Women entrepreneurs are now more visible on the business scene in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa than ever. The KP government and the business community help women entrepreneurs to get organised and become economically productive. Some of them are making progress by managing their small enterprises on modern professional lines.

Though a majority of women are involved in house-based embroidery and stitching businesses, more enterprising among them, with better education, have ventured into furniture business, garment exports, boutiques, beauty parlours etc. The provincial government is running a ‘Women Business Development Centre’ at Peshawar to promote women entrepreneurs, their products and businesses.

Similarly, the KP Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been supporting women. The KP Women Chamber of Commerce andIndustry is affiliated with the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry. It is operating from a small but neatly kept building in the backyard of the KPCCI.

The women’s economic activities have been made possible because of official policy on empowerment of womenfolk.

However, many challenges remain. The Women Business Development Centre has been set up with the provincial government’s support of Rs20 million. “KP’s women want to work, but the local culture is a big problem,” said Nabila Farman, project manager, WBDC.

The centre arranges need-based training for the interested females and helps them in gaining knowledge about legal aspects of their businesses. It also promotes their products by holding exhibitions and fairs, enabling them to establish links with suppliers and wholesalers. The centre also arranges its members’ exposure visits to the industrial hubs of Pakistan to learn from other businesswomen’s experiences. “It takes a lot of effort to convince them to recognise the significance of all these things,” said Ms Farman. The WBDC houses 10 incubators equipped with modern communication facilities and computers.

These incubators are allotted for a period of six months to two years at a monthly rent of Rs3000 per incubator.

These offices are used to run businesses, promote and market products.

A display-hall has also been set up at the WBDC where businesswomen can display their products at a nominal monthly rent of Rs1000 per rack.

Ms Farman said the WBDC was now focusing on the female graduates of Peshawar-based business schools, bringing them under its fold to help them become entrepreneurs. Some 400 women are registered with the WBDC of which, according to MsFarman, 50 per cent are entrepreneurs. The centre is planning to expand its activities to other cities of the province.

The businesses of four of the women who started operating from the WBDC, she said, had grown considerably. “One of themhas launched a fully-fledged frozen food business after we helped her in developing the business plan to get the bank loan,”said Ms Farman. The WBDC is in contact with the First Women Bank to help businesswomen overcome financing problems.

Meanwhile, about 30 per cent of its Rs1 billion Bacha Khan Khpal Rozgar (self-employment) scheme has been earmarked for women entrepreneurs. Their share, according to an official, comes to about Rs288 million with individual loan ranging fromRs20,000 to Rs100,000. Interest-free loans of Rs148 million have been approved for a total 1611 women entrepreneurs.

“Over Rs90 million has already been released to the successful women applicants,” said the official.

From Peshawar to Chitral, women entrepreneurs have shown an overwhelming response to the scheme. Over 2300 applied for the loan. Much of the money has been lent to the house-based embroidery and stitching businesses in the rural areas of the province, whereas in cities, including Peshawar, Haripur, Mansehra, and Abbottabad, finances have been provided to female owners of beauty parlours and boutiques.

This has exposed many of the businesswomen to the complexities of official rules and regulations. “They need constant guidance to gain knowledge about the government regulations,” said Fitrat Bilour, Chairperson, KP Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Chamber on its part has been assisting its 100 plus members to resolve issues related to Federal Bureau of Revenue and the Peshawar Development Authority. “A lot needs to be done to improve their business skills, promote their businesses, and learn how to be competitive,” said Mrs Bilour.