GBG and P@SHA join hands to bring “Women on the Web” to Pakistan

GBG and P@SHA join hands to bring “Women on the Web” to Pakistan

Women on the Web (WoW) initiative to help more Pakistani women benefit from the power of the Internet

Google Business Group (GBG) – Pakistan Chapter and Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@S-HA) have joined hands to lead the Women on the Web (WoW) initiative in Pakistan with the support of Google. The initiative will help Pakistani women utilize the power of the Internet more effectively to grow their businesses.

WoW enables more women entrepreneurs to access the web to launch and reach new markets, and thereby achieve greater scale. It provides a structured and sustainable platform for businesses to grow by building a strong network of support among fellow entrepreneurs. Through workshops, training and mentoring, this initiative will help women expand their web presence, connect with customers, and work more efficiently online.
[blockquote cite=””] Pakistan joins several countries in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East that have active GBG chapters supporting the WoW initiative.
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In Pakistan, this special initiative for women is also being supported by local government bodies, trade associations and business partners including the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), Centre of International Private Enterprise (CIPE), Rawalpindi Chambers of Commerce & Industry (RCCI), Islamabad Chambers of Commerce (ICCI), Islamabad Women Chambers of Commerce & Industry (IWCCI) and Peshawar Women Chambers of Commerce & Industry (PWCCI), as well as online freelancing websites Elance and Freelancer.pk.

[blockquote cite=”Jehan Ara, President, P@SHA”] The number of Pakistani women with access to the Internet is on the rise in Pakistan. This opens up avenues of new opportunities for these women who can easily start off their own business online with some basic Internet skills. If all Pakistani women with limited resources can utilize Internet access to start their business from home, the economic impact of this initiative will be far reaching for Pakistan. More importantly, it would allow more Pakistani women to get empowered and become more self-sufficient. With this thought in mind, GBG and P@SHA initiated the WoW project in Pakistan.
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[blockquote cite=”Sardar Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera, CEO of SMEDA, Government of Pakistan”] SMEDA’s hitherto experience of women entrepreneurship includes establishment of Women Business Development Centers in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Swat. To date, 20,000 women have been successfully provided trainings, counseling, exhibition and incubation facility and other business development services for their business promotion and establishment. It is also my pleasure to share that in the upcoming WEXNET 2014, SMEDA is sponsoring participation of 36 women entrepreneurs across Pakistan. Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loan scheme provides an opportunity to women to access finance – a key impediment to business start-up and expansion. In fact, a quota of 50% has been stipulated in the scheme to empower women and encourage entrepreneurship. I am pleased that SMEDA is a partner of Women on Web (WoW) in Pakistan, an initiative of GBG & P@SHA.
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This is indeed a great opportunity for existing and potential women entrepreneurs to compete in the global market on a level playing field through use of ICT and digital communication channels. Digital marketing is critical in the growth of a business, where competition is just a click away. Use of ICT is the way forward. We hope together with GBG Pakistan and P@SHA support, Pakistani women will be able to create an online presence and create more value for their business.

[blockquote cite=”Amer Sarfraz, lead for GBG Pakistan”] Like our counterparts in the rest of the world, GBG Pakistan chapter is a group of progressive business professionals who strongly believe in the power of web, and are enthusiastic about Google’s role in making the web easier to use. In appreciation of the growing number of Pakistani entrepreneurs, we decided to initiate WoW to give more power in the hands of talented Pakistani women. We hope to reach thousands of Pakistani women via a minimum of 12 WoW events throughout this year so they can expand their business further and achieve greater economic benefits.
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[info] About GBG Pakistan
Google Business Group (GBG) is a volunteer community of business professionals sharing knowledge about Google web technologies for business success. It is run by business professionals, passionate about bringing the benefits of the web to their local business communities, on a volunteer, unpaid basis. Collaborating and learning from each other helps everyone achieve more.[/info]

[info]About P@SHA
Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and ITES (P@SHA) was initiated by a number of software houses in an attempt to create a functional trade association for the IT industry in Pakistan. Aiming to protect the rights of its members; P@SHA lobbied with the government to initiate policies and create an environment that would attract more firms to join the industry. Over the course of the last fifteen years, P@SHA has broadened its scope to include other IT enabled services companies such as Internet Service Providers, Call Centers etc. P@SHA engages with government, with private sector entities and with regional and international partners to create opportunities for its members and for the startup community. P@SHA is a registered trade body with the DGTO and is affiliated with the FPCCI.
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[info]Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority – SMEDA
Premier institution of the Government of Pakistan under Ministry of Industries. SMEDA was established in October 1998 to take on the challenge of developing Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. With a futuristic approach and professional management structure it has focus on providing an enabling environment and business development services to small and medium enterprises. SMEDA is not only an SME policy-advisory body for the government of Pakistan but also facilitates other stakeholders in addressing their SME development agendas.[/info]