ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has said prudent policies being pursued by the government have started yielding results and the business climate in the country continues to improve.

Talking to a delegation of Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO), he said owing to government’s pro-business policies and facilitations, Pakistan’s global ranking in ease of doing business had also improved by 28 points.

The delegation was led by Usman Shaukat, EO President Islamabad chapter, who briefed the president on the organisation and the value it aims to add to the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the business landscape of Pakistan.

The delegation comprised former EO Islamabad president Hassan Farid, Afan Aziz, Shafiqueur Rehman, Ahsan Imtiaz Bhatty, Fazli Hanan, Haroon Naseer, Junaid Kalim, Habil Ahmed Khan, Junaid Nasib, Shahbaz Majeed and Muzaffar Ahmad Virk.

The president realised the potential of EO programmes like Global Student Entrepreneur Awards in fostering entrepreneurship in Pakistan, and asked the members of the delegation to work with Pakistani universities to initiate mentorship programmes for the youth and devise a framework to market the indigenous research being carried out by them.

He also advised the delegation to connect with federal ministries to outline avenues of mutual collaboration. He stressed the need to promote women entrepreneurship in Pakistan and to extend employment opportunities to persons with disabilities.

EO is a not-for-profit peer-to-peer global network of 14,000+ leading entrepreneurs in 200 chapters and 61 countries. It was founded in Washington DC in 1987.

The EO Islamabad chapter was founded in Feb 2018 and is the third chapter in Pakistan after Lahore and Karachi chapters that have been in place for over 10 years.

These three EO chapters have a collective membership of over 200 leading entrepreneurs and market leaders of Pakistan who provide employment to more than 140,000 individuals collectively.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2021