ISLAMABAD: Facebook and Telenor on Tuesday launched a joint programme to train 1,000 Pakistani girls and women in digital skills to help them achieve financial empowerment.

Pakistani women will celebrate the World Women Day on March 8 (Sunday).

Facebook would train the women and girls through its programme called “#SheMeansBusiness” while Telenor launched its programme ACTIVATE on Tuesday by organising a digital skills workshop for 100 aspiring women entrepreneurs.

It was highlighted at the workshop that improvement in technology and implementation of digital services are helping erase barriers between suppliers and customers across the world.

In Pakistan, there is immense potential for women in particular to demonstrate exceptional contributions to various fields.

Participants of the workshop were imparted knowledge about essential digital skills for business growth, including Facebook marketing, content creation, page moderation tools and analytics.

Speaking on the occasion, Beth Ann Lim, Facebook’s Head of Community Affairs for Asia Pacific, said: “#SheMeansBusiness programme and our partnership with Telenor is aimed at connecting entrepreneurial women with empowering tools, peers and networks.”

Aspiring women entrepreneurs were urged on the occasion to learn creative visual thinking and design sprint methodologies to quickly find problems and build innovative solutions.

Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO of Telenor Pakistan, said that his company had been a strong supporter of women’s empowerment and their inclusion, both inside and outside workplaces.

“Being cognisant of their challenges, we have designed this digital skills workshop to equip women and girls with essential skills to propel their careers further,” he said.

“Our partnership with Facebook is a representation of our efforts to provide equal opportunities to women across the country, who have the will but lack resources to become partners in the development of Pakistan’s economy and society,” he said.

The speakers at the workshop said the entire nation would benefit when women did better in Pakistan and Pakistani women entrepreneurs were resourceful. Their going digital would help them start and expand their businesses.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2020