and exclusive digital giveaways by Jazz.

These bootcamps are a part of the agreement inked between Jazz and UNDP in December 2020. The program comprises overall 20 bootcamps nationwide by December 2022 targeting close to 800 youngsters and 50 percent women participation. The aim is to promote promising social ventures that are addressing the country’s developmental challenges.

Registrations of the second cohort are now open https://bit.ly/3tHwqTu.

Sponsored
Usman Aslam

A tech enthusiast, writer, researcher and strategist working on the latest technologies and making an impact. Usman has been heavily focused on building communities, empowering people through technological trends and advancements for over 3+ years including many notable names such as IEEE Region 10, TEDx, Google Developers, United Nations Programmes, Microsoft Partner Program and much more. Reach out: usman.aslam@techjuice.pk

Share
Published by
Usman Aslam
Tags: JazzUNDP

Recent Posts

Garena Free Fire India Launch Rumors: What Fans Need to Know

Reports suggest that Garena Free Fire is set to make a much-anticipated return to India.…

14 hours ago

Albania Bans TikTok for One Year: Here’s the Reason!

The Albanian government has announced a ban on the social media platform TikTok for a…

18 hours ago

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. 8 Pro: Biggest Upgrades Compared

The launch of Google’s latest Pixel lineup brings an exciting chance to compare the new…

19 hours ago

Azad Kashmir to Host Pakistan’s First Women-Centric Software Technology Park

ISLAMABAD: In February next year, Pakistan is set to launch its first women-focused software technology…

20 hours ago

HEC Reveals Law Admission Test Date for LLB Students

The Law Admission Test (LAT) has been announced by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of…

21 hours ago

Meta’s WhatsApp to Release New Playback Speed Feature for Videos

Meta's WhatsApp is rolling out a new playback speed feature, allowing users to adjust video…

1 day ago