By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and Whatsapp, has teamed up with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to train and support 500 women entrepreneurs and other high value small businesses in the country, the company said on Wednesday.
The initiative, called The Digital Bridge: Advancing Financial Inclusion for Pakistan, will provide the participants with training, resources and networking opportunities to help them succeed in the online market and scale their businesses, Meta said in a statement.
The programme participants will be selected from Pakistan’s export-oriented chambers and the pool of small business owners who took part in the first phase of Meta’s SheMeansBusiness curriculum in Pakistan, which trained over 30,000 women across 51 cities since 2018.
SBP Deputy Governor Sima Kamil said small businesses played a crucial role in boosting the economy and the central bank was pleased to support Meta’s initiative to empower more women entrepreneurs and small businesses.
“We hope that the knowledge they gain will also help them tap into export markets,” she said.
Meta’s Director of Policy Programmes Beth Ann Lim said the company was committed to support the economic growth of Pakistan by empowering small business owners, especially women entrepreneurs, by upskilling them in the digital space and helping them develop their revenue streams.
“We thank SBP, NIBAF (National Institute of Banking & Finance) and Demo, for the collaboration, and look forward to working together towards our collective goal of unlocking the potential of women-owned businesses and creating a more equitable society,” she said.
NIBAF Managing Director Riaz Chunara said it was important to make sure that small businesses were well-equipped with tools and techniques to leverage the digital space so they could advertise more effectively and expand their customer pool.
“It not only helps them increase their reach in Pakistan but gives them the push they need to go beyond,” he said.
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