The Urgent Call for Boosting Entrepreneurial Culture in Pakistan

Doing business hasn’t been easy in Pakistan. Although the country jumped 28 spots on World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index 2020 (from the previous 136 to 108) – with the highest improvement of 58 points made in the ‘Starting a Business’ indicator – the climate still appears far from being ideal for businesses, especially the new and budding ones.

Businesses in Pakistan face a number of challenges that, according to them, keep them from reaching their full potential and thus being better socioeconomic contributors. Some of these challenges include tedious procedures, lack of policy consistency, soaring utility costs, repressive taxation, a weak conflict resolution capacity, and more.

Resultantly, Pakistan’s business climate continues to suffer. It’s no wonder why the country struggles to attract FDIs, which are almost 50% of the volume attracted by other developing economies like Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. This is quite inadequate considering the two million young Pakistanis that enter the local labor market yearly.

How Shell Tameer is Promoting the Entrepreneurial Culture

Over 60% of Pakistan’s population comprises youth so it’s easy to expect the young talent to emerge with creative ideas and become founders and entrepreneurs. In this increasingly digital age, where we see young founders of million- and billion-dollar startups in many countries, we’d expect to see the entrepreneurial culture thrive in Pakistan as well.

Only it hasn’t. The startup culture, which has been the industry buzzword for quite some time now, continues to face numerous challenges like any conventional business in Pakistan. From societal norms to the unavailability of a regular finance stream, and from a lack of research & development to an absence of the required set of skills (it takes a mix of technical and management skills to run a business), the landscape abounds with hurdles.

So, it’s little wonder why most of the startups that kick off every year in Pakistan fail to have sustainability. Innovation can’t work in silos and needs a solid, multi-layered support system to turn into something remarkable. Corporates, with their experienced teams, facilities, and funds, can work to plug these gaps and enable promising startups to become sustainable and successful businesses.

Building on these insights, and staying committed to its social investments, Shell Pakistan is doing just that through its entrepreneurship development program called Shell Tameer.

Shell Tameer is an entrepreneurship development program by Shell Pakistan that aims to encourage the development of entrepreneurial skills among the youth of Pakistan (ages 18-35). The Program offers enterprise skills training, coaching, and mentoring sessions, along with providing opportunities for networking and market linkages.

In almost two decades of its existence in the country, Shell Tameer has engaged more than 800,000 people and supported over 1,000 new ventures across the country.

The program, originally called Shell LiveWIRE – a Royal Dutch Shell investment program that aims to help young people around the world explore the option of starting their own business – was launched in Pakistan in 2003 under the local name of Shell Tameer. Today, the program has expanded to 18 countries worldwide.

“As an open platform, Shell Tameer encourages young Pakistanis to come forward with innovative business ideas and pursue entrepreneurship as a means of livelihood,” shares Afshan Pasha, Social Performance Manager, Shell Pakistan.

This initiative by Shell aligns well with the country’s mission to strengthen local economies by promoting entrepreneurship, innovation, and meaningful employment. With easy access to essential business knowledge and customized support, young entrepreneurs can transform their ideas into a feasible and sustainable business.

With a vision to equip people to create sustainable livelihood opportunities, Shell Tameer provides the necessary education and tools to aspiring entrepreneurs in Pakistan.

“Through the program, we aspire to address the challenge of youth unemployment in Pakistan through inspiring the youth to create their own livelihoods underpinned by a social cause. Shell Tameer conducts a two-yearly award scheme to recognize and encourage the efforts of innovative enterprises and offers them post start-up support for sustainability. The competition is planned to open registrations in July,” Afshan informs.

How You Can Be a Part of Shell Tameer

All young Pakistanis with an entrepreneurial mindset and innovative business/startup ideas are encouraged to be a part of the growing team of young change-makers.

Young aspirants who wish to be a part of the Shell Tameer program can begin their journey by connecting through the Shell Tameer website, its Facebook page, or simply by emailing them at [email protected].

Keeping in view the plethora of opportunities Pakistan has to offer, Shell Tameer is striving to strengthen the country’s socioeconomic landscape by empowering its youth. With the help of such platforms and corporate support, more resources can be explored and utilized to promote entrepreneurial activities in Pakistan with higher levels of efficiency.