Aitizaz Hassan

Balochistan province is considered as a society with strict protocols when it comes to the representation of women in economic, social, and political spheres. This perception has been shattered by the outcomes and results that the National Incubation Center (NIC) Quetta has produced. A large number of women applied and had their startups incubated at the NIC Quetta during the past four years.

According to a progress report of the NIC Quetta, around 51% of the startups that were incubated in the said incubation center had at least one founder or co-founder as woman. Moreover, 76% of the microentrepreneurs that were trained by the NIC Quetta during the past four years were women.

Talking to WealthPK, Director of NIC Quetta Muhammad Shah Khan said the NIC Quetta’s Micro-entrepreneurship Program is working to build the capacity of the marginalized women’s microbusinesses of Balochistan by creating, sustaining, and scaling up their businesses.

“This unique program focuses on providing quality capacity building, mentoring, and leadership training to help microenterprises in the areas of marketing, management, operations, finance, and human capital development among the women of Balochistan,” he said.

“The program also links these microenterprises with investors and financial institutions. In a region where more than 80% of the women don’t have their own bank account, such a program of financial inclusion is revolutionary,” Muhammad Shah said.

The NIC director said that they conducted seminars and workshops across Balochistan which attracted an audience of more than 5,400. Consequently, the number of applications received by the NIC Quetta was more than 1,560 from all over the province, which is phenomenal in the context of Balochistan.

“In four years since it was founded, the NIC Quetta has incubated 162 startups representing 24 out of 33 districts of Balochistan,” Muhammad Shah added.

The NIC director informed that so far, the NIC Quetta has graduated 79 startups that went on to create more than 682 jobs and have generated cumulative sales of around Rs143+ million, and have raised cumulative investment of Rs76+ million. Another hallmark which is unique to the NIC Quetta is its Microenterprise Program. The center has trained 58 microenterprises, 76% of whom are related to women. After completion of their training at the NIC Quetta, these microenterprises have experienced 70% increase in their sales and they have raised more than 14.7 million in investment

Muhammad Shah said enabling environment of the center encourages startups and microentrepreneurs to flourish beyond limits. The NIC Quetta’s extensive outreach is increasing with each graduating cohort, with more and more applications being submitted from even the remotest areas of Balochistan.

The NIC director said the microenterprise program of the NIC Quetta has supported dozens of home-based businesses to flourish and raise investment. The NIC Quetta team continuously engages with startups and microbusinesses and provides them with insightful advice and useful information.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk