In a joint effort, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, have announced a partnership to digitally empower 500 women entrepreneurs and other high-value small businesses.
The initiative aims to provide training, resources, and networking opportunities to the participants. The launching ceremony for the program, titled “The Digital Bridge: Advancing Financial Inclusion for Pakistan,” took place in Karachi and was attended by officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Women Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and prominent members of the telecommunications, banking, and business communities.
Meta stated that the consulting agency Demo will select participants for the program from Pakistan’s export-oriented chambers and the pool of small business owners who took part in the initial phase of the SheMeansBusiness curriculum in the country.
SheMeansBusiness, a Meta initiative launched in 2018, provided training to over 30,000 women across 51 cities, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The program aims to equip participants with the necessary tools and techniques to succeed in the competitive online landscape and scale their businesses. SBP Deputy Governor Sima Kamil highlighted the crucial role of small businesses in boosting Pakistan’s economy and expressed the central bank’s support for Meta’s initiative to empower women entrepreneurs and small businesses. The aim is to help them scale their businesses and tap into export markets.
Beth Ann Lim, Meta’s Director of Policy Programs, expressed the organization’s commitment to supporting Pakistan’s economic growth by empowering small business owners, particularly women entrepreneurs, through digital upskilling and revenue generation development.
The collaboration between Meta, SBP, NIBAF (National Institute of Banking & Finance), and Demo was praised by NIBAF Managing Director Riaz Chunara, who emphasized the importance of equipping small businesses with digital tools and techniques to expand their customer base and increase their reach both within Pakistan and beyond.?