Startups

Karandaaz Pakistan signs investment agreements with seven women-led businesses

The UK-funded Karandaaz, a non-profit company promoting access to finance for SMEs, has recently signed investment agreements with seven small and medium enterprises (SMEs) led by women. These businesses include New Age Flour and General Mills, M-Tex, Web Work Solution, Lel, Noha Global, Kamal Impex, and Saira Rizwan.

Karandaaz Pakistan, with funding from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), recently organized the 2nd round of its Women Entrepreneurship Challenge (WEC 2019) to enable the growth of women-led businesses by providing financial and technical support to female entrepreneurs across the country.

See Also: This woman turned her passion into a fledgling business with Karandaaz Women Entrepreneurship Challenge

During the second round of WEC 2019, Karandaaz provided business advisory support to 19 women-led businesses all across Pakistan. Out of these 19 women-led businesses, seven got selected after a competitive process to receive the investment.

Head of DFID Pakistan, Joanna Reid while giving his remarks on these investment agreements said,

“Women empowerment is at the heart of the UK’s work in Pakistan and through Karandaaz Women Entrepreneurship Challenge, we have supported women all across the country. I am delighted to see the growing segment of women entrepreneurs who are ambitious, innovative and dare to experiment for the growth of their businesses to become leaders in their fields. Economies will only thrive when women get the same opportunities as men. DFID Pakistan believes in empowering women and is passionate in achieving the goal of a prosperous and inclusive Pakistan.”

Mr. Ali Sarfraz, CEO Karandaaz said,

“Women Entrepreneurship Challenge is now successfully entering its third year and we will soon be opening the call for applications for the 2019 cohort. We are very impressed with the quality of applications we received this year and are confident that there are many promising women entrepreneurs across Pakistan who can benefit from this year’s program.”

This investment from Karandaaz will not only encourage the culture of entrepreneurship amongst women but will also enable the women-led businesses to grow and create jobs.

According to the United Nations Development Programme Pakistan (UNDP), in recent years, there have been important developments in gender equality in Pakistan. These days Pakistani women are more likely to participate in the fields like labor force, decision-making, health and education services. Such investment agreements will further endorse that these women-led businesses are a viable segment for the financial institutions in Pakistan.

Sponsored
Sajeel Syed

I am a writer at TechJuice, overseeing IT, Telecom, Cryptocurrency, and other tech-related features here. When I'm not working, I spend some of my time with good old Xbox 360 and the rest in social activism. Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sajeelshamsi

Share
Published by
Sajeel Syed

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.…

11 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…

15 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…

17 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…

18 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…

18 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