SHANGLA: The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) on Monday organised an entrepreneurship seminar for the youth to motivate them to begin their own start-ups to earn a decent living by exploiting the Shangla’s potential in tourism and fruit sectors.

Speaking on the occasion, Smeda regional coordinator Dr Arshad Ali said the objective of the seminar was capacity building of the local youth in starting small and medium businesses.

He said in the age of technology youth had numerous opportunities for starting their own enterprises to not only earn a respectable living but also create jobs opportunities for the unemployed people around them, including women.

Mr Ali said due to limited job opportunities in both the government and private sectors a high number of youth, including women, was unemployed. He said job seekers often got depressed when they did not find a job of their choice.

“Instead of searching for jobs youth can start their own start-ups with just a small amount of money if they are passionate about their future,” said Mr Ali, adding such a business was bound to flourish with the passage of time.

The Smeda official cited an example of a friend student who lived in an Islamabad hostel.

“He opened his own hostel which expanded and now he has many branches in the area and is a successful businessman,” he added.

On the occasion, Mohammad Zada, a trainer, said there were lots of opportunities of initiating start-ups for the Shangla youth in various sectors, especially tourism and fruits.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2021