The juncture of Women’s day celebration on March 8th to honor the movement for women’s rights worldwide, I would refer my believe that a financially stable and independent woman can refrain all kind of discrimination against her and lead life by her on terms! Having said that there’s never been a better time in the history of women journey towards empowerment to become an entrepreneur and stepping into leadership; using their voices to speak the truth, using their skills to grow the economy and using their work to create a bigger impact.
To women- Be brave & Believe in yourself as much that this believes drives detrimental effect on your self-value and worth. This is my take while attended Startup Weekend event for women entrepreneur organized by THE NEST i/o which is the first-ever- a kind event in Pakistan!
THE NEST i/o is a technology incubator, a community hub that promotes startup culture, provides budding entrepreneurs with space, infrastructure, facilities, knowledge and connects entrepreneurs with communities. And this time THE NEST i/o organized a special edition of the event focusing on women’s participation which is unique experience in term of first ever startup event for women! The purpose of this special edition is to cultivate female entrepreneurship and promote the creation of women-owned businesses. It is also to inspire more female leaders in startup teams and to connect more women to the resources and mentors available in startup communities.
It is never too late to learn a new skill or polish an old one, and it is never too late to start a business if we have the ambition and a marketable skill and know what we want to do. Every year more and more females are turning their creative ideas into successful businesses and this is real time that woman should start thinking to be strong and act accordingly rather vulnerable and dependent as what she made to believe.
The benefits of greater inclusion are comprehensible not just for women, but for society. Women are the ultimate agents of aggregate demand, accounting for 70 percent of global consumer spending. So if we want growth, let’s put women in the driver’s seat.
Women entrepreneurs are having a tremendous impact on the small business landscape globally and now potentially nationwide in Pakistan. Women are searching for places and opportunities to connect with like-minded aspiring business owners. Women wanted a community and further wanted a place that not only gave them hard-hitting advice but spoke to them in a way that was authentic to the experience.
In the startup ecosystem in Pakistan, there is imminence potential for women to come up with great ideas not just confined of selling/ service homemade food, clothing and accessories to on- line marketing, but using technology to expand their business and outreach.
Whether we just want to be own boss or become financially independent the road to success starts with a sound idea. We need to honest about our strengths and weaknesses to become an entrepreneur and no matter what business we start it also helps to be resourceful and have strong networking skills. But before deciding we do not have enough business smarts or skills to become an entrepreneur. Even the most motivated women entrepreneurs can struggle with deciding on the right business idea. For some budding entrepreneurs, ideas flow freely but never get off the ground. For others, ideas are vague and sketchy so are discarded and never fully explored.
Setting a vision and then building a team who can help that vision become a reality and I truly believe that women have a strong intuition, when it comes to people/relationships and developing culture.
There is a huge benefit available for setting up a business by women entrepreneur in shape of social media and technology that can make moving these messages faster than ever before. Female founders are often generous with their support of other women trying to get their ideas off the ground into the marketplace.
Witnessing of female founders who have transformed their breakdowns into breakthroughs, while holding my professional background in the field of social development and media, and now Tec startup, I am not afraid to get lost from time to time because It’s often on the untraveled path that we discover the most exciting and interesting opportunities. That’s where big ideas take shape and where real breakthroughs happen, actually, the rare combination of my professional background allows and help me to figure out the solution of the problem I address in my startup idea!
Describing my journey towards rejecting pre-formatted brands of feminism and shaping a version of my own to see feminism as a daily, sustained practice rather a competition with man or specific point to prove, I love my journey on this incredibly lonely road, the challenges and adore to become an entrepreneur not like a man but perform like a woman!
About Samreen Khan Ghauri:
Samreen Khan Ghauri is a Multi-Media Journalist and an Entrepreneur. A passionate advocate for women’s rights and a development practitioner, she can be access to samreenkghauri@gmail.com & @samreen_ideas
