Women face everyday difficulties that often go unnoticed. These include managing child allergies, dealing with closet overload, or handling diaper changes. Startup pitches and boardroom discussions rarely address such challenges. But Women in Tech event, sponsored by Standard Chartered, is moving the needle and changing that.
In 2019, the Women in Tech event received 86 applications. This year, it attracted 1,900 applicants from over 100 cities in Pakistan. The panel selected 10 startups from all these applicants. They received seed grants of 1 million rupees and a two-month mentorship program with INNOVentures Global.
This year’s winners included Hira Mubeen’s baby food brand, Yumkins Foods. Another winner was Erum Sheheryar’s Atfaal, a children’s clothing brand that upcycles textile waste. The third winner was Ootein by Maria Ameer, Pakistan’s first certified allergen-free food brand, inspired by her own celiac disease. The winners received scale-up grants of 5 million, 3.5 million, and 2 million rupees. The organizers awarded these grants during a ceremony on Thursday.
The startups that were chosen generated almost 25 million rupees in verified revenue over the last 2 months. This striking revenue is a good indicator of the startups’ potential to hit 150 million rupees in revenue in a year.
Some women entrepreneurs started their companies from home by tackling problems that many women encounter every day. For example, Digital Superwomen offers short online courses for women on how to gain skills to freelance while managing childcare. In the same fashion, AZCode, a Lahore-based coworking space: 60% of their clientele is
“Pakistan has one of the lowest female workforce participation rates in the world. Women face unsafe workspaces, limited flexibility, and cultures that often silence their potential,” stated AZCode co-founder, Asra Ameen.
As per INNOVentures CEO Nida Athar, 80% of the employees in these startups are women, reaching over 1,200 women who work with these companies as suppliers, customers, and partners. Despite the fact that female entrepreneurs captured only 1.4% of the $563 million local startups raised across 225 deals from 2015 to 2021, women now make up nearly 10% of the startups in the country.
Women entrepreneurship contributes significantly to the economy. Most of a women’s income (90%) is spent on her family, thus contributing to the economy of the family and the community as a whole.
