Dr. Sania Nishtar inaugurates Second Session of 5th Islamabad Expo by IWCCI

Islamabad; 15 Dec 2019-Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr. Sania Nishtar on Sunday said the government will support women entrepreneurs and take steps to empower them which is beneficial for the society and economy.

She said that she wants to have deep insight regarding problems faced by businesswomen so that their rapid development could be ensured.

Dr. Sania Nishtar said this while inaugurating the second session of the 5th Islamabad Expo organized by the Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) to help businesswomen improve and expand their business.

Ms Nishtar said that speeding up women’s economic empowerment is good for business and good for the country.

The government is trying to mainstream the role of women in the economic sphere, through financial inclusion amongst other measures, creating livelihoods and jobs, she added.

She noted that women’s empowerment is absolutely critical to ending poverty, she said adding that when women join the work force it benefits everyone in the country.

A country couldn’t make progress when half of its population was not educated and enabled to fulfill their potentials that is why the government is  promoting a wide range of policies to tackle gender inequality, she observed.

She said that the government has a lot of free space available therefore she will try to provide some space to IWCCI so that they can promote their cause.

She also visited the stalls at the expo and lauded the efforts of founder president IWCCI Samina Fazil and her team to empower businesswomen and artisans and provide them opportunities to thrive.

President IWCCI Farida Rashid briefed Dr. Sania Nishtar about the activities of the IWCCI and sought her support in empowering the women so that their businesses can grow at a faster pace.

She said that the idea behind the expo is to develop a platform for women to integrate the efforts aimed at women development and empowerment.

Earlier on 14 Dec the First Session of 5th Islamabad Expo organized by the Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) was inaugurated with high hopes to help businesswomen explore the possibilities to improve and expand their business.

Those who participated in the 2-day expo included local and foreign companies, cellphone operators, government officials, diplomats, developers, interior designers, makeup artists, NGOs, women artisans and those dealing in the recreational facilities.

Speaking at the occasion, founder president IWCCI Samina Fazil said that the idea behind the expo is to develop an interactive platform for women to integrate the efforts aimed at women development and empowerment.

She said that we also want to improve collaboration and bridge the gap between government, non-government and corporate sectors and women entrepreneurs.

Highlighting the contribution of women is very important as their efforts are not as recognized as they deserve it, she added.

Samina Fazil said that experts from health and nutrition, education and training, beauty, fitness, and home management will enlighten participants while a number of skill development programmes have been arranged to empower women.  She said that we are looking forward to any government or non-government institutions to help expose the potential of women.

Leaders of the business community including Senior Vice President of FPCCI Mirza Ikhtiar Baig also visited the expo and said that the business community is keeping women empowerment high on its agenda.He said that FPCCI will support all the initiatives to empower female entrepreneurs which is highly beneficial for the society and the economy.

Apart from an overwhelming response of women, women from countries have also shown a keen interest in the event.