Startup Grind Islamabad and CIRCLE, through its Women and Business Chapter Islamabad (capital of Pakistan), recently brought local women techpreneurs to limelight in a panel discussion and networking event held at the National Incubation Centre (NIC) on Friday, May, 26th, 2017.
Moderated by CIRCLE CEO, Sadaffe Abid, the panel included Sihah Waris, Founder of Rise Mom, Maliha Kayani, Co-Founder of Ezpz Sehat, Zoha Fatima, Capital Delight, and Hira Batool Rizvi, founder of SheKab.
Speaking about the event, Hassan Zulfiqar, Co-director of Startup Grind Islamabad said, “As far as Pakistan is concerned, we bear witness to the rapid rise of women and within the past couple of years many women entrepreneurs and techpreneurs have proven themselves in the international community. Even Forbes has recognized some women entrepreneurs of Pakistan. We should use international platforms like Startup Grind and CIRCLE to share this image of Pakistani women with the world.
Startup Grind is a global platform, dedicated to educate and inspire entrepreneurs by organizing monthly events in 200 cities across the world. The establishment has dedicated the month of May to women entrepreneurs globally; and the local networking event was organised to showcase the many ways women are using tech for entrepreneurship in Pakistan.
CIRCLE, founded by Sadaffe Abid, former COO and CEO of Kashf Foundation, focuses on women’s economic inclusion and leadership development with the mission to build and develop the leadership and entrepreneurial capacity of women in Pakistan. The entity does this through advocacy, research and innovative capacity building initiatives. CIRCLE is based on the belief that investing in women is the smartest economic venture of today and that when women progress, communities prosper and economies grow.
CIRCLE has Women and Business Chapters in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and provides a platform to women startups, innovators, business owners, and professionals. Circle works on forming alliances and creating a body of male supporters, to come together, learn and grow. The network provides mentorship through Cherie Blair Foundation, workshops, dialogue and toolkits as well as opportunities to network and collaborate.
“Women in Pakistan are continuously rising to the challenge of innovation and leadership. It is important that events like StartUp Grind and She Loves Tech build communities which benefit from women’s creativity and innovation to support their aspirations and recognize their achievements,” said Abid.
Continuing the focus on women and men using tech to create solutions for Pakistan’s problems, CIRCLE is hosting She Loves Tech Pakistan – a Global Start Up Competition happening in eight plus locations with finals in Beijing. The top team from She Loves Tech Pakistan 2017 will receive a spot to pitch at the global finals of the She Loves Tech 2017 Global Startup Competition (September 16th, 2017), and the chance to participate in an immersive week-long boot camp (September 11-15, 2017) consisting of talks and panels, visits to leading tech companies, networking opportunities, and personalized pitch preparation workshops. Additionally, Teja Ventures, a venture capital fund with a gender lens, SOSV, #1 in VC seed funding for female-founded startups (TechCrunch), and other affiliate funds of the She Loves Tech global initiative will also be actively looking to invest in women impact startups from the competition.
The competition is open to anyone, male or female, with an idea that uses tech to solve a problem. For male founders, the idea must have an impact on women in some way. The deadline to apply is 23rd June. APPLY NOW: www.shelovestech.org
Social Media Details:
CIRCLE: www.circlewomen.org Twitter: @CIRCLE2020, Facebook: @Circlewomen Instagram: @circlewomen
Startup Grind Islamabad: Twitter: @StartupgrindISB, Facebook:
