Islamabad: (Parliament Times) The Entrepreneurship and Stitching Skill Enrichment program trained 300 women from Sahiwal, Hyderabad, Kotri and Gujranwala. The Skill Enrichment component of the training program aimed at teaching women on how to professionally take measurements, handle the cloth cutting process, and other modern techniques pertinent to their target audiences’ preferences. The Entrepreneurship component educated women about how they can start their businesses from home. The women were trained about networking, business ethics, time commitment, budgeting strategies, and record keeping. The program also highlighted the importance of distributing business cards and brochures to attract more customers.
The two day program was organized by Phillip Morris International while planned and executed by AGAHI in collaboration with Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IWCCI). The training program and distribution of 300 sewing machines was an integral part of the project, Reorganizing Women Capabilities for Generating Income, launched in November 2016.
Puruesh Chaudhary, Founder and President AGAHI said, “AGAHI established a partnership with IWCCI for this very essential purpose, to improve the human capital and industry standards through knowledge-based initiatives and workshops. She further added that this training program will be first of many to come to give direction, knowledge and guidance to empower womenâ€.
The trainers for this program included Ms. Samina Fazil, Founding president IWCCI, with a gold medal in her master’s degree, a diploma in Fashion Designing from School of Fashion, Toronto, Canada, and Ms. Naima Ansari, Vice President of Federation Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Naima Ansari, Vice President of Federation Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Trainer, said that the women have a lot of potential which if utilized right can add a lot to country’s economy. She further added that after the training, women are now capable enough to independently start their own businesses within their available resources.
Amna Sabahat, Program Manager AGAHI, said that the purpose of this project was to provide the required training to women living in these districts so that they can create a better life for themselves and their families.
The training programme has empowered and built capacity of 300 women in order to assist them in creating and operating small-scale entrepreneurial start-ups in Gujranwala, Sahiwal, Hyderabad and Kotri. The program provided 300 sewing machines to the selected 300 women under this program. The program will also assist women in establishing industry linkages.
AGAHI is a not for profit organization established in Islamabad in 2011 under the Society Registration Act 1860. Its primary function is to create non-paid communication strategies, conduct workshops, content intelligence structures, development collaterals and tools for diverse sectors and organizations. AGAHI encourages and advises individuals and institutions in pursuing and supporting initiatives to improve the state of development in Pakistan. It works on developmental frameworks facilitating information and knowledge sharing platforms on understanding challenges in global perspective. Its research work mainly focuses on national and international security, ICT, competitiveness, human capital development, and governance. AGAHI in association with several leading national and international partners focuses on creating shared spaces for interactive learning, collaborative thinking, and knowledge sharing. AGAHI is at the forefront of devising foresight research and future scenarios work in Pakistan.
