The United States (US) is going to provide seed funding to four Pakistani women entrepreneurs who participated in the second Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) initiative and presented their business start-ups last month.
A panel of Pakistani and American businesswomen nominated four business proposals for funding after participants pitched their entrepreneurial ideas and business plans.
According to the details, Amna Afridi’s eco-friendly bamboo toothbrushes business secured the first position, for which she will be awarded $5,500. Nayab Gohar’s knitwear and crochet social enterprise was the runner-up, and she will be granted $4,500.
Meanwhile, third and fourth places were secured by Khush Bakht Hussain’s nutritional supplement start-up, and Aasia Umar’s healthy school lunch business, respectively. The former will be given $3,500 as the seed fund, while the latter will be awarded $2,500.
It is pertinent to mention that around 80 female entrepreneurs graduated from the AWE program on 10 September this year.
The Deputy Counselor for Public Diplomacy, Jacqueline Deley, lauded the graduates and said that the occasion is a success for Pakistan and it is a proud moment to support promising Pakistani entrepreneurs, leaders, and economic influencers.
AWE is a three-month online course that has been introduced to develop entrepreneurial skills in women and empower them by providing them with funding and opportunities for expanding their businesses.
